He shook his head once, then, after taking a few steps back, he ran forward, leaped up, and hooked his hands around my branch. He hung there for a moment, waiting for his body to stop swinging back and forth, before heaving himself up and throwing a leg over the solid oak limb.
When he was finally situated across from me, his mouth tugged into a wolflike grin. “Looks like I’ve found myself a little bird.”
I let out a little laugh. “Far from it. I definitely didn’t fly up here on my own.”
“Meaning…?”
“Oliver had to boost me up. And let me tell you…that was no easy feat, not to mention scary. I have no clue how I’m going to get down.”
“What made you decide it was a good idea to climb up here in the dark?” he asked.
“Well, I didn’t do a stellar job of selling Oliver on my running abilities, so he thought it best that I hide instead,” I told him. “Your friend is insanely competitive.”
“And you actually agreed to that?”
“Not exactly. Let’s just say we came to an arrangement.”
Alec looked at me in suspicion. “What kind of arrangement?”
“Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to tell,” I said with a grin. In all honesty, I didn’t want to explain the deal to Alec or, more specifically, the final part of it—that the boys had to stop teasing him about me. By asking that of Oliver, I’d practically admitted something was going on between us. Which, after that kiss, I couldn’t deny any longer. But Alec and I had yet to talk about what’d happened, and I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. “How about you help me down and we forget I ever climbed up here?”
“I will,” he said, “but not until they’re done chasing each other around.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time. “There are still ten minutes left in the game. Until then, I like you right where you are.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
Nodding, Alec inched himself forward on the branch. “I figure since you’re stuck up here…” He trailed off, a smile lighting up his lips as he lifted his shoulder in a partial shrug.
Then he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to mine. The kiss was gentle, his lips like a whisper, and whether that was for safety reasons or because he was trying to control himself, I couldn’t tell. One of his hands stayed on the branch for support, but the other slid into my hair.
I wanted to move closer, to drape my arms around his neck, but I kept my back pressed firmly against the tree trunk so I wouldn’t fall. It didn’t take long before I lost myself in the kiss—his fingers tangled in my curls, the pounding of my heart, a prickle of stubble as his chin brushed mine—and my hands unwittingly moved up and touched his jaw.
As my balance shifted, my stomach wobbled, and I pulled away to steady myself again. “This seems highly dangerous,” I said.
“All right, fine.” Alec made a point of grumbling, but there was a smirk hidden under his fake exasperation. “IsupposeI’ll help you down.”
***
When my feet were firmly planted on the ground, Alec and I decided to lie out in the middle of the clearing. The grass was dewy from the recent rain, and the clouds made it impossible to see the night sky, but I didn’t mind. He had an arm wrapped around me, the other folded behind his head, and I was using his shoulder as a pillow. Bugs buzzed in my ear and my yoga pants got damp, but it was nice relaxing together.
“That isn’t your sweatshirt, is it?” he asked, tugging on the material.
I shook my head. “I was cold, so JJ loaned his to me.” I paused, surprised by the words about to come out of my mouth. “I’ll admit, your friends aren’tthatbad.”
He laughed, his whole upper body shaking. “They might be obnoxious and immature, but they’re all heart and grow on you quickly.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Stella’s super nice too.” Since we were already on the subject, I took a deep breath and said, “You and she seem close.”
I felt Alec shift. “We are. In some ways, we’re very similar, so we’ve always understood each other.”
Whatever similarities he was talking about were lost on me. Stella seemed more like Oliver, outgoing and not afraid to speak her mind, but I suppose I didn’t know her well enough to understand.
“You liked her,” I guessed.
“When we first met?” He sighed. “Maybe a little. But it was Oliver and her from the start, and it never felt…like this.”
I couldn’t help it—I inhaled sharply. I wasn’t sure why I was so surprised to hear him acknowledge that he felt something between us. Maybe it was because ever since discovering who he was, the idea of us being together—or an usanything—was so unimaginable that I did my best to suppress the thought.
“Whatisthis?” I asked with bated breath.
