She ignores both of us and walks out, slamming the door behind her.
“Look what you did!” Justin drops his body on me again.
We wrestle for a minute on the couch, then roll off the side, knocking into the coffee table. Now we’re on the ground, wedged in between the table and the couch, with no room to wrestle. He takes me in a headlock, and I let him feel like he’s winning because, in this particular situation, I’m in the wrong.
“For the record, I did avoid the kiss,” I grunt. “Until I couldn’t.”
“Until you didn’twantto avoid it.”
“That’s not true.” I grab his hands, unlocking them from around my neck, and push his body off me. The force slides the coffee table back—cheap Ikea furniture for the win—giving us more space to roll around and wrestle.
“I knew you had a crush on her.” Justin makes a fist, and just when I think he’s going to punch me in the face, he gives me a noogie, twisting his knuckles into my hair.
“Ow!” I swipe away his hand from my head and roll our bodies so now I’m on top. “If you knew I had a crush on her, then why did you let me keep taking her out.”
“Because I didn’t think Summer would ever go for you.” He squirms, trying to get out from under me, but I hold him there.
“Why wouldn’t she go for me?”
I sit on him, holding his arms down with my knees. Then, as if I’ve reverted back to my ten-year-old self, I start knocking on Justin’s forehead. He twists and tries to move his head, but he can’t escape the knocking.
“Say uncle!” I call, giving him the code word for how to make all the knocking stop.
“Uncle!” he yells, and I sit up, thinking the fight is over, but Justin knees me and flips me over, gaining the advantage. Now he’s the one sitting on me. “You always do this.”
“Do what?” I wiggle, trying to get out from under him.
“You always want what I have. Even when we were kids, you just can’t stand it when I have something better than you.”
“Don’t be stupid.” I push his face away, but he grabs my arm, pinning it under his knee.
“Take it back!” He moves his cheeks like he’s gathering spit.
“Take what back?”
“Take back that you have a crush on Summer, or I’ll spit on you.” He leans over my face, slowly releasing a trail of saliva from his mouth. The liquid precariously hangs in the air above me.
“I’m not taking it back. There are no take backs.” I turn my face away. “Don’t you dare spit on me!”
Just as I say the words, a drop of Justin’s saliva hits my cheekbone. There’s a pause as if we’re both waiting to see how the other will react. That’s when burst into laughter until he rolls off my body, landing on his back on the floor next to me.
I wipe my cheek with my sleeve. “I cannot believe you just spit on me.”
“And I can’t believe you played knuckles on my forehead.”
We laugh again, chests heaving up and down from our stupid wrestling match. After a minute, the laughter fades, and we’re left with our thoughts as we stare at the ceiling.
“I’m sorry I kissed Summer and liked it. Just so you know, it was the mistletoe.”
“Why do people feel like that tradition is ironclad? Like if you don’t kiss, the whole world will explode?”
“I don’t know.” I shake my head, letting a few more seconds of silence pass. “But the truth is, I wanted to kiss her.” I turn my head to him. “You’re right. I do have a crush on Summer.” It’s more than a crush, but I figure we’ll take baby steps before I reveal how much I really feel about her.
“Yeah, I know.” Justin pushes out a heavy sigh. “I’ve seen the way you look at her.”
If how I look at Summer portrays even half of what I feel, then I’m in trouble.
“So if you’re still unsure about her, and you think your relationship is headed nowhere, I’d love to have a chance to date her for real.”
