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I huffed. “Not this again—”
“No, listen,” he cut in crossly, his brown eyes searching mine as he continued. “We’re not like them—we’llneverbe like them, Skye, and that’s okay. But hanging around them, wanting a taste of their lives, it’s like begging for a taste of poison.”
“How is it poison?” I questioned. “People like Leo are happy—”
“First of all, I’m not going to pit Leo in with them because he’s nothing like the people he’s forced around. Leo’s different. But the others—Skye, they’re fake. You don’t want a taste of their poison, you don’t want to be anything like them because they aren’t happy. They just spend all their time pretending to be. Competing with one another about who has the better life. It looks exciting and new on the outside, but that’s only because they’ve shielded everyone from looking in.” He shrugged, letting out a puff of air as he repeated, “They’re fake, Nugget.”
“So how are we any better?”
“We’re not any better, but people like us are transparent. We can scent each other, know what we’re going through. You knoweverythingabout me, Skye.” He shrugged again, bunching his lips to the side. “Can’t really say the same about Leo. He’s always kept a part of himself shut away, hasn’t he?”
I supposed Leo did. But that was because the rich valued privacy more, I thought. Or maybe I had everything all wrong. I didn’t know anymore, and I didn’t want to discuss our different opinions out here in the night.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Hunter pressed quietly.
I didn’t respond for several moments, my eyes dropping down to the ground. I reflected on all that was said this evening. I felt emotion behind my eyes when I whispered, “I didn’t know about your competition, Hunter.”
He didn’t answer, and this time my eyes narrowed when I looked back up at him. “You promised we’d tell each other everything, and you never said anything about kissing a girl first.”
Hunter shoved his hands in his pockets, still not answering, not even meeting my eye.
I crossed my arms, not budging as I waited for his response. “If I’d known, I’d have prepared myself, Hunt.”
He let out a slow breath. “I wasn’t gonna kiss a girl, Skye—”
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
“Because I spent the whole summer with you! When did I get the chance?” He pulled his hand out of his pocket and pointed down the road where we had just come from. “If anything, you’re just bothered because Leo got to kiss a girl—”
“Why would I be bothered by that?” I cut in, face reddening.
“Because you wanted him to kissyou, probably—”
“No, that’s not true!” I shook my head, lying. “It’s not, Hunter, and don’t look at me like that. It’s just…weird, okay? It’s weird that you guys have eyes for other girls—”
“We’rethirteen, Skye.”
“So?”
“So, we’re big now.”
“Yeah,big,and yet we’re still riding around on our bikes, Hunter, stealing apples from people’s backyards! I didn’t know girls were a thing, and I’d have liked a heads up or something because…”
“Because what?”
I looked down. “Because maybe I’d have kissed a boy, too, or something.”
Hunter’s jaw clenched as he fell silent while my pulse beat thunderously in my ears. We fell back into a walk, barely uttering a word; both of us heavy in thought. He took me to my window, and I waited for him to help me up like usual, but he stood there, staring down at me with furrowed brows.
“Leo got to kiss a girl,” he whispered, uncertain. “We can catch up to him, you know.”
“Catch up to him how?” I asked edgily. Was Hunter considering kissing a girl, too? Jealousy still sat heavy in my chest, twisting at the corners at the thought of Hunter also kissing someone. Such a stupid emotion I didn’t understand in its entirety. What was wrong with me?
He looked down at his feet. “We can kiss each other, see what all the fuss is about.”
Surprised, my gaze dropped to his lips. Lips I’d never really considered kissing before. I chewed my bottom lip, considering. “Wouldn’t Leo get pissed?”
I wasn’t sure why I asked that. Why would Leo get pissed? But I didn’t feel silly asking it because…there was a connection between the three of us—one I’d never truly understood and wouldn’t for many years to come. It was the kind of connection that demanded complete transparency.
