“‘Cause I’m the weird foster care girl in town. I don’t really fit in if you haven’t noticed.”
“I like that you’re different. I like that you’re not stuck up like most of the girls at our school. I likeyou, Lydia.”
I can’t help the smile on my face, and he smiles back at me like he knows how he’s making me feel.
“I just…don’t want people to have a reason to talk about you or make fun of you for dating me.”
Eli reaches across the table and takes both of my hands in his. “Well, now that you’re mygirlfriend, I won’t let anyone talk badly about you. And I don’t care what they have to say about me anyway.”
I can feel myself blushing. “You’re my boyfriend,” I say, scrunching my nose up playfully.
He scrunches his back. “Iam…and I like hearing you say it.”
The rest of dinner was perfect. Good conversation, good food, and a good guy…who’s now my boyfriend?
How crazy is that?
I have a boyfriend.
I want to scream with happiness on the inside. I want to shove it in everyone’s face who’s ever talked shit to me.
When we pull back up to my house, Eli parks on the street. He turns the car off and faces me, taking his seat belt off.
“I had fun with you tonight,” he says.
“Me too,” I say back quietly.
He brushes some hair behind my ear and moves his fingers along my jaw. “Can…I kiss you, Lydia?”
I don’t even have to think about it. It’s all I’ve wanted him to do since the night we met.
I nod, and he doesn’t hesitate to kiss me.
I thought I would be scared of this moment, but Eli makes me feel weirdly calm. I feel more confident around him for some reason. I don’t think I could have imagined a better way to have my first kiss.
It’s slow at first, like he’s still making sure it’s okay, and I instantly feel all the butterflies, electricity, and that spark people always talk about. It feels like that scene in Ratatouille where he’s trying the cheese and the strawberry, and starts seeing fireworks. When Eli’s lips touch mine, it feels like the sparks flying after he takes a bite of the cheese. And when he swipes his tongue across mine, it feels like even more sparks, like when he takes a bite of the strawberry. And then it all comes together in this perfect harmony, like when he takes a bite of both of them at the same time, fireworks shooting everywhere in his mind.
That’s what it feels like kissing Eli.
He moves his hand to the back of my head, tangling his fingers into my hair. It sends goosebumps down my back and all over my body. I understand why people constantly chase this feeling now. It’s addicting.
He’saddicting.
When he pulls back, I feel out of breath, like I just got off the most exhilarating ride, and he keeps his hand in my hair, just looking at me for a moment longer.
“You’re so beautiful.”
7
Lydia
“He asked you to be his girlfriend?!” Harper asks as I open my locker and shove my backpack in it before pulling out the textbook I need for my next class.
I close it, looking at her and Katie, who are both staring at me. Katie looks a little more confused than Harper, but they’re both smiling, waiting for my confirmation.
“Yes,” I whisper with a smile.
“OMG!” Harper practically shouts.
