Free His Kiss by Melanie Marks Page B

bears.
    Seeing the colorful bears gave me an idea. After all, it was a drizzly, moist day and a note would get sad and soggy. But gummy bears—well, I figured gummy bears might get … pretty.
    You never know.
    So, giggling a little—‘cause I’m a lunatic—I put a handful (or two) of gummy bears under his windshield wipers, thinking the outcome might be kind of cool and beautiful. You know, add a little color to Griffin’s life, like his kiss had added to mine.
    So, see, it was metaphoric. Kind of.
    But whoa. To be sitting here with Griffin when he turned on his windshield wipers—that was something I hadn’t expected.
    As he flipped them on I let out a little gasp but then quickly turned it into a cough and tried to look innocent even as a watery rainbow smeared across his windshield. Griffin tilted his head looking confused by the colors the wipers were producing. Each time they flipped a new rainbow spread across his windshield.
    Griffin grinned, cocking his eyebrows. “What the …? ”
    I bit my lips together to keep a laugh from bursting out. The look on his face—so bewildered—it had me ready to roll on the floor laughing hysterically, but I tried my hardest to keep a straight face and look bewildered too.
    ‘Cause, well, I didn’t want him to know it was me . I just didn’t. Didn’t want him to know I had been thinking about him, and that I had put candy on his car. Just because it was embarrassing. ‘Cause he already knew—knew I had a huge, stupid crush on him.
    For a moment I almost let myself believe I was in the clear and got away with my stalker-girl trick. My heart actually started to quiet slightly.
    Only …
    Just then I noticed my gummy bears bag was sticking out of my jacket pocket. D’oh! I quickly shoved it deep inside, trying to do it inconspicuously, hoping Griffin didn’t notice. Only, I’d been a spaz about it—‘cause yikes !— total evidence that I was the rainbow-producing prankster.
    It had my heart all in an uproar. I snuck a quick sideways glance at Griffin. An amused grin played on his lips, but that could have still just been because of the rainbow on his windshield, so I wasn’t sure if he had noticed the bag in my pocket or not. It was hard to tell with Griffin. He seemed to be a casual, easy-going kind of guy, yet it seemed nothing got past him. Nothing. And it didn’t help that he always had a sardonic smirk on his face—like he knew a funny secret or joke or something and really wanted to share it, only he knew it would be totally inappropriate.
    He always seemed like that. Like he had a wisecrack on the tip of his tongue. So, it was hard to read him.
    Anyway, I didn’t want him to talk about the gummy bears, no way. If he said a word about them my cover would be blown. I’d turn all red and start stammering or laughing hysterically. Something. Totally give myself away. So, I couldn’t give him a chance to talk.
    I flipped open my cell phone and immediately started talking on it, acting as though I’d just gotten a call.
    “I’m on my way,” I said into the dead phone, and then I added in a grumbling voice, “I missed the bus.”
    I went on talking more and more, feeling like a lunatic, chatting about the piano recital I’d been in last week; I wanted Griffin to know I was musical too, like him, but mostly I was anxious not to talk about gummy bears.
    When I hung up, I smiled up at Griffin, all breezy, like my heart wasn’t about to pounce out of my chest.
    “Thanks for the ride.” Surprisingly, my voice was calm and peppy, as though I accepted rides with bad-boys everyday and was just doing my usual. “Can you drop me off at my friend Jazz’s? She lives just up the block and to your right. She’s expecting me.”
    I don’t know why I added that last part. It wasn’t like it was a threat—like Jazz is expecting me and if I don’t show up within five minutes she’s going to send the police out looking for me.
    I mean, I wasn’t afraid Griffin