17 First Kisses

Read 17 First Kisses for Free Online

Book: Read 17 First Kisses for Free Online
Authors: Rachael Allen
each other have tomean something. If one of us doesn’t act soon, we’re going to miss our moment again, and this time we won’t have another. Ryan coughs and stares at the cracks in the cement. It’s not going to be him.
    So maybe it has to be me. I take in his sun-bleached hair and the little gap between his front teeth for what may very well be the last time and take a deep breath. I am standing at the top of the high dive, scared senseless, and I know I will regret it forever if I don’t jump. So I do. Well, not literally, but I place my hand lightly on his shoulder and plant a soft kiss on his cheek. I’m struck by how warm his skin is to my lips. I mean, I’m sure he’s 98.6 like any other human, but between the sun and the heavy lifting, he feels warmer. Before I can ponder the mysteries of his thermal regulation any further, I hear a voice say, “What are you doing?”
    Chessa stands in the doorway, peering at us through narrowed eyes. My first instinct is to vault over the bushes and sprint until I reach the state line. She slinks closer, and I scan the perimeter for sharp objects.
    â€œHey, Chessa,” he says.
    Her features rearrange themselves so she looks almost innocent. “Hey. What are you guys talking about?”
    Ryan’s cheeks turn a little pink. “Nothing. Just the move and stuff.”
    â€œYeah, I’m really gonna miss all my friends,” she says with a dramatic sigh. “That reminds me. I really need to talk to CJ. Do you mind?” The smile she flashes us is all sweetness and light.
    â€œNo, that’s fine.” He turns back to me while Chessa shoots menacing looks over his shoulder. “Bye, CJ,” he says, giving me a little wave and disappearing into the house with his box.
    She waits until he’s gone and then she pounces. “Why were you talking to him?”
    So she didn’t see me kiss him. I might actually live to see my thirteenth birthday.
    â€œI, um, I—”
    She continues to hover over me like some sort of jungle predator.
    â€œI said, why were you talking to him?”
    My brain cells fire feebly. If I don’t spit out an excuse soon, she’ll go all release-the-kraken on me. She reaches into her pocket, no doubt for a set of brass knuckles. Why can’t I think straight right now?!
    â€œCalm down. She was just returning a football,” says a voice that turns out to belong to Megan McQueen.
    Megan? Holy crap, these girls are like velociraptors; ones I didn’t even know were there are swooping in from the sides.
    She tosses the football to me with a surprisingly good throw for someone with a French manicure before returning to her backyard.
    â€œYeah. Football,” I say.
    Chessa gives me one last lingering glare before saying, “I’ll give it to him for you.” When the door closes behind her, I can finally breathe again.
    â€œThanks,” I say, leaning against a nearby pine tree forsupport. “You totally just saved my life.” I can’t even believe she did it. She’s much closer to Chessa than she is to me. I wonder why she would—
    â€œNo problem,” she says.
    It’s then that I realize I’ve never seen Megan McQueen look so sad. She’s always the center of attention, and she’s
always
smiling. I suspect she even Vaselines her teeth. But today she is sitting on her patio with her back to her house and her knees tucked against her chest. Her eyes are the kind of bright that means she’s thinking about crying but wants to tough it out.
    â€œHow come you’re sitting out here by yourself?”
    She shrugs. “I just felt like it, all right?”
    I sit down beside her.
    â€œYou look kind of sad. Are you sure everything’s okay?”
    â€œNo.” She shakes her head. “My parents have friends over for brunch, and they brought their obnoxious smart kid, and they’re all talking about

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