Free So Totally by Gwen Hayes Page B

board, I guess.
    I was so on board.
    I shifted my head to the right and he leaned farther into me. This time he took my top lip between his and my head between his hands. All my limbs turned to jelly and a host of new sensations took over—pointing south if you get my drift.
    I wrapped my arms around his neck and we deepened the kiss. He coaxed me to open to him, to let the doubts and worries drop off me like leaves in the autumn—revealing me, the real me, underneath all the things I used to shield myself.
    When hands began roaming—and I’m not telling you whose—we pulled back. A long moment passed as we relearned breathing solo. Coming back to Earth reminded me of the first few steps after an hour on a trampoline.
    “I should get you home,” Nate said in a croaky voice that sounded like nobody either of us had ever met.
    He helped me off the rock and put his arms around me, groaned once, and kissed me again as if he had no control in the matter. This time, I dug my hands in his shaggy hair and made sure I wasn’t the only one of us kissed so thoroughly that they felt exposed.
    When we separated that time, I took a little pleasure in the increased intensity shining in his eyes. I did that. Me. I may have been headed for a heartbreak, but I wasn’t traveling alone.

T HE next day, Heather and I were accosted by Kevin in the parking lot.
    “Am I dead, angels? Because this must be heaven.”
    Heather rolled her eyes. “You are a troll, you have always been a troll, and you will always be a troll.” To me, she said, “I’m going to leave you here to ruin your reputation alone. See you at lunch.”
    Kevin called out, “Heather, is your father a baker?” She ignored him, so he got louder, “I only ask because you have such nice buns.”
    I pulled his ear and dragged him across the lot. “What part of she’s my mother are you not understanding?”
    “Ow-ow. Sorry. I forgot. Please let go of my ear.”
    Behind us, I heard, “Can you maim my friends with one hand and drink your coffee with the other?”
    My heart doubled in size, just like the Grinch’s, as soon as I heard Nate’s voice and, well, as soon as I saw the coffee cup he was holding.
    “Hey, you.”
    He smooched my forehead and dosed me with caffeine. No wonder I was gaga for him.
    “So what did you two end up doing last night? Paul and I waited at the Falls until ten,” Kevin said, still rubbing his ear.
    Choking on my coffee, I dribbled onto my chin. Very nice. “You were there?” How much did they see?
    “Yeah, you guys never showed.”
    What the? “But—” Nate shook his head, so I cut myself off.
    He was right. I didn’t need to draw a bunch of attention to our tryst. It was enough that we knew the legend held—the waterfalls really were enchanted because we were there past ten and never saw Kevin and Paul, and they never saw us. Either that, or they played an elaborate charade to make me think so. Which would be dumb.
    And why was it that I could believe that I traveled in time to years before I was born, but scoffed at the idea of enchanted waterfalls?
    Two blondes passed by us, causing Kevin to hyperventilate and run after them to try out some of his corny lines. Leaving me alone to dawdle slowly to class with my very much older man who just happened to be a junior in high school.
    “Don’t you have any books?” Nate asked.
    “I pick them up today.”
    Awkward silence followed by, “How is your coffee?”
    “Good, thanks.”
    Awkward silence filled with sudden insecurity followed by, “Are you sorry…about last night?”
    “Are you?” Oh God. Please say no.
    “I asked you first.”
    “If I say yes, I suppose you’ll pour my coffee all over the pavement again.” Things were not going well. “You know, I really don’t need all this drama.”
    Nate raked his hands through his messy hair and I remembered exactly how silky the locks felt slipping through my fingertips. “Are you really sorry that I kissed you?” he