Spencer
“I think I deserve a kiss. That’s all I’m saying.” We’re leaving class and headed down the path toward the Union. She’ll hang a left to head to the library, and I’ll make my way to Anthro.
“You deserve a kiss, why?” Paige looks at me, as if she’s sizing me up.
“Because I gave that speech and I didn’t fall over. I didn’t even lock my knees at all. Okay, once or twice. But I stayed standing.”
“And this is kiss-worthy?” She looks skeptical, but that’s fine. I can convince her.
“Hell yes. I mean—” But I stop talking, because she starts kissing me. Right there in the middle of campus, on a pathway between the Comm Arts building and the library. She just drops her bag, reaches up on her tiptoes, and plants one on me like we’re filming a rom-com. Or, in another thirty seconds, a porno.
Who is this woman and what has she done to quiet, reserved me? I don’t flirt. I don’t kiss my girlfriend with abandon in public, in the middle of the day. I don’t do girlfriends or daytime kisses.
Except I do now.
Something about being with Paige makes me feel freer, lighter. And sure, we’ve been together, what, a week? But it’s been a pretty damn good week.
She pulls away and I miss the contact already, that’s how gone I am over her.
“There’s more where that came from, Spence, but I’ve got to run.”
“That’s right. You’re meeting with that tutor?”
“Yeah, for the LSATs, which aren’t too far away. Ugh. If I get through this session without dying of boredom, I think you are the one who's gonna owe me kisses.”
“And I’m totally fine with that. I’ve got class and then practice, but you can come by tonight to work on Speech, or to collect sexual favors. Whatever you like.”
“Can’t wait,” she says with a smile, and then she blows me a kiss.
I am so fucked.
Herrera comes up behind me and claps me on the shoulder. “You are so fucked,” he laughs.
“Yeah,” I admit, since I had the exact same thought. “But it’s all good.”
“As long as you keep the puck out of the net, itisall good.”
“What the hell are you doing?” My words come out harsher than I intended, but that’s because my day took a nosedive after lunch.
“Uh...waiting for you. But if you’re gonna be a dick, I’ll go.” Paige has no time for my bullshit.
“Shit. I’m sorry. The rest of my day sucked. Andy said you were up here, but I figured you’d be in my room, not the hallway.”
“Well, I would have been in your room, but there’s an animal in there and he was staring at me with his beady little eyes and I thought he was adorable when I first met him, but how do I really know he’s not going to eat me alive? I mean, I don’t know when you fed him last. Also, the light is way better out here.”
I bite back a laugh. “Westley won’t hurt you, I swear. He only eats mealworms and crickets. He’s totally harmless.”
She rolls her eyes and doesn’t even respond. I open the door and toss my bag inside. “Are you coming in, or are you going to sit in the hallway?” I’m joking, but she’s not moving. “I promise to protect you from Westley, who, by the way, is sleeping.”
“I’ll be in soon. But I wasn’t kidding. The light is really good out here and I want to record this real quick.”
After practice, I hit the gym for weightlifting with the team, so I made sure to shower and change before heading home. It takes no time to throw my dirty stuff in the hamper and repack my bag for tomorrow. But Paige is still outside my door. I peek my head through, curious as to what she’s up to.
“Ok, Pretties, the package said to let the eyeliner dry for three minutes. And yep, it’s a little tacky still, which is good. So, I’m going to take the fuller end and pick it up with these tweezers and then...voila!” She takes this little caterpillar looking thing, picks it up with tweezers and hovers it over her eye until—
“Jesus. Is that a magnet? You can’t just go around sticking magnets on your eyes!”
“Uh, I’m pretty sure I just did,” she says, clearly annoyed at my interruption, and batting one long eyelash at me.
