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And quiet.
He finally looks at me. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I really miss Vanessa. Hopefully, our act will make her realize how much she misses me, too. But only if you’re sure you want to do it.”
“All this publicity has gotten me so many more downloads already. I’m sure I’ll get lots more if we’re together. I’ll definitely win the coding competition.”
He smiles wryly. “You mean you’ll win second place.”
“Nope. You might be the king of this school, Colton, but I’m the queen of tech.”
He chuckles. “Okay. By the way, you can call me Colt.”
“Colt…so a young male horse? Just kidding. I like Colt.”
He smiles. “I like Willow.”
“Thanks.”
We’re quiet again.
I hold out my hand for a shake. “Hi, boyfriend.”
His eyebrows lift. “A handshake?”
I throw my hands up. “Give me a break! I’m new at this. So…do we hug?”
“Pretty sure that’s what boyfriends and girlfriends do.”
“Right.” I’m not much of a hugger—I only hug family and friends—but if the occasion calls for it…
We get to our feet and face each other. He doesn’t move. Neither do I.
“Um, now?” I ask.
He shrugs. “We don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable. But we’ll have to do it at some point. You know, if we want people to believe we’re actually together.”
“Yeah, true. Okay, let’s do it.”
I step closer to him. He steps closer to me. We both hesitate for exactly six seconds before we go for it. I think both of us overestimate the distance because my nose knocks into his shoulder and his chin bangs into the top of my head.
“Ow!” we both cry as we wrench away and rub our wounded areas.
“Sorry,” he says. “Are you okay?”
I burst out laughing. “What a disaster. I hope this isn’t a preview of what this fake relationship will be like because I might need to take out an insurance policy on you.”
His eyes get a little small as he chuckles, too. “Attempt number two?”
“Sure.”
This time, we don’t smash into each other. His arms slowly come around my waist and my arms wrap around his neck. He’s hesitant like before, making sure to keep a distance between us. The parts of his body that I can feel are warm and hard, and for a second, I get this feeling. Protected. Cared for. Like he would do anything to protect the people he cares about.
I shake my head. Weird.
As we pull away, I give him a crooked smile. “First hug was a success.” I nod toward the hallway. “How about we give the people out there a good show?”
