Free Shadowed Strength: Shadowed Series Book One by Wendi Wilson

him
pull back, but his hands stayed on her cheeks. She blinked her eyes open and
realized he had only pulled back a couple of inches. He was even more beautiful
this close up.
    “Did that answer
your question?”
    He was still
whispering. She gave a slight nod. He started to lean in again and the bell
signaling the end of lunch rang. Jeremy sighed quietly and rested his forehead
against hers with his eyes closed.
    “I’m sorry. I told
you I wasn’t going to push myself on you and here I am, doing just that.” He
pulled away again and dropped his hands.
    “Jeremy.”
    “Yeah?”
    “You like me.”
    “Yeah.”
    “You kissed me.”
    “Yeah.”
    “You liked kissing
me?”
    He smiled. “Yeah.”
    She smiled back.
“Me too. I mean, I liked it too.”
    His smile grew bigger and he started to lean again when suddenly there
was someone next to them clearing her throat. “Excuse me, Ms. Johnson. Mr.
Stevens.”
    They parted
quickly and Melanie felt like she jumped three feet into the air. Mrs. Fisher,
the librarian, was a rotund lady with salt and pepper hair and sharp blue eyes.
    “Hi Mrs. Fisher,”
she said shakily.
    “You two get to
class now. The late bell is going to ring in one minute.” With that, she turned
and shuffled away, not saying a word about what she witnessed.
    Melanie and Jeremy
both started laughing and he stood up. Melanie’s laughter died when he looked at
her earnestly and held out his hand. She slowly stretched her arm out and
placed her hand in his. He twined his fingers through hers, pulled her off the
love seat and close to his side, and reached down to grab both of their
backpacks.
    “See,” he said, swinging
her backpack over his right shoulder, “I am a gentleman.”
    Melanie, who was
still staring at their entwined fingers, looked up at his face and smiled.
“Yes, you are.”

Chapter 9
    “Okay, spill. Now.
Tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out. Not a single detail. Why aren’t
you talking yet?”
    Melanie rolled her
eyes at Tara and replied, “Maybe because I can’t get a word in edgewise?”
    “Don’t get smart
with me, young lady! Talk. Now.”
    Melanie grinned
and asked innocently, “What do you want to know?”
    They were sitting
in Tara’s car, which was parked in Melanie’s driveway. Melanie had been
refusing to answer Tara’s needling questions all the way home from school. Tara
growled and pushed at Melanie’s leg.
    “I swear I’m gonna
go crazy if you don’t tell me what happened between you and Jeremy, like, right
this instant. Seriously. Tell me now.”
    Melanie laughed
and gave in. “Okay, okay. I’ll tell you everything.”
    When she finished,
they both sat in stunned silence. Melanie still couldn’t believe all of it had
actually happened. What if she misinterpreted it? What if he was just being really friendly because he felt sorry for her?
    “Stop it. Just
stop it right now.”
    “Huh?” Melanie
looked back up at Tara in confusion.
    “I can see the
wheels turning in your head, Mel. You cannot explain this away to yourself as a
friendly gesture. Buddies do not kiss, not on the mouth anyway. Friends do not
say things like ‘I really like you’ and ‘I want to be with you.’ So just stop
trying to rationalize it. Just believe it and be happy. Jeremy likes you and
wants to be your boyfriend. Accept it.”
    “Wait. He never
said the word ‘boyfriend.’ I can’t just jump to conclusions and… Oh My God!”
    “What? What is
it?”
    “Look behind us.”
    Tara turned around
and a huge smile lit up her face. “Told you. Get out of my car. I am out of
here, but you better call me as soon as he leaves. As in, immediately after he
leaves.”
    “Ok sir, yes sir,”
Mel joked.
    She got out of the
car as Jeremy made it to the top of her driveway. Tara waved and backed out
after they stepped to the side, and sped off, gunning her engine.
    “Did you walk
here?” Melanie asked. It was at least three miles from her house to school.
    “I