Free Don't Fall by Rachel Schieffelbein

than a little bit, but the nerves dancing around in my head had nothing to do with my mom now. He was so close. His lips looked delicious.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “It’s all right.” The stars shone through the trees, and the crickets sung a lullaby to the flowers. “You were saying something about not being able to wait to see me?”
    He grinned, his dark eyes bright. My heart beat fast and loud, interrupting the night song. I took a small step forward, closing the gap between us. My chest and stomach were flat against him. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and I slid my hands up his back.
    He leaned down and hesitated, his breath warm and staggered. Just when I thought I would burst apart from wanting, he kissed me.
    I’d read about butterflies and fireworks, electricity, sparks and flames, your body warming up and getting chills all at the same time. I’d even felt my own body tingle while reading the words and longing to feel those things myself.
    But now, with Zander’s lips against mine, I realized they were all weak descriptions.

Chapter Thirteen
     
    Zander
     
    Having Anya in my arms was perfect. I would have been totally okay with standing there in the middle of the woods, her body pressed against mine, for the entire night. But eventually she pulled away, leaving my chest cold despite the warm summer air.
    “Come on,” she said, a mischievous smile on her face. She tugged on my arms, leading me along the trail, her long blond braids bouncing behind her. Normally those braids were wound around her head; seeing them down, I couldn’t believe how long they were.
    “Do you ever wear your hair down?” I asked, gently tugging one of her braids.
    “No, it would be all over the place.”
    “Then why do you keep it so long?”
    She shrugged, not turning around. “My mom likes it long. We’re almost there.”
    A few more steps and we were in a wide clearing with over-grown grass and little purple flowers. She sat down in the middle, tipping her head back to look at the moon. She was in her pajamas, yellow and white striped bottoms and a light blue sweater that hung open to reveal a tiny white tank top that made me slightly dizzy.
    I sat next to her and then leaned back onto the cool grass. She bent over me, her smile lighting up her whole face, then she slid down and rested her head on my chest, her body curled up next to mine. I put my hand on the small of her back and kissed the top of her head.
    “Do you come here often?”
    She laughed. “Yes, but not with boys. And never in the middle of the night.” I felt her chest rise and fall as she breathed. “It’s beautiful though, isn’t it?”
    “You’re beautiful.”
    We lay in silence again. Finally, I asked, “Will you talk to your mom? About us dating?”
    She sighed. “I tried but… it’s complicated.”
    “Okay?” I didn’t want to let it drop, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment, either.
    “My mom,” she hesitated, lifting her cheek off my chest and looking up at the sky. “My mom had another daughter before she adopted me. Lauren. She died when she was sixteen. I knew that. I mean, there are pictures of her all over our house. But Mom doesn’t talk about her. I knew she’d passed away, but I didn’t know how until I was fifteen. My birthday was a few months away, and I kept thinking I was just a few months younger than Lauren had been when she died. I guess curiosity got the best of me. I went to the library and Googled her. I expected to find an obituary or something, but a bunch of articles came up.” A cool breeze ran over us and she shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. “She’d been attacked on her way home from a girlfriend’s house. They found her body a week after she disappeared. They never found the killer.”
    “Wow.” All the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I pulled Anya closer. “That’s awful. I’m sorry,” I whispered, because I didn’t know what else to say.
    “My mom was married then.