“Eli, this is beautiful.” She looks up at me with watery eyes, but her smile is so big.
It makes my chest ache knowing that I’m the one to do that. To make her so happy that she may shed a tear.
“I thought I could add to it as time goes on. The first one is pretty obvious.” I reach out and touch the sunshine. “The second one is pretty obvious, too.” I move over and touch the cupcake charm. “And the third is one that I wanted you to have.”
She looks down at it and back to me. “A heart?”
“Yeah,” I say, and pat my hand on my chest. “Thought since it was yours you should get to look at it every day.”
Suddenly she puts her face in her hands and she’s sobbing. “Oh shit. What did I do?”
I don’t know what happened. One minute she was happy, and the next she’s crying hysterically. This was not the reaction I had anticipated.
Unsure of how to handle this, I open the dash to see if there’s a tissue inside. But it’s a brand-new car, so there’s nothing but the owner’s manual. Reaching down, I grab her purse and look to see if there’s anything sticking out of it I can use. I don’t want to go through her things, but I feel helpless.
When I see a picture of a half-naked man in her bag, I can’t help myself and pull it out. “What the fuck is this?” I think for a second it’s a photo, but then I see it’s a card, and some of my irritation goes away. But only a bit. She shouldn’t be looking at stuff like this. But Maggie is still sobbing so loud she doesn’t hear my question. Without thinking, I flip it open and read what it says. “Who are you planning on having sex with?”
The growl in my voice must be enough to get through her cries, because she lifts her head and looks at me. Her eyes are bloodshot, and tears streak down both of her cheeks. It makes my heart ache, and I want to pull her into my arms to comfort her. But I’m so mad at this card that I can’t think about it.
“It’s just a joke,” she says, reaching out for the card. But I hold it out of her reach. “Eli, give me that back.”
“Why would she say this? Are you planning on having sex? Was it that fucker with the curly hair?”
“What? Who? No, it’s just a dumb card. I don’t want to have sex.” She shakes her head and then tries again. “No, I want to have sex. I just…haven’t. Jesus, I haven’t even had a stupid kiss. It’s a joke!”
“You kissed someone the day I met you. You don’t have to lie to me, Maggie.”
“I’m not lying. I didn’t kiss Nick. He tried to kiss me. I’ve never had a real one.” She’s getting louder, and I can see her breathing pick up. She’s pissed. “It’s not like there’s a line of decent guys showing up to do it either. The one guy I was going to let do it was a jerk and you kicked his ass.”
“Like I should have,” I agree, getting mad, too. I don’t know why, but all of a sudden we’re both pissed off and shouting.
“And it’s not like the one guy I want to kiss me is actually going to do it, so I’ll get this stupid card as a joke and go back to not getting anything!”
“Who do you want to kiss you, Maggie?” I shout back, throwing the card on the floor of the Jeep.
“You, you big dumb idiot! It’s always been you!”
Without a second of hesitation, I wrap one hand around the back of her neck and pull her to me. My mouth connects with hers, and a wildfire of heat and passion ignites between us. My other hand cups her cheek, and it’s far more delicate than the kiss. My mouth is hungry for hers, and a gasp allows me to sweep my tongue inside. Her hands go to my shirt, and instead of pushing me away, she grips it in her fists and holds me as tightly to her as possible. It’s like she thinks if she lets go I’ll disappear. Her lips are so fucking soft, and she tastes like sweet, sugary icing. I breathe in her scent and run my hands along her neck and collarbone, feeling her soft, exposed skin. This is the kiss that makes everyone before it disappear. There is not a set of lips on this earth that could be more perfect, and I don’t know that I can stop.
This has been building for weeks, the knowledge that this is wrong but the inability to stop the urge. I’ve wanted her since before I should have, and though she’s seventeen, this is still wrong. No matter how fucking perfect it feels.
With all the power I have inside me, I break our connection and press my forehead to hers. “We have to stop.” I say, trying to breathe in much-needed air. But all I’m doing is taking in more of her scent and branding her in my lungs.