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stared after her, unable to move. It wasn’t like he’d wanted her to be terrified. But Rae pretending that everything was okay was dangerous. It could even be deadly.
    Marcus reached across the seat and gently pulleda piece of shiny confetti out of Rae’s hair. “For your scrapbook,”
    he said as he handed it to her.
    “Huh?” Rae asked. “Oh, yeah, my scrapbook.” She’d totally forgotten about it. How bizarre was that? Less than a year ago the scrapbook had been like some kind of religious artifact. It had mementos from every date they’d been on. It even had the wrapper from the straw he’d been using the first time he talked to her in the caf. Rae grabbed her purse off the floor, getting no thoughts through her wax-coated fingertips, and put the confetti in the little inside pocket.
    “Did you have fun tonight?” Marcus asked.
    “Of course. Yeah. It was fabulous,” Rae answered. And it had been. Until Anthony showed up. After that, hard as she tried, Rae’d never been able to completely relax. Forget what he said, she ordered herself for the millionth time.
    He was being a drama queen. Don’t let him spoil your first real back-together night with Marcus. This is the best
    part, remember? She’d always loved sitting with Marcus, parked on her quiet street. She felt the closest to him then, like the car was their own private little world.
    Rae took Marcus’s face in her hands. Slowly, slowly, trying to savor every detail, she lowered her lips to his and kissed him. He tasted like lime punchand breath mints. Not exactly the best combo, she thought.
    This is not a taste test, she told herself. She kissed him again, just his top lip. Then gave equal attention to his bottom lip-she loved his bottom lip, the way it was just a little bit fuller than the top.
    Marcus gave a sound that was half groan and half whimper. He’s really getting into this, she realized. And she…
    she was, too. Kissing Marcus was always amazing. It’s just that they’d been kissing so much at the dance, so it made sense that this kissing wasn’t quite as exciting as usual. It was like she was on kissing overload. Her senses were numbed out from too much use.
    Except when you danced with Anthony. The thought zipped through her head like an annoying fly. But she couldn’t deny that it was true. Just the feel of Anthony’s hands on her waist had lit up every nerve in her body. And her veins had felt like they were shooting electricity instead of blood.
    Just a freak physical response, she decided. It’s not about Anthony, it’s just about… about…
    This is not the time for thinking, Rae told herself. She slid her arms around Marcus’s neck, then kissed him again, her lips open against his.
    God, that minty lime taste was icky. That’s whyshe wasn’t responding the way she had to Anthony. It would be impossible while tasting that combo. Marcus had probably popped the mints for the parked-in-the-car make-out session. He was trying to be thoughtful. But yuck.
    Rae buried her head against Marcus’s chest. Yeah, that was better. Warm. Comfy. She could fall asleep right here.
    That was how right it felt to be cuddled up with Marcus.
    Marcus kissed the top of her head. Then her forehead. Then he leaned down far enough to kiss her nose. The lips would be next. Rae didn’t want to offend him by seeming lukewarm. Better to make a break for it. She’d kiss him triple next time she saw him, when that taste was gone.
    “I should go in. My dad’s still kind of in overpro-tective mode,” Rae said.
    Marcus frowned. “Okay, I guess I can let you go,” he teased, tracing the line of her jaw with his fingers.
    “Thanks for-thanks for tonight,” Rae said quickly. She leaned over and gave Marcus a fast kiss on the cheek, then got out of the car before he had the chance to coax her into a few more minutes.
    “Keys, keys, need keys,” she muttered as she crossed the front lawn, listening to the sound of Marcus’s car taking off down