Page 77 of Kissing is the Easy Part

The whisper dishes are set up with two identical, concave plates positioned across the room from each other, designed to collect and reflect sound waves.

I explain the setup, and Flora urges me to head to the opposite side. “Can you hear me?” she asks from her end.

“Yeah, but it’s muffled.”

“This is a dream come true. To date you again and kiss you wherever I want.”

“Probably notwhereveryou want. There are kids around.”

She laughs, her voice swirling around me like a galaxy of lights. “Say something nice to me.”

With my heart thumping, I say the only thing that has circled my mind all morning. “I want to get back together.”

“What? I can’t hear you.”

“I want to get back together.”

“You want to what?”

“To get back . . .” My face flames. Eyes turn toward me, the room seeming to hum with awareness. I step sideways from the dish, and Flora smiles slyly at me across the room.

I hop off my platform and move toward her, but as soon as I take a step, she takes off running. By the time I catch up, she’s sprinted all the way to an empty stairway, and we crash into each other, both laughing, breathless. I corner her and trap her with my forearms. “I know you heard me.”

She laughs, and she’s heart-stoppingly beautiful. “I forgot what you were saying. Say it again.”

I lean down and whisper, my voice low, “Please be my girlfriend again.Please.”

“Yes.” She kisses me. “Yes. Yes. Yes . . .” Eachyesis interrupted by a peck landing along my chin and jawline. On the fourth one, I pull her closer and kiss her properly.

I don’t even care why we broke up anymore.

Chapter Twenty-seven

Flora

My relationship status is officially back to being Sean Foster’s girlfriend, and I want to shout it from the rooftops of the science museum.

Or maybe I’ll just tell Instagram.

We find a small booth to ourselves where they show documentaries on a screen. Sean presses the button, and a couple of Greenland huskies appear on the monitor. He fumbles with the controls, but there’s no sound. “Maybe the speaker’s broken.”

Who cares? I grab his face and kiss him savagely.

He lets me roam around his mouth for about four seconds before he pulls away. “I want to kiss you, too, but this so-called ‘private’ spot really isn’t as secluded as you think.”

I trace his jawline with my knuckles. “I can’t help it. You’re so incredibly cute.”

“We’ll find the next dark corner.” He wraps one arm around me, and I lean back on his chest.

The huskies run around the ice field in silence on-screen, their white fur quivering in the arctic wind, and the faint thrum of Sean’s heartbeat is beneath me. He draws circles on my shoulder, and we watch the animals, not talking. Being with him here is one of the most compelling moments of my life.

When the short film ends, I sigh. “This is so romantic.”

He pretends to grimace. “The science museum? You’re such a dork. I can’t be seen with you.”

“It’s not about the location. It’s because I never thought we’d get back together. You’re perfect, even though you only have three pairs of shoes and I’m tired of all of them.”

“You’re perfect, too, even though you’re filthy rich and you can’t stop posting on social media.”