AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m so confused, so overwhelmed by the feel of his lips tracing mine, his warm, liquor-scented breath fanning my face, the way his body feels pressed close up against mine.
“Conner,” I whimper. “We shouldn’t—“
“Just give me this, Kenny, please...” His eyes flicker with intensity as he dives back in, sweeping his tongue into my mouth.
It’s too much. His touch, his kiss. I’m a sixteen-year-old girl again, crushing on her best friend. I kiss Conner back, letting my tongue slide against his as I fist his t-shirt and pull him closer. I can’t remember the last time I was kissed like this.
Memories slam into me. Me and Conner. Me and Warren. Soft touches morph into painful ones, and my breath catches as I start to drown in darkness.
“Conner, stop.” I slam my hands into his chest, trying to breathe.
“Kennedy?” His expression falls. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I-I can’t do this...” Shoving him off me, I sit up, dragging in a shaky breath.
It was silly to think we could just go back to being Conner and Kennedy.
We can’t.
“Is this about him?”
“Don’t, okay?” I snap, unable to look at him, despite the way his eyes drill into the side of my head. “Just don’t.”
“So that’s it? Something happens between us and you run scared? That’s bullshit, and you know it, K.”
I finally lift my gaze to him. “This was a mistake.”
Hurt flashes over his face. “A mistake... nice, real fucking nice.” Conner runs a hand over his jaw, letting out a frustrated breath. “I get that he hurt you. I get that things are—"
“That’s just it, though. You don’t. You don’t have any idea what life has been like for me since you left. You moved here and found this new life, and I...” I swallow the words, because saying them only gives them power over me.
Conner nudges my shoulder gently with his. “Talk to me, I’m begging you, just—"
“We should go.” I stand. “It’s getting late, and Principal Vager will probably haul us into his office first thing in the morning. I need to sleep off this hangover.” A faint smile traces my lips, but he doesn’t return it.
“Yeah, whatever.” Conner clambers to his feet, brushing the sand off his jeans. “You know, K, I wasn’t the only one who flaked out on our friendship. I might have moved out of the Heights, but I wasn’t the one who walked away.”
He takes off toward the parking lot behind the pier.
“Wait,” I call after him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Conner doesn’t slow down though, and I have to break into a jog to catch him. “Con, I said wait—"
“You’re right,” he grits out. “We should get back.”
My hand finds his and I tug sharply. “Not until you tell me what you meant just now.”
“It doesn't matter.” His expression is a stone mask.
“Conner...”
“Kennedy...”
We stare at one another, unwilling to bend. But the longer he denies me, the more I want to push.
“You’re acting like I ditched you, when we both know that you walked away from me long before you left the Heights.”
Bitter laughter rumbles in his chest. “What was I supposed to do, K? You were his. You were with him. I didn’t want to get in the way of that. So yeah, I backed off. But I never walked away. I was always there.” He gives me a sad smile.
“Always there? You left the Heights, never to be heard from again.”
