Perfectly Hopeless by Holly Hood Read Free Book Online

and looking in the mirror. “God. I thought you were calling me ugly.”
     
    Maven stopped laughing. He seemed serious. He seemed sad even. She rose to her feet.
     
    “ No. I wasn’t saying that at all.” She wiped the paint away with her fingers, rubbing it into her shorts. “See, it’s all gone.”
     
    Henri grabbed her hand. “We do have washcloths. Now look at your shorts.”
     
    Maven shook her head. “They come clean. It’s not a big deal.” She pushed her hair behind her ear nervously. Something Henri was familiar with. He could tell the minute she was judging herself, when she was feeling insecure
     
    He wanted to kiss her. To take her face in his hands and plant the best kiss he ever gave a girl in his life on her lips. He wasn’t sure if he had the courage or the confidence to go through with it. But he was going to try.
     
    He moved in, his hands succeeding at finding her face. He closed his eyes as soon as his lips met hers. The sweet smell of her hair entered his nose as he grew even more certain and let the moment grow a little more in intensity.
     
    Henri’s fingers slid past her jawbone and down her neck.
     
    Maven took a breath, pulling away long enough to understand that what was happening was true. She met up again with Henri’s lips. They were soft and gentle with just enough power to make her head spin and her heart stir. He didn’t have to try to hard because he knew what he was doing and how to do it.
     
    There they stood in the middle of Henri’s room sharing the most amazing kiss of each of their lives.
     
     
     
    They broke apart. Henri’s heart was pounding. His head was spinning and he could still taste her strawberry lip-gloss on his tongue. Every single part of his body was throbbing and on fire. He wanted more, but he wasn’t going to push it.
     
    “ I need to sit down.” Maven said first. She took a seat on his bed, dazed and confused. She never felt anything like it before. Not even when she kissed Jake. She concentrated on her knees, taking in huge breaths.
     
    Henri sat down next to her. “Are you alright?” He had never seen a person hyperventilate after kissing him. He wondered if it was a bad sign.
     
    “ Just feeling a little dizzy.” She touched her forehead, laughing it off.
     
    “ Sometimes when I feel that way I just lay down.” He threw his hands up. “I swear I’m not trying to get you in my bed.”
     
    Maven laughed. “I don’t think that at all.” She laid back, letting out a sigh as she stared up at the ceiling. “Much better.”
     
    Henri took a seat at the end of the bed. “Great. I thought I failed for a second.”
     
    Maven patted the spot next to her. “Failed?”
     
    “ I don’t know bad reaction to a horrible kiss.” He laid down beside her, arms behind his head.
     
    “ There was nothing horrible about it.” She drew in her bottom lip, thinking about it all over again. “It was perfect.”
     
     
     
    They fell asleep to the sound of crickets chirping below his window. Until the sun was nothing but a distant memory and his room was filled with darkness, with only the moonlight shining through the window.
     
    Maven rolled over, a bit confused, trying to make sense of where she was. It took a couple of seconds to realize she was in Henri’s bedroom. She sat up in the dark, her eyes barely adjusting to her surroundings.
     
    “ Henri.” She whispered. She patted the bed, trying to find him in the dark. Suddenly her hand touched something damp. She pulled back startled. And then grew curious and touched it again, rubbing her fingers together to make sense of it. She felt some more until she ran into Henri’s head. She used her other hand to touch his hair, finding her way to his shoulder to shake him.
     
    “ Henri.” She called out. “Henri, I can’t find the light. I’m worried it’s really late.”
     
    When he didn’t answer she grew concerned. She cautiously guided herself to the end of the bed and