Finally allowing myself to embrace the squishy feelings in my chest, I relent. Climbing into the hammock beside Ricardo is awkward, but once I’m safely tucked against his side he pulls the blanket up around both of us. I rest my head on his shoulder, and his cheek touches the top of my head. It’s so warm, like we’re wrapped in a cocoon of our newly admitted feelings. Cushioned on a cloud.
“So…” He begins.
“So…”
Laughing, he nudges my chin up and meets my eyes. “We’re doing this? Dating? For real?” There’s a trace of something in his voice. Could it be insecurity?
My throat goes dry, so all I can manage is a nod.
“Excellent. Can I kiss you now? Because I’ve been dying to since that stupid game of truth or dare. Your sister is more devious than we give her credit for.”
My mouth curves up. “You better.”
Sliding his hand from my chin to the side of my neck, Ricardo puts his lips on mine. Fireworks shoot through my body, making me feel like I’m flying. I’m reminded of how it felt to kiss Ricardo during that truth or dare game. Warm. Consuming. Exhilarating. Kissing has never felt like this before.
Except for my very first day at the academy, two and a half years ago. A tall, cocky boy with ruddy brown skin and strawberry brown hair had come over to me unannounced, and grinned when I didn’t back away. “I’m Ricardo,” he’d said, “and I can tell you and me are a perfect match.”
I’d laughed, pleased at the attention. I’d been looking for a way to stand out that day, shimmer out of the sea of privileged geniuses I found myself thrust among. So I’d gone for it. Lifted up on tiptoe and kissed him, stealing his breath. He’d been stunned for a second before falling into it with me. It had been my first kiss, and it had been exhilarating. Until it wasn’t.
I don’t want to think about that right now.
Ricardo’s fingers slide into my hair, giving the gentlest tug. Tingles tiptoe across my scalp.
Sinking further into the kiss, I shift my weight, turning into his body. The hammock rocks violently underneath us. My stomach dips, pulling me out of my kiss-induced trance. Laughing, I try to sit up. “Maybe we should stop.”
“Just one more,” Ricardo says, using his hand in my hair to drag me toward him.
I relent, giving him one more chaste kiss before slipping out from under his blanket and managing to dismount the hammock with a modicum of grace. Feeling the need to put distance between us, I drag his desk chair to the other corner of the room and sit in it.
My breathing is ragged as I watch Ricardo swing his legs off the side of the hammock and sit up. His eyes don’t leave my face, his gaze intense. There’s a fire in his eyes that makes me all tingly. Alive.
He moves to stand. “Can I just—”
“Stay right where you are.”
Ricardo sinks back into the hammock with a smile. “You don’t trust me, mon coeur?”
“Not in the slightest.” I’m gripping the chair in an effort to keep my seat. I don’t trust myself either. The bubbling sensation moving through me is heading toward my brain, making me liable to give in and kiss Ricardo until we’re both senseless. I mean, it would be fun…
Nope.
The last time I did that, I ran over a dead body.
“You want to know something funny? Now that we’re dating, everyone is treating me better. Taking me more seriously. It’s because of you.”
I shrug. “They’re probably scared of me.”
“No, I don’t think that’s it. My teachers don’t act surprised when I do well on an assignment anymore, even though I’ve always been a good student. And all the girls around here are actually nice to me, instead of treating me like an arrogant jerk. I think it’s because they respect you, and since you’re with me… They think I’m better too. It’s nice.”
I don’t know what to say to that. I already knew everyone treated me carefully, but I genuinely thought it was because people are afraid of me. Could Ricardo’s theory be true? That people treat me with kid gloves because they respect me? It’s something to chew on.
If it is true, it makes me even more determined than ever to figure out what’s going on here at school. Who killed Professor Rook? Threatened Gul? Attacked me? Tried to kill Ricardo? Sticking my head out into the hallway,