Page 24 of Kiss Collector

“Yeah,” I admit. “Except for the weed taste. But histechnique was awesome. He’s very... confident.”

Kenzie sighs.

“I still can’t believe you kissed him,” Lin says. “So,ifI decide to do this, what are the rules?”

I inwardly cheer.

“No kissing each other’s exes,” Kenzie immediately says.

That should go without saying.

“No going after guys who have girlfriends,” Lin says. “We don’t need any psychos hunting us down, and we’re not homewreckers.”

“It has to be a real kiss. With tongue,” Monica clarifies, waggling her eyebrows.

“Does it count if we end up kissing the same guys?” Lin asks.

“Ew!” Kenzie giggles.

“What? It’s like sharing a drink.” Lin grins. “I don’t mean we’re kissing him at the same time or anything.”

“Sure,” I said. “But we have to remember that we’re usingthem. Not the other way around. So, no getting mad at each other. If y’all want sloppy seconds, go for it.”

The four of us laugh, giddy.

“Be forceful,” Monica says, punching the air with a strong arm.

“Be aggressive,” Kenzie adds with a growl.

Like the huge cheer dorks we are, we automatically break into a catchy cheer from middle school, clapping and chanting at the top of our lungs:

“Be aggressive. Be, be aggressive, say B-E A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E!”And then we laugh hysterically at our own absurdity.Yeah, we’d die if any living soul saw us do that.

“We take what we want!” I yell. “And we don’t feel guilty for saying no to whattheywant. We’re the bosses. And the biggest rule of all isno falling for any of the boys we kiss. This is our time to rule! No love. No emotion. Just kisses and fun. Got it?”

“Got it!” they respond together.

I turn up the radio as loud as it will go without blowing out the speakers and we car dance with hyper, reckless abandon. I’m taking back my life, one kiss at a time.

Chapter Eleven

Sunday

Three o’clock in the morning is not a good time to wake me.

OMG, Zae. Did you kiss some dude 2nite? Some asshole? Stay away from him, k? I’m goin crazy. I miss you.

Is he out of his mind? In what messed-up world does he think it’s okay to cheat on me, and then give me a hard time when I kiss a guy after we’ve broken up?

I turn on all caps.MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS AND STOP WAKING ME UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!!!Then I turn off the sound.

I’m too pissed to go back to sleep. Over and over I formulate more scathing comebacks that will put him in his lowly place, but I know my silence will hurt him more than anything. He’s a spoiled boy used to getting attention whenever he wants it. Especially from me.

When I pull my butt out of bed at ten the next morning, Mom is still at work. She works the four to ten a.m. shift Sunday mornings. Zeb is sitting up on the couch, hair askew, playing a video game. I make us both bowls of cereal and he pauses the game to eat with me. For some reason, his slurping bites don’t irritate me like they used to.

“You doin’ okay?” I ask when he’s finished. He looks so young in his Pokémon pajama bottoms with his bird chest and milk mustache.

“Yeah,” he says quietly, wiping his mouth on his bare forearm. He grinds his teeth as he looks down at his lap, a sure sign he’s upset. Not being one to talk, he loses himself in the game again. I make a mental note to do something fun with him this week.