Page 27 of The Wright Man

"Then kiss me."

Her head whipped around so fast I thought she might give herself whiplash. "What?"

"You said you wanna know. So... kiss me."

She blinked. "But you're my best friend. That would be weird."

I shrugged. "It'll only be weird if we make it weird. Will you make it weird?"

She looked at me for a long second, then shook her head.

"Then it won't be weird."

We stood there for a beat. She straightened up, turned to face me. I stood too, heart hammering harder than it had during that race to her house.

She leaned in first. It was quick, innocent. A soft press of lips that still managed to rearrange the way my world felt. My fingers curled into fists at my sides to keep from reaching for her.

When we pulled apart, she looked a little stunned. Like maybe she had seen stars, too.

I smiled. My real one. The one only she ever really saw.

"There. You've officially been kissed by a boy."

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "You're stupid."

"You're welcome."

We walked home side by side, kicking pebbles as we went. The wind was picking up again, but it felt lighter somehow.

Out the corner of my eye, I caught her looking at me. Smiling.

"What?" I asked, suddenly self-conscious.

"Nothing." she said. But that smile never left her face.

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. My tongue forgot how to work. So I just kept walking.

And she kept smiling.

By the time we got to her house, her eyes still on me, my face was so hot I could feel it in my ears. I sat down on the porch steps and turned to face her just so I had somewhere to look.

She was still smiling that weird smile.

"C'mon, we said we wouldn't make it weird, Angel." I whined.

She threw her hands up. "I'm not making it weird!" She laughed, and my chest did something strange and fluttery. "It's just... I think I get what all the fuss is about."

My tongue forgot to work again. So I just looked at her, smiling... And then—

FLASH!

I blinked, shielding my eyes, then turned to see Mama, standing there with her phone, clearly staring at the picture she'd just snapped.

"Mama!" I whined, hiding my face in my hands.

"I couldn't help it! Y'all look so cute together." she gushed. "I'm printing it out as soon as I get home. This one is going on the wall."

I kept my face covered as Mama walked back from wherever she'd spawned from.