freakin’ cold.”
Her face goes a little pink as she smiles. “Thanks.” She takes the blanket and wraps it around her, but leaves the sweater untouched. I’m trying not to get a complex about that.
“So, you ready?” she asks.
“Shoot.”
She smiles again as she tucks into the blanket. I catch her breathing it in.
Stomach twists.
“Have you kissed Quynn?”
Whoa. She ain’t messin’ around. “Loaded first question.”
She shrugs. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to cross a line if I did.”
“You didn’t.” I just don’t want to talk about Quynn. I want to be with Hayles. “No, I haven’t kissed her. On the cheek, maybe, but not like what you mean.”
Is that relief in her face?
“Your turn,” she says softly.
Since she’s going for the kiss question…
“How many people have you kissed?”
She barks out laughing. I give her a ‘what the hell is so funny?’ look since I can’t ask the question out loud.
“Sorry, it’s just… I thought you would’ve figured that already. I haven’t been on a date, so, um, never been kissed.”
Why does this make me nervous? Why does knowing her lips never touched anyone else’s make my abs feel like they’ve been sucker punched?
I know why. ‘Cause I want to be the guy who gets to give it to her. Her first kiss, her first date, her first… well, everything.
But hello! That’s a lot of pressure. I mean, she’s seventeen, almost eighteen. She’s waited this long. It better be hotter than hell.
“Okay, my turn,” she says, jolting me back to the present. “What do you plan on doing when you graduate?”
Dude. I have no idea.
“I dunno. I guess get a job, try to get into the community college, and move out. That’s what I want to do, but not sure if it’ll happen.”
“Why not?” Her eyebrows crinkle in that damn cute way, and she slaps her forehead. “Craptastic, I just used another question. That’s three for me once you answer.”
I chuckle and slide a little closer to her. Can’t help it. “Well, my grade is slippin’ in ASL, you know that, but as for movin’ out? Guess it’s ‘cause the only place I can afford on a student’s pay would be close to my brother, and I want to be as far away from him as possible.”
She nods. “Yeah, I get that.”
It’s quiet for a minute, ‘cause really, I’m not sure if she’s waiting for me to ask the next question, or if she’s thinkin’. I want to ask her about her family, but something tells me she won’t be too happy with that.
She still has her ‘veto’ though. Maybe I’ll give it a shot.
“Uh…” I clear my throat. Dude, Brody, just get it over with. “Why don’t you ever want me to walk you to your door?” That’s an innocent question, right?
“Because it’s not a big deal.” She smiles, but it doesn’t go up to her eyes.
“Is there a rule about lying? Because there should be.”
Her eyebrows shoot up, and she smiles all the way. “I’ve never been good at lying.” She laughs. “The truth? I don’t want you to meet my mom.”
I don’t care about the follow up question takin’ up one of mine. Gotta know. “Why?”
“Okay, that’s question three for you. And that’s the one you’re not getting an answer for. My turn.”
“But—”
“Are you a virgin?”
Way to take my mind completely off its train of thought. She’s good.
“Uh, yeah.”
It doesn’t bug me I’m still a virgin. At least not with her, since she hasn’t even kissed someone, but still, for an eighteen-year-old guy, it’s hard to admit out loud.
“Hey! Me too!” She laughs and kicks me in the shin. I wish she’d keep her foot there. I can’t believe this girl hasn’t been on one date. It has to be due to her and not for lack of options.
I want to ask her out. Not just to ‘hang’, but to hold her hand and open her door and all that other stuff that goes with it. But I can’t do that without feelin’ like she’d get all weird on me.
We are playin’ twenty questions though…
I take a deep breath and go for it. “If I asked you out, what would you say?”
She rolls her eyes. “Knock it off, Brody.”
“That’s what you’d say?”
“No, I’m sayin’ choose another question.”
“Why?”
“Because you have to ask somethin’ that’s not completely crazy. Somethin’ real.”
“You think it’s crazy that I’d want to ask you out?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, why?” I stop, trying to count back how many questions that was, but I don’t really care. “And that only counts as one