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I closed my eyes instinctively and leaned up and into the kiss, chasing the wild feeling that had erupted in my stomach. Our noses brushed together, and Brooke made a tiny noise as our lips caught and moved.

At first, I was too shocked, too scared to do much about it, then I rose up on my toes to meet her lips fully, and my fingers curled around her arms just above her elbows. Shewas shaking a little, probably because of the escape, and I was too, for more than one reason.

My whole world narrowed down to the two of us, and as long as Brooke was kissing me, nothing else mattered.

So my first kiss was with a girl I really liked, who was high as a freaking kite, in the parking lot of a Walmart in Missouri.

Just what every girl dreams of.

‘Come on,’ I said, taking Brooke’s hand and tugging it to make her move. All I wanted was to stay right here and keep kissing her, but it wasn’t safe. ‘We have to get out of here.’

‘I can drive,’ she said.

‘No, you can’t.’ I laughed. ‘Absolutely not.’

‘It’s my car.’

I thought it was probably a good thing that Brooke was feeling so possessive over her damn car, rather than freaking out about everything that had happened.

‘You can drive tomorrow,’ I promised.

‘Fine,’ she said with a sigh.

She gave in way too easily, reminding me that she was still out of it.

When she was buckled into the passenger seat, I tipped it back so she could rest, and drove south out of the city.

I should have been tired, after sleeping so terribly the night before, but I was hyped up on adrenaline and Brooke’s kiss and I felt like I could drive straight through to Orlando that night without stopping. That wasn’t what Brooke needed, though – she needed a decent bed and somewheresafe to sleep. There was so much we had to talk about, but all that could wait until morning.

I drove for an hour and a half to get out of Illinois, getting off the highway as soon as I could and taking back roads instead. Even though it was the middle of the night, I could tell it was a beautiful area, the thick trees close to the road on either side providing a canopy of green.

When I spotted the signs for a hiking and hunting lodge, I followed them, and fifteen minutes later I pulled into a clearing in front of a low, wood-sided building with a wide front porch that held a handful of rocking chairs. It felt cooler out here than it had been in the city. Deep in my gut, I knew this was where we needed to be tonight. Way, way out of the city. In the type of place we hadn’t been before. A total change in our routine.

Brooke stirred when I killed the engine. ‘Where are we?’

‘The middle of nowhere. Do you want to stay here while I check in?’

She nodded.

‘Don’t go back to sleep,’ I told her.

‘Okay,’ she mumbled blearily.

There was a light on over the porch, and through a large window at the front of the building I could see a woman behind the counter wearing a plaid shirt and jeans. The room seemed to serve as a center of operations, with maps and guides stuck to the bare pine walls, and a few deep leather armchairs and coffee tables for making plans.

‘Hey,’ she said as I pushed open the door, and she set down her book. ‘Can I help?’

‘Hi. I was hoping you had a room for tonight.’

‘I’m sure we can find you something.’

Her accent was thick and welcoming, and I immediately felt like I’d made the right decision. We were safe out here.

She flicked through a large planner and made a note in one of the columns.

‘Twin or king?’

I hesitated for just a second. ‘King,’ I said, knowing we’d both sleep better if we were close tonight.