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I told myself that the other kids talking about me didn’t matter. It didn’t. In a few months, I’d graduate, and then I was out of here. I’d be on my way to college—c’mon Harvard, get me in!—I’d be living in a whole new city, having a whole new life, and who cared what the kids at Robertson High thought?
If I was lucky, the guys would be going to Harvard too, or MIT for Jake and Archie. They’d be close by, and if not—well, we’d find a way to stay in touch. It wasn’t like we didn’t text sixty times a day. It would be fine. Mom would do—well, whatever she was going to do, and I’d have my own life separate from having to worry about her. I shuttled her to the side, I hadn’t called her back, and she hadn’t texted or reached out again, and I kind of hoped it stayed that way.
I wasn’t ready to really talk to her.
Eyes closed, I drank in the sensation of the ride and only opened them when Ian slowed us down and then came to a stop. We were parked on one of the pseudo bluffs overlooking the lake. The whole area was dotted with them; little turn offs that offered some privacy from the road and ideal for picnicking or photos. Come spring, everyone and their brother would be out here for graduation pics.
Ugh. There was another thing I didn’t want to think about. Even though we stopped, I didn’t let go of him until he twisted a little, and then it was only to lean back so I could meet his gaze.
“Hi,” he murmured, and his husky tenor rolled right over me like a hug in motion. The sunglasses hid his deep blue eyes, but I didn’t need to see them to know the smile curving his lips definitely filled them. Ian seemed to smile with his whole being. It was one of the things I’d always adored about him.
“Hi,” I answered, rubbing my thumb idly against his side since I had only dropped my hands to his waist rather than let him go entirely.
“Would you agree we’re not at school anymore?” He quirked his brows high, and I laughed.
“Definitely not at school—” He twisted, one arm snaking around my waist, and then his mouth closed over mine and I forgot the rest of the sentence. The slow, even massage of his caress teased me. Firm, yet soft, and then he stroked his tongue along the seam of my lips and I opened to him.
Heat swept me from head to toe. Kissing Ian was like taking a deep dive into a perfectly crystal pool. The depths were so much more than I expected, and the sensations unraveling had me digging my fingers into him as he sucked on my tongue. Then just as swiftly as he deepened the kiss, he eased it down with light nipping kisses, drawing on my lower lip and then whispering them away before nuzzling the corner of my mouth.
Coils of tension looped around me in an ever-shrinking circumference until I plastered against his side, my thighs against his, and he lifted his head with a sigh that I echoed.
“I’ve been waiting to do that all day,” he told me, and I shuddered.
“Yeah?”
“Well, since the last time you let me kiss you really—but that seems like eons ago.”
It did. I licked my lips and lifted a hand to cup his cheek. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” He shut off the bike and the rumbling noise ceased abruptly, leaving us in a quiet punctuated only by a breeze off the lake and the hum of traffic on the loop beyond the trees.
“For saying no more PDAs at school,” I said. “It’s been a lot the last few days, and then I told everyone they couldn’t kiss me.”
“No,” he said, rubbing his hand in a slow circle against my back. “You don’t have to apologize for telling us what you need. Always tell me what’s going on, seriously. If we talked like this before—maybe we could have avoided some of our issues.”
I laughed, even if it wasn’t terrifically funny. “I used to think we were always honest with each other. We always talked.”
“I know,” he promised, head forward so his helmet rested against mine. They made a little thunk noise that pulled another giggle out of me. “Me, too. Then I found out we’re all a little hard-headed.” His grin widened, and I laughed again.
“Only a little?”
“Well, I think we’re learning.” The breeze helped to dispel some of the humid air and the heat. The rain might have washed out their game, but it had a nice cooling effect on the weekend. But the sticky air and warmer temps returned. We were probably still in for a few weeks more of overwarm weather.
“I hope so,” I admitted. “I don’t know that I want any more whack me in the back of the head lessons.” If nothing else, the past weekend had left me reeling with its incredible peaks and desperate valleys. “I just want—I want to write the perfect essay. I want to finish school with the right GPA, and if I have to, I’ll take the SAT again.”
“Frankie, you got a 1550, you don’t need to take it again. That’s a good score.”
“But it’s not the highest score, and I need all the help I can get.”
“Your essays are good, and you have notebooks of writing you can submit as a portfolio. You’ve been writing some of the best pieces since freshman year. You’ve got good grades, you’ve got life experience, they would be fools to turn you down.” The absolute confidence in his voice buoyed me.
“You’re really good for my ego,” I said.
“Good. You ready to head back to my place, or want to ride around the lake some more?”
Both were tempting. “I’m good with either,” I admitted. “But first…” I leaned forward and he met me halfway. This time, I initiated the kiss, nibbling against his lower lip before teasing my tongue against his. His mouth opened so generously, and it was like falling and being caught in the same breath.
My stomach clenched as the tingles radiated out from where our mouths connected, and I leaned into him. Ian flexed his hand against my side and let out a low groan, before lifting his head. “I think back to my place where I can kiss you in comfort.”
