Free Without You: Book 1 of the Changing Hearts Series by Yesenia Vargas Page B

believe how well everything had gone with Lucas and her parents. Then she wondered what it would take for Lucas to kiss her on the lips.
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    The next morning, Ariana and Jimmy pulled into Mayra’s driveway to pick her up on their way to school. She realized she hadn’t even told her the news about Lucas. She had been busy texting Lucas until midnight last night. She was kind of tired but way too excited to even yawn.
    Mayra came out of her house and got into the front passenger seat. Jimmy was in the back.
    “Guess who has a boyfriend?” Jimmy said before Mayra had even shut her door.
    She stared at Ariana, and Ariana shook her head, smiling.
    “You and Lucas?”
    She nodded. “Yep. Last night. He came and talked to my parents and everything.”
    “Aw. Congratulations.” She leaned over and gave her a hug as best as she could. “You two deserve each other.”
    “Thanks, Mayra.”  
    “So your parents were cool with it and everything?”
    Ariana nodded and smiled.
    “Wow. They’ve really come a long way.”
    “Uh huh,” said Jimmy from the back.  
    They began the drive to school. Fifteen minutes later, they were in the parking lot, getting out of the car and walking towards the cafeteria for breakfast.  
    Ariana wondered where Lucas was. She didn’t normally see him in the morning, but maybe that would change now that they were going out.  
    They each grabbed a chicken biscuit and an orange juice and sat down. She looked at Jimmy and Mayra. They were sitting next to each other opposite from her, but she hadn’t heard anything lately from Mayra about them. She supposed they really were taking things slow.  
    Her phone buzzed, and she looked around for teachers before taking it out. It was Lucas.
    Good morning, princess.
    “What are you smiling about?” Jimmy asked. He was on his third chicken biscuit.  
    “Nothing.”
    “You better tell me about nothing later,” Mayra said with a wink.
    Ariana laughed and replied to Lucas’s text.  
    Good morning, handsome.
    Her day was already getting off to a great start.  
    As she and Mayra walked to their first period class, she saw Lucas waiting for her at her locker. He had a different jacket on today since she still had his other one at home. She’d slept in it, breathing in his scent the entire night and waking up super cozy.
    She walked up to Lucas, and they hugged.  
    “I missed you,” he said. She opened her locker and took out some things.  
    “Me too.” She looked up at him.
    “Where’s your first class?” Lucas watched as she put a notebook inside her bag.  
    “I have AP Lit with Harrison.”
    “That’s on my way. Can I walk you?” She shut her locker and took his hand.  
    “Let’s go.”
    They said bye to Mayra, and Jimmy had already gone off to his first class. They had a few minutes before classes started for the day, so they took their time walking to the English wing. She loved the feel of Lucas’s hand in hers. She squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back, harder.  
    Then they were in front of Mr. Harrison’s room. They turned to look at each other.  
    They stepped out of the way as a couple of girls walked into class. She noticed one of them glance at Lucas, but she ignored it.
    “See you in Spanish?” he asked, taking her hands in his.  
    She nodded. There was hardly anyone left in the hallway now. “The bell’s about to ring. You don’t want to be late.”
    He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and took off. So forehead and cheek but still not on the mouth. It had to a matter of time before they kissed for real.
    She walked into class and took her seat. She opened her notebook to a fresh piece of paper to do the warm up on the board. She tried to focus as some girls talked behind her. She didn’t really know them, but they were starting to become annoying with their laughter and whispering. She looked around for Mr. Harrison as the bell rang. He wasn’t in the room. One last person came running, realized the