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“Relax. You're talking to the king of kissing.”
I scoffed. “Somebody’s full of themselves.”
“Just ask Scarlett. She’ll tell you.” He winked into the camera as I shook my head. “Seriously though, let’s start simple with a rundown of whatnotto do.”
“Do we have to?” That was what someone unconcerned with their kissing skills would say, right? But the reality was, I broke out into a cold sweat at the thought of kissing Ella. No doubt I’d screw it up.
Luckily, Thorne ignored me and plowed on. “First, don’t go straight in with the tongue. In fact, don’t use a ton of tongue at all. Tongue is overrated. Girls like it better when you use tongue sparingly to enhance and deepen a kiss only. So when you do go all in, gently sweeping the tongue is all you need. This also prevents a kiss from being too wet or slobbery, which girls hate.”
“Okay . . .” Somehow, his advice was making me more nervous about it.
“Second. Your hands. Know what to do with your hands. Especially for the first few kisses, don’t roam into places you shouldn’t go. But also, don’t keep your hands to yourself. Chicks dig it when you rake a hand in their hair or hold the side of their face or cup their head. Lock hands with her. Something like that, and they’ll be even more invested.”
That made sense actually. But rather than admit that, I laughed and said, “Don’t cop a feel. Got it.”
“Stay relaxed. If you tense up, she’ll be able to feel it. Ease into it at first and go slowly, but don’t be afraid to increase the intensity and crank the heat. That’s a great time to bring the hands into play.” He wiggled his fingers. “Also, pulling away and taking a break is good. Like a little breath of air, make eye contact, then go back in.”
“Like swimming,” I said, more serious now.
“Exactly!” He checked his watch again and cursed under his breath. “And remember, if you’re super freaked out or nervous, you can always practice. There’s nothing wrong with that. It might help ease the nerves. Think of it as a dress rehearsal.”
I laughed, but inside my stomach clenched. “And how exactly am I supposed to do that? Break into the school health room and practice on the first aid dummy?”
Thorne raised the pointer and middle fingers of his right hand, together like a scout salute, and brought them in front of his lips. “Pretend these are her lips and go for it.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks because clearly, Thorne suspected just how inexperienced I actually was. No way would he tell any other dude to practice like that. “Seriously?”
“Absolutely. You wanna aim to have your top lip hit the middle of Ella’s lips and your bottom lip just under hers. Then move gently, tilting your head and keeping your mouth slightly parted.”
“Okay,” I mumbled, embarrassed, yet oddly grateful at the same time.
“Listen, I hate to do this, but I gotta bail. But you got this, Barry. Stay confident.” He pointed at me, and the screen went blank.
Leaning back in my bed, I stared at the poster of the Milky Way on my bedroom wall and contemplated the awkwardness of our conversation. Then, I lifted my fingers and stared at them for a long while, running through everything Thorne told me before I brought them to my lips. At the same time, my phone rang, and I glimpsed the name on the screen.
Ella.
Chapter 14
ELLA
Iglancedintherearview mirror and smoothed a thick layer of glossy pink over my lips before tucking the tube of Pucker-Petal back into my purse. Outside my window, the sky opened up above me, a clear blue. Birds chirped in the trees, and the distant sounds of traffic found its way to my ears, reminding me there was life outside my car. Life I was missing because Mia was taking forever.
Who spent their Friday evening in the library, anyway?
Regardless, I was stuck waiting until she finished with Ethan doing who-knew-what on a Friday night before I’d drive her home where they’d probably resume hanging out. Still, I couldn’t really complain. Even if Mom and Dad hadn’t been at dinner with their friends and Mia and I didn’t share a car, I would’ve offered to pick Mia up. We had only a handful of months left before I was gone, and then I had no idea how much I’d see her. The curriculum at Columbia was bound to be challenging, and with the drive from Virginia to where I’d be in New York being more than five hours, who knew how much I’d get to visit.
Besides, I had to somehow convince her to come with me to The Broken Record. Or trick her. Tricking her might be easier. It was the only way I could get her and Barry in the same room again, where I knew they’d hit it off. If Mia would just give him a chance, she’d see how irresistibly sweet he was. And smart. So smart. Not to mention cute in a totally unconventional way.
Grinning at the thought, I peeled my gaze away from the large white pillars and the grand marble steps of Lakeview Prep’s ridiculously extravagant library to the phone in my hands and scrolled through my contacts until I found Barry’s name. On a whim, I hit “call” and waited as it rang.
He answered out of breath after several rings. “Hello?”
The deep tenor of his voice shimmied up my spine, somehow sounding deeper through the phone. “Just calling to let you know that I won’t be at The Broken Record until eight. Apparently, my sister cares more about schoolwork and her best friend than she does my sanity. What are you up to? Gazing at the stars?” I said, only half joking, because the image that flickered in my head of Barry, laying in the grass, eyes focused on the sky, wasn’t an entirely unpleasant one.
His soft laughter rumbled over the line. “No. It needs to be darker than this.”
Duh. My cheeks heated, despite the fact he couldn’t see me. “Right. But you had to be doing something just now,” I said, curious.
