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“Shut up.” My face burns.
“Get it!” Cindy yells, laughing, as Veronica follows suit.
“This is so embarrassing.”
“Wow,” Natalie snickers, looking down at us. “I guess I got the more coordinated nerd.”
Sam shoots her an annoyed look while they stroll by.
“Come on,” Matt puts his hands on my legs, and as embarrassed as I am I still have to swallow the bundle of excitement within.
Don’t ask me how but somehow, he gets us both on our knees and then takes my hand. “Okay, on three. One, two, three.” He takes a step, and I follow along, both of us finally getting to our feet, as Sarah and Bret are now about to pass us.
“Well, now what?” I look at Matt.
“We’ll just take it one step at a time.” He smiles, and I pretend he’s talking about us and not the race.
Walking around the course, he keeps his hand locked with mine. The cord holding our ankles together is loose enough that I’m not losing my balance now. I can probably stay upright for the rest of the race without holding his hand, but I don’t let go. Besides the tingles it sends up my arm and down my spine, it feels natural. As if our hands fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, interlocking perfectly.
“Okay!” Greg yells, blowing a whistle. “And the first-place winners, with ten extra points. Yvette and Oscar!” Everyone watching claps and cheers. “And second place goes to Franco and Jen!”
More clapping and cheering rings out as Matt bends over and starts to untie the rope around our ankles. I’m hit with a new sensation, as Matt puts one hand just below my knee, on the inside of my leg, as he unties our ankles. I catch my breath and look down at him. He looks up at me with a smirk. As he stands up, his hand slowly rides up to just above my knee, before he pulls it back.
I take a deep breath, steadying myself. “You know, you’re not the only one who can do that.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He flashes a coy smile.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. You think you affect me that much?”
“Mmm.” He puts a finger to his chin, looking up at the sky in mock consideration. “I know I do.”
“I could do the same to you.”
“You might have to prove it.”
He gives me a challenging smile, and now I really want to prove to him I can get him just as flustered as he gets me. “I could do it and wouldn’t even have to touch you.”
“Is that right?”
I pull out my phone and scroll through my pictures. Last Halloween, Cindy, Veronica, and I all dressed up as X-Men characters for a costume party. Cindy went as Phoenix Jean Grey; Veronica dressed as a sexy Jubilee character. While I love both of those characters, I had my heart set on a badass female character named X-23. Basically, she’s a young, female clone of Wolverine.
Scrolling, I finally find some pictures of us at the party and one in particular. I wore black skinny jeans with a black sports bra. I taped up my wrists and forearms with black tape and had aluminum claws I could hold on to, so when I closed my fists, it looked like they were coming out of my knuckles. I thought it was the perfect meeting point between sexy and cool. Of course, I put on a jacket before leaving the house, so my dad wouldn’t see me wearing a sports bra. While at the party we goofed around with more pictures. I finally find the one I want to send him. It’s of me staring at the camera, as I lick one of the claws.
“Hey, Matt,” Veronica says as she and Cindy walk over.
“Oh, it’s Matt now, is it?” He teases her.
I look over to see her blushing in embarrassment before I hit send.
“Well, looks like you’re all talk, Nerd Girl.” Matt smirks just as his phone chimes.
I stand there, waiting for his reaction. He pulls out his phone and flashes me a puzzled look, seeing that the text is from me. His thumb swipes his screen, and I know the instant he sees the picture. His mouth drops, his shoulders stiffen, and his breath falters.
I lean in close enough that I could kiss his chin. “Without even touching you.”
I take a look back at Matt as we leave the courtyard. His confident smile is gone. His eyes stay locked on the screen for a moment longer, then they look up and find me. Now it’s my turn to flash a confident grin at him, watching him over my shoulder. He stares at me, licking his bottom lip, staring at me like he needs me.
As I walk away, I can’t fight it anymore. I can tell myself I sent the picture to prove a point, and it’s partially true. But I’m falling for the guy. And watching him stare at me with that ravenous stare, only makes me fall faster.
