Page 25 of Kissing is the Easy Part

We stroll around the empty campus holding hands. It’s different at night, almost unrecognizable. The front lawn, where Josie blasts hipster music through full-size headphones at lunch, is quiet now, an open stretch of grass under the moonlight. The parking lot, where Jake always screeches in at the last second in his Jeep, is nothing but an empty grid of painted lines. The library looms nearby, a maroon block by day, now swallowed by the dark, fading into deep brown with no lights on. The trees are shadowless.

We pass the swimming pool, and Flora stops. Her face lights up. “Let’s break in.”

I only hesitate for one second. That gleam in her eyes when she gets an idea—how do I say no to that? “Only if you promise you won’t push me into the water.”

“I promise.”

She leads me to the fence. I climb over first, the metal cold beneath my hands. Her fingers slide into mine as I pull her up, and as she steadies herself, her hand lingers long enough to trace the curve of my arm.

“Wow. Someone’s been working out.”

“Thank you for noticing.”

“Isn’t it nice? Like our own private pool party,” she says as we sit down near the water. A row of backstroke flags crosses the pool, red and white and flapping. The greenish lighting casts an eerie glow over everything, and the sharp scent of chlorine fills my lungs. This couldn’t be further from a pool party.

“It’s very nice,” I say, looking at her.

Flora wraps her arms around herself. “Tell me about your last relationship.”

“No small talk this time?”

“We’re past that.”

“Olivia. We met while volunteering for a middle-school robotics league. We were creating a Daniell cell when she said my eyes were the color of copper sulfate. They aren’t, but I went out with her anyway.”

Flora bursts into laughter. “Youarenerdy.”

“Hey, are you supposed to laugh when I share my love life?”

Olivia and I dated until she moved away. Our kisses were polite, like all the others before her. Fine but forgettable. Sparks fizzled out before they even started. I’d rather be playingGrand Theft Auto.

Not like with Flora. Not even close.

“No, sorry.” She laughs some more. “Clearly, you had a lot ofchemistry.”

“Your turn. Tell me about your last relationship.”

She tilts her head up. “Nope. It’s a conversation for another time.”

“That’s not fair.”

She traces her fingertips over my knuckles. “How about I tell you about my next relationship?”

My breath catches. When I asked her to the dance, was it because I wanted people to see us together? I fight the urge to bite my nails.

“This is probably uncool to ask,” I say. “Can we be exclusive?”

The moonlight shines down on the water, casting silver ripples across the surface. It’s silent apart from the faint hum of the pool filter. She takes her time, long enough to make me wonder if I read this wrong. “I thought we already were? I like you so much.”

I stare back at her, this beautiful, irresistible girl who makes my head spin like no one else ever has before. “I like you so much too.”

Her lips split into a grin. “Say that again.”

“I like you so much, too, Flora.”

“This is the best night of my life. Wait, let me try it out.” She gestures to me. “This is Sean Foster, and we’re exclusive.Hmmm. I love how that sounds.”

She smiles again, and I can’t figure out why she’s chosen me. We spend the rest of the night making out beneath the stars.