Free If I Forget You by Michelle D. Argyle

unlike anyone else here. You taste like Coke and vanilla. Everything about you is different,” he whispered. “Different, as in genuine … distinct. You’re so quiet and deliberate. I like that.” He brushed his lips across hers, but the touch didn’t melt into a kiss like she wanted it to.
    She watched as his mouth drifted away from her. “Nobody’s ever said anything like that to me before,” she said, breathless.
    “Sounds like I’m the first for telling you a lot of things. It’s because nobody has ever looked at you. I mean, people can look at you and never even see you, right?”
    That was how she’d felt her entire life, and now here she was in a place she thought she’d never be, kissing a guy who really saw her.
    “Are you saying all that because you want something from me,” she asked seriously, “or because you really are interested in me? You didn’t waste any time pulling me up here.”
    He backed away a fraction of an inch. “I really am interested,” he answered. “I mean, I want you, but …” He looked into her eyes, his expression softening “You’re more than a good time at a party. I want to know everything about you, if you’ll let me.”
    Avery had to catch her breath before speaking. “Tell me everything about you, too?”
    He smiled, kissed her, and then pulled away so he could look into her eyes. “I guess a proper introduction might help, right? I’m Kent. I don’t think I’ve caught your name in class.”
    Kent …
    She was in so much trouble.
     
    * * *
     
    It didn’t take long for Avery to figure out her error, especially when Jordan came up the stairs after she told Kent her name. He didn’t look her way, and she realized he was on his phone, listening intently. He entered a bedroom and closed the door.
    Kent. Kent. Kent. Where had she heard that name? He was entirely new to her. He had said “in class.” What class had she seen him in?
    Then she remembered Monday, the guy she’d sat next to. Elbows. Long eyelashes. That was Kent. From English. Here she was thinking he was Jordan. Now Jordan was in his bedroom talking to someone. He’d probably gone looking for her and she had disappeared. So who had she seen at the hot dog truck? Had that been Jordan? Or Kent? They both had blond hair and similar body structures. They both had sharp features. She might never know who that had been at the hot dog truck.
    “What’s the matter?” Kent asked. She was still wrapped in his arms. He smelled good and there was no mistaking she was attracted to him … but which parts of him were Jordan in her head? She had really screwed up this time.
    “You know,” she finally answered, “I’m not feeling … I don’t know …” Her eyes filled with tears and she looked away. “I don’t know what I want,” she muttered. More like who she wanted.
    Kent tried to look her in the eyes, but she moved her head farther away. She felt so stupid, like she always did when she made a mistake of this magnitude. She really liked Jordan, and now she really liked Kent. Jordan was her neighbor and Kent sat next to her in class. There was no avoiding either of them.
    “I’ve gone too far, haven’t I?” Kent asked, his arms loosening around her. He swore under his breath. Of course he thought this was his fault. He had no idea what it really was.
    “No, no, no,” she said quickly. “It’s not you, I promise. I like you a lot, and I still want to get to know you — ”
    “But you want to go slower, I understand.” He gave her a little squeeze. “How about we go out sometime soon? We can trade numbers and find a night that works.”
    She almost let out a loud sigh of relief. If she took this one step at a time, she might be able to figure it out. “That works,” she answered. “Thanks.”
    “So, do you want to, uh … stay here or go downstairs?”
    She let out her breath. “I think I’ll head home. The music is starting to give me a headache.” She felt like she was going