Page 102 of Kiss Collector

“Dream with me, Joel,please. Dream big.” I move in, my legs pressing against his, clutching his shirt tighter. His hands go automatically to my waist, but he still won’t look at me. I pull back and slide the folded paper from my back pocket. My heartbeat gains momentum, because this is the last trick up my sleeve.

“Remember my so-called kiss list?” I ask. “The one up here?” I touch my head.

His eyes darken, and he looks down at the paper in my hand, frowning.

“I burned it,” I say. Now he looks at me, his eyes searching. “Metaphorically speaking. And then I made a new one—a wish list.”

I hand him the paper, and he eyes it nervously.

“Go ahead,” I say.

He opens it slowly, and I swear his hands are trembling. I can’t see the writing, but his entire body freezes as his eyes scour it. I imagine what he’s seeing. His name. Written athousand times in different ways. Curly letters, blocky letters. Tiny lowercases, huge caps.

“I’m here to collect,” I whisper.

I’ve never been as nervous as I am when his eyes roam from the paper to me. Slowly, so slowly, he folds the paper and tucks it into his back pocket. Then, without a word, he reaches for my neck, sliding his hand around it as his other splays out on my lower back. Instead of kissing me though, his forehead presses to mine and he shuts his eyes. My heart explodes into a glittery mess.

“Is it stupid that I’m scared to dream? That I feel stuck here forever?”

“No,” I whisper. “I was scared, too, until someone helped me. I can dream for both of us until you get your feet wet. It’s easier than you think. You just have to say yes and jump.”

He grins and opens his eyes. “You’ll hold my hand?”

“The whole time.”

His face moves down, and I gasp as his mouth lands on my neck again, just like at Quinton’s party. I grasp the back of his neck as that same shooting sense of need rages through me.

“Joel,” I breathe, pressing closer.

He answers by pulling the strap of my tank top down so he can run his hot lips over my shoulder. I’m grabbing on to him like I might fall if I let go. Then a moan slips from my throat that surprises me and makes him laugh low and sultry.

“You’re mean,” I say.

He lifts his head from my shoulder and gives me a stare hot enough to make steam form around us. Then he kisses me in a way that really makes me wish we were alone, somewhereprivate. When he pulls away, I fight to catch my breath, and he runs his tongue over his bottom lip.

“I gotta get back in there and make some money. My girlfriend wants us to be globe-trotters.”

Girlfriend. Holy gushy feelings. I’m a pile of gelatin with a goofy smile.

“That’s right,” I say, flicking a pretend pile of bills into the air, one by one. “Make it rain, baby.” He laughs and takes my hand, walking me back to the front of the building. We let go and grin at each other as he walks backward to the door and I step to the minivan. I laugh when he bumps the door with his back, then straightens up, turning his hat forward before going in.

I can’t wait to see where the future takes us.