Happenstance by Jamie McGuire Read Free Book Online Page B

cushions again, and I did the same.
    He looked down at his phone, still in his hand. “What’s your
number, anyway?”
    “I don’t have a cell phone.”
    “Landline?”
    “Nope.”
    Weston frowned, but kept his eyes on the television screen. “Do
you like hanging out with me?”
    I wasn’t sure if I’d heard him right. “Yes?”
    “Not because you don’t have anyone else to hang out with?”
    “I have other people to hang out with.”
    “Frankie?”
    “Yes.”
    “What if I wasn’t with Alder? Would you . . .?” He stared at the
TV.
    “Would I what?”
    “Let me kiss you?”
    “I don’t know. Maybe. I’m not sure you’d enjoy it.”
    He turned to me. “What makes you say that?”
    “I haven’t had a lot of practice. None, actually.” I could feel
my face heat up. I preferred to tell the truth, but it wasn’t always easy.
    “You’ve never kissed anyone before,” he said, as more of a
statement than a question.
    “So?”
    He stared at my lips and readjusted so he could look straight
ahead again. “I’m available whenever. If you want to practice.” He was
purposefully keeping his face smooth, but he wasn’t doing a very good job
because the corner of his mouth kept trying to curl up.
    “I don’t want to practice. I want a real first kiss. And not from
a guy who’s cheating on his girlfriend.”
    He frowned. “I told you I’d break up with her. You don’t want me
to.”
    “We’d never have a moment of peace. The whole school would freak
out, and I’m pretty sure your mom would, too.”
    “Is that why you don’t want me to break up with her? Or is it
because you just don’t want me?”
    I kept quiet, and the air in the room became thick and stuffy. It
was suddenly hard to breathe. Weston squirmed while he waited for my answer.
    “I’ve thought you were kind of amazing since kindergarten,” I
said.
    He peeked over at me and grinned. “Yeah?”
    “Yeah.”
    With his eyes back on the television, he spoke softly and nervously.
“Me, too. About you.”
    I nodded, and we watched the rest of the movie without another
word.
    When it was over, Weston put on his jacket, picked up my backpack,
and walked me upstairs. He snatched his keys from the kitchen counter. We made
our way outside into the chilly night air. Weston pulled off his jacket and
draped it over my shoulders. It was warm and smelled like him, and I pulled it
tighter around me. Weston helped me climb into the passenger seat. Before he
could round the front of the truck, his parents came outside to talk to him.
    Their conversation immediately looked tense, and Weston kept
stealing glances at me. He put his hands on his hips, shifted his weight
nervously, and shook his head a lot. He was beginning to look angry. I wished
he didn’t have automatic windows so I could roll mine down to hear what they
were saying.
    Finally, his parents turned to go inside, and Weston joined me in
the truck.
    “Sorry about that,” he said.
    “Don’t be.”
    “No, that’s just fucking rude to do that in front of you. They
could have waited.”
    “What did they say?”
    He shook his head and backed out of the drive. When he pulled onto
the street, I reached over and touched my fingertips to his. He intertwined his
fingers in mine.
    “What did they say, Weston?”
    He sighed. “They’re concerned about my new friend. They don’t
think it’s appropriate for me to be spending time alone with you because of
Alder.”
    “They’re right.”
    He squeezed my fingers. “I can’t give you up now. When we spend time
together, I feel this peace that I don’t get when you’re not around. It’s kind
of like when you’re a kid, and you put on fresh PJs after a bath and get into a
made bed with clean sheets straight out of the dryer. That’s what being with
you feels like.”
    My eyebrows lifted, and a surprised, appreciative smile swept
across my face. “I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
    “It shouldn’t be.