Kiss and Break Up - Ella Fields Page 0,10
You’ll need to cut me some slack.”
“I guess I can.” The way his finger wound around my hair felt nice.
“You should come out more,” he murmured. “Give me a reason to smile.”
“You smile plenty.”
“Not in the way you make me smile.”
I laughed, turning to face him. “I don’t think anything’s wrong with your ability to flirt.”
“No?” he whispered, lashes lowering as he stared at my mouth.
Was he about to kiss me?
His hand moved from my hair to the back of my head, pulling our faces even closer. He was going to kiss me.
Shit. Oh, shit.
I’d never been kissed by anyone other than Dash, and even then, he’d only done it in the sixth grade so he could claim my first kiss. I told him that one-second pecks didn’t count, and he said he’d better kiss me again then before I shoved him away.
The scent of beer mingled with the sweet spice of his cologne, and I tried to stop it, but as his lips neared mine, I sneezed, pulling back just in time to avoid spraying his face.
Byron’s eyes were wide as he wiped at his shoulder and neck.
And oh, how I wanted to run down to the bay and throw myself under water until he disappeared.
“I’m sorry,” I said, then sneezed again. Sweet holy shit. “Something’s up with my sinuses.”
He chuckled, and then someone called out to him from the pool behind us.
I kept staring at the bay, my face a wildfire of embarrassment, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw him get up. “I’ll be back.”
I knew he wouldn’t. I shut my eyes, mortification pricking at them. One of the most popular guys in school tried to kiss me, and I’d sneezed my germs all over him.
A slow clap started, and then a plonk beside me had my eyes opening.
I groaned when I saw Dash grinning like the devil he was, teeth and all. “Nice, Freckles. Real smooth.”
“You were watching?”
“Duh. Someone had to make sure that shmuck didn’t take advantage of you.”
I exhaled a tremulous breath. “You didn’t need to worry about that.”
“I don’t now, so thanks.”
“Asshole.”
He bumped my shoulder with his. “Could be worse. Kissing him would be like licking the inside of a toilet bowl, he’s hooked up with so many people lately.”
“Not helping, and like you can talk.” Dash was notorious for leaving girls hanging.
“Hey, I didn’t scare anyone off by spraying them with spit and phlegm.”
My stomach shook. Tears threatened. I stood, wanting to head inside and find the fastest route out of here. I pulled my phone out of my purse, firing off a text to Alfie.
“Freckles?” Dash said, poking me in the cheek. “Don’t be sad. That’s stupid. He’s a bastard anyway.”
“It’s … whatever. I’m going home.” I brushed some sand from my butt, then swerved through the crowds outside, keeping my head down.
Willa was where I left her in the kitchen, her chin on her fist, looking fascinated as she watched a couple of guys make out against the refrigerator. Daphne appeared, looking flushed as she ran her hands over her hair. “There you are.”
Willa turned, blinking out of her trance as she saw us. “Where’s Byron?”
“God knows, probably halfway to Mexico by now.”
Daphne’s hands paused, and she crept closer. “Huh? What happened?”
“What happened with Lars?”
“Touché.” She sighed. “Let’s trade in the car. Alfie’s coming soon, right?”
“Just asked him to come earlier. Let’s wait out front.”
“Freckles,” Dash said, latching onto my hand and spinning me around. “Where’re you going?”
“Home.”
“Over some lousy kiss?” He pulled a cigarette from behind his ear, then lit it, not caring that he was inside. “You can hang with me.”
“And get laughed at some more?” I shook my head, turning away to join the girls. “No thanks.”
Dash
Peggy Newland had been a permanent fixture in my life since the dawn of my existence. In fact, I remember our mothers laughing about it when they were still friends, telling anyone who’d listen how I’d learned to write Peggy’s name before I wrote my own.
In my defense, what kind of assholes named their kid Dashiell? My asshole parents, that was who.
So it was a given, if you asked me, that I wasn’t going to bother trying with that shit until I had to.
She was the one constant in my life. A pillar of light among the ever-gray bullshit that stalked from one day to the next. But lately, she’d started to change.
I couldn’t tell if it was the removal of her braces, the haircut, or the way