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Instead, I force a smile, though it feels more like a grimace. “I had these w-weird dreams.”
A cocky grin. “Was I in them?”
Yes. Untangling my wings from a vine, then cupping me against his chest so he could feel my rapid, songbird heartbeat.
For obvious reasons, I will take that to my grave.
“Nope. Y-you wish, Akana.”
Kai steps even closer, his gaze roaming over my features before resting on my mouth. His chest rises and falls beneath his navy t-shirt. “Yeah, I definitely do.”
Oof. Now what?
I glance at the greenhouse door, but for once, there’s no sign of Jeremiah. We’re alone.
Damn. Okay.
I wet my lips, and Kai watches the pink flick of my tongue like it’s the most fascinating thing in the world. He doesn’t stop me, not as I place both palms on his chest, not as I push onto my toes, boots creaking, and not as our mouths come a breath apart.
“Eden. Baby.” Kai’s hands leave my shoulders and grip my waist instead, squeezing me through the thin fabric of my t-shirt. For years, I’ve been waiting for my womanly curves to arrive, but they seem to be lost in the mail—but Kai doesn’t mind. He inhales sharply, tugging me so my front presses against his chest.
Our lips brush.
My head swims.
A bird shrieks overhead, flapping loudly from one branch to another. I know how it feels. If I could take off in an overloaded flurry of wings, maybe I would.
But I’m a boring old human, so instead I clutch at Kai’s t-shirt and kiss him again—harder this time. He tilts his head down and kisses me back, patient and coaxing, never pushing, and all the while, his heart goes thump, thump, thump beneath my palm.
He’s so sturdy and warm.
Does Kai like this too?
Are his insides all giddy and sparkly? Do men get like that? Because I feel like I’m ready to float up to the canopy, but maybe this is a boring, newbie kiss. Maybe it’s dull. Panic twists in my chest, and I part my lips and slide our tongues together.
“Mm.” Kai’s low rumble of approval makes me shiver all over. This time, when he kisses me back, I sway back from the force of it, clinging to him for balance. He’s strong and hungry, devouring my mouth, and our boots scrape against the stone path as we pant together, clawing to get closer—
“Hey,” Jeremiah calls, the door swinging open. Kai and I leap apart, both flushed and wild-eyed, as my classmate shrugs past the plastic strips and turns for the lockers. He pauses when he sees us—both silent, both breathing hard—but Jeremiah doesn’t call us out on it. He slips between us, one eyebrow raised.
“What’s the plan?” Jeremiah’s bag clangs into an empty locker, and he peers back at us both over his shoulder. We’re both still frozen, our brains offline. A glove slips out of Jeremiah’s back pocket and lands with a soft smack.
“Propagation,” Kai says, a beat too late, while I crouch down and pick up the dropped glove, so pathetically grateful for something to do with my hands. My classmate grunts his thanks when I stand up and pass it to him, eyeing me curiously. “We’re taking cuttings today.”
If we can act normal for a few hours, anyway.
Seems unlikely.
Seven
Kai
By evening, Eden’s kiss is still wreaking havoc on my body and brain. It’s like the second her lips touched mine, a bunch of nerves frazzled under my skin, and my thoughts got snarled in an infinite loop.
Eden. Eden. Eden.
She’s all I can think about. The feel of her warm, toned waist beneath her t-shirt; the way she sighed into my mouth and melted against my chest.
That mint and tea tree scent of her hair.
