Knox: Meet me behind NHH. Don’t get caught.
My eyes dart around the empty hallway. The door is so close, and with no one to see me, I could easily slip out. Even Savannah went to lunch after helping me carry my books over here. However, if anything is going to keep me from going, it will be my own lack of self-confidence.
I shouldn’t have let this go as long as I have. I should’ve told him the text was Tessa’s doing the minute she sent it, but I didn’t. The curiosity of what he would say to something like that got the better of me. And now? Now, I have the opportunity to go over there and see what he wants to do about it.
Everything in my brain is telling me not to go. It’s too risky. Too dangerous. Savannah warned me to stay away from him. It’s like he’s like the hunter and I’m the prey, and giving him a clear shot to take me out is not smart. Nothing about this is a good idea, and yet my feet have a mind of their own as they carry me out the side door and across the street.
Finding Knox is easy once I get there. He’s leaning up against the back of the school, smoking a cigarette and looking like sex on legs. The second his crystal blue eyes land on mine, I forget all necessary functions. How to breathe. How to speak. How to walk. It all goes out the window as he comes my way.
“I didn’t think you’d come.”
I do my best to seem unfazed, but I’m dying inside. “Why not?”
He shrugs. “A lot of girls talk a big game but won’t back it up.”
Yeah, I don’t even talk a good game. “O-oh.”
As if we’re in some sort of face-off, he finishes his cigarette and comes impossibly closer. I don’t even realize I’m slowly backing away until I hit a brick wall. He cages me in with his hands on either side of my head, and I can feel as his breath ghosts my lips. I stay completely still, afraid that if I move, I might mess something up.
“So, about that text…” I swallow hard, waiting for him to continue. “What did it say, again?” His mouth moves to the shell of my ear. “Oh, right. You want to explore each other’s bodies with our tongues.”
My heart-rate quickens as he places his hand on my waist. “I…um…”
It’s pointless. My brain can’t formulate words with him this close. His touch renders me completely speechless.
He pulls back slightly and smirks as he licks his lips. “Do you want to know what I think?” Not trusting my voice, I simply nod. “I think…” He moves in, making me think he’s going to kiss me—but then he stops. “You shouldn’t let Tessa get ahold of your phone.”
Just like that, he backs away and chuckles. My jaw drops, and the nervous feeling in my chest dissipates. I reach out, smacking him in the arm for messing with me like that.
“You knew?”
He laughs, and just the sight of it alone is heaven. “Hell yeah, I knew. Do you even know what an eggplant emoji means?”
I roll my eyes. “Yes. I’m not dense.”
“You’re dense enough to let your sister get your phone long enough to send a text.”
“No, she took it and wouldn’t give it back.”
“And that, Bambi, is why you need to put a password on it.”
The two of us spend the next fifteen minutes joking around and making fun of how Tessa and Easton are together. By the time that I need to go back to school, I find myself genuinely not wanting to. Usually, I don’t mind my academics—they’re something I’m good at. Something I thrive in. But right now, sitting here with Knox, I’d be perfectly content with never moving again.
FRIDAY COMES IN THE blink of an eye, and I’m already dreading the party Tessa has planned for tonight. Not only did she invite our entire school, she also invited most of North Haven High. With what I’ve seen between parties at Zayn’s and Jace’s, it’s bound to be a disaster. I just hope our parents don’t find out.
The fact that I’m going to be seeing Knox tonight, while having to avoid him because Savannah will be there, sits heavy in my stomach. Knox and I have been texting almost constantly. There’s something about him that I just can’t put my finger on. It’s like when I’m with him, I finally feel like I belong—despite how many times he’s told me that I don’t. There’s a sort of clarity when I’m around him. I wish I could explain it. Maybe then it would make sense to me. But, I can’t.
Tessa comes barreling into my room. “Hey, can you come with me to the st—what’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” I try to play it off, but she can see right through me.
“Nothing or Knox’s thing?”
“Oh my God. You’re so crude.”
She chuckles. “Doesn’t mean I’m not right.” Coming closer, she climbs on my bed. “So, what’s up? Do I need to kick his ass?”
I shake my head. “No, he hasn’t done anything wrong, or anything right for that matter.”