His eyebrow ticked up.
“The boarding school I attended before I moved here,” I clarified. “Mom and Dad thought it would be good for us to spend more family time together after my dad got his new job here, so they pulled me out in favor of Belleview High.”
Reese looked just as confused as I’d been when they told me the same thing a year and a half ago. “And how’s that working out for you guys?”
I motioned to the empty room. “What do you think? It’s…everything I expected it to be.”
“Minus the murderous henchman of the Underworld.”
“Yeah, I hadn’t quite anticipated that.” I smiled at the memory of when the photograph had been taken.
“You miss it there?”
“I’d been going to Stewart’s since I was twelve, so up and leaving all my friends wasn’t easy,” I admitted.
“I like your shirt,” he laughed. “I like your whole room, actually.”
I was wearing a Goonies tee, and you could see a fandom of vintage movie posters plastered all across the wall. My best friends Eve and Dawn joined me on my bed, all of us donning knee-high Doctor Who socks with a massive bowl of popcorn in each of our hands as we sat down to watch a movie marathon.
“You look happy.”
“I was.” I grabbed the paperback, sliding the photo between two random pages before returning the book to the counter.
When I turned back to face Reese, I didn’t have a chance to react. He was suddenly standing directly in front of me, a gentle hand cradling the nape of my neck. His head lowered, and I instinctively tilted my own.
What was I doing?
What was he doing?
My heart began to pound furiously against my chest, and I was sure he would have been able to see it…if not for the fact that his magnetic eyes were focused on my face. Of all things, the back of my hand started to tingle with a strange electrical current pulsating up into my fingers.
Reese wasn’t going to kiss me. He didn’t like me. He—
He kissed me.
His lips brushed my cheek at first, tentative, as if to give me time to pull away. If I wanted. But I didn’t. I wanted to blame it on my body locking up, blame it on pure and utter shock freezing me into place, but that wasn’t it. Because the moment he brought his mouth to mine, I welcomed it. My back arched upward, eliminating the minuscule space still situated between us. His other hand cradled the small of my back, pressing our bodies flush together. A low sound came from deep in his throat, kicking my heart rate into overdrive. My fingers were suddenly raking through the back of his hair, combing the feathery locks. The soft caress of his lips deepened, and I finally pulled away.
“I don’t understand…”
He was still so close, enough that his nose continued to brush against mine. Reese smiled ever so slightly. “Just stop thinking so much.”
His hand slid from my neck, only to brush back the loose strand of hair falling into my eyes. And just like that, he left. His footsteps trailed down the hall, but I couldn’t see him. Now I couldn’t move.
Reese just kissed me.
Reese Blackburn.
The guy who infuriated me like no one else ever could just kissed me, and I’d let him.
Just stop thinking so much.
That kiss proved any chance of that impossible, because there was no way I couldn’t not think about what just happened. Amid all the craziness that had been dumped into my lap tonight, all my thoughts now were on the curious boy who—against all odds—had just made me melt in his arms.
Chapter 18
Teenagers
The mouthwatering aroma of popcorn wafted the air as I went up to the concessions for my second helping. Unlike the dazzling new theater at the mall, the Stargate Cineplex was fairly innate to the vintage movie-going experience. Instead of plush recliners, they still had those hard foldout seats in the theater. An old marquee sign lit up the front entrance, and best of all, there wasn’t reserved seating. I loved the spontaneity of being able to go to the theater on a whim. First come, first serve. Not like everywhere else where you have to plan a week in advance so you can assure decent seats.
My first week in town hadn’t been favorable. I’d spent most of my time being dragged to dinner parties and political fundraisers by my folks. Tonight was my first night of freedom, and after seeing the sign advertising a from-dusk-till-dawn screening of the entire Star Wars franchise, I knew exactly where I’d take refuge. Apparently, the force wasn’t particularly strong in Mystic Harbor, because I shared the entire theater with only one other person.
I stretched lazily as I looked over the concessions menu, feeling pins and needles spreading up my legs.