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chapter eleven

“Dating is an awful lot like jumping off a cliff. Okay, it’s worse than that. But the cool thing is, there’s nothing really to be afraid of once you jump — except for the lingering fear that you timed it wrong, or you may land on glass. Yeah that would suck — but really, anxiety leading up to the big jump is always the worst part and the landing? Never as violent as it usually seems — unless you’re Jason, then you can count on landing in the one shark with his mouth wide open. Poor bastard. Point is, what’s the point in living, if you aren’t willing to jump at least once in your life? Ask her out. Ask him out. Tell the barista she’s pretty. Just do it already and stop dicking around.”

~From Max Emory’s Guide to Dating and Other Important Life Lessons

Maddy

It all happened so fast.

One minute, Jason was being a jackass.

And the next minute, the sky was handing him his ass.

I gasped as he fell to the ground, and every single video I’d seen in science class came crashing down around me.

People could die from cardiac arrest.

They could go blind.

My mind surged forward with all the bad things that could happen, and before I knew it, I was running toward Jason while Max hovered over him and started doing chest compressions.

“Is he okay?” Please be okay; please be okay. So many words were left unsaid between us, things that needed to be dealt with. I would never forgive myself if something happened. “Jason!”

He wasn’t making any noises.

Max’s worried expression met mine. “Can you do CPR? I think he’d rather wake up to your lips than mine. Though, tough call.”

“Hurry up!” Colt yelled.

I dropped to my knees and, with shaking hands, gripped his head on either side, then pinched his nose, and breathed into his warm, sexy mouth. The feel of his stubble against my chin made my body react so violently I ended up gasping, sucking his air rather than giving.

“That’s not CPR,” Max said under his breath as he started chest compressions again.

Jason was going to die, and it would be all my fault because I was too distracted by his mouth and the hair on his face. Really?

I tried again, this time focusing on his mouth, on giving him the air he needed. Suddenly, he made a noise, and then his eyes opened.

They locked onto me like a laser beam. My mouth was inches from his before he closed his eyes again as if he’d passed out.

“Keep going!” Max yelled.

So, I leaned in again, only to have Jason wrap his arms around me. He deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue past my lower lip so fast I didn’t even have time to react, except to kiss him back.

And kiss him back hard.

Jason had always been a good kisser. Where most high school boys thought the more saliva and tongue the better, Jason kept his passion in check when needed and always made me cry out for more.

Ten years, and his kiss hadn’t gotten worse.

No, it had gotten better.

He was all smooth velvet, tasting me, making my body hot all over as his lips moved across mine, covering my mouth, claiming it.

And then he pulled back and smiled.

“You pulled a Sandlot, you sly fox.” Max grinned and then looked down at Jason’s injured foot. “Holy shit, we need to get you to a hospital.”

Jason shook his head. “I’m fine, I swear.”