Page 53 of The 13th Daughter

"No, you do," I managed to get out. "Remember when he tried to teach us about the differences in the triangles and droned on and on with that ruler tapping the board every other second? That's you!"

Mr. Herndon, our old tenth grade geometry teacher, seemed to think that it was still 1959. He wore thick wire rimmed glasses and kept his hair slicked back with so much grease he could have fried enough French fries to feed a third world county. The kids made fun of him all the time.

Jeff growled and launched himself at me. I rolled and scooted backwards. His hand caught my ankle and dragged me back.Before I could do anything, fingers dug into my sides and he proceeded to tickle me until I cried, "Stop, stop! I take it back!"

He smirked.

"So wrong." I shoved him and sat up, still laughing. "Do you promise to stop waving that ruler around?"

"Nope," he grinned.

"Then how can you expect me to learn which physical properties each Element stands for?"

"By paying attention."

"I can't!"

He rolled his eyes and wiggled his fingers. "Do I have to use negative reinforcement?"

"NO! I promise I will try to stay focused and not see you as Mr. Herndon in his underwear."

"CJ!" He looked outraged. I laughed and suddenly found myself thinking how much I'd come to depend on him over the last week. He'd done so much for me. My Neighbor Boy really was a great friend.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"For threatening to tickle you into submission?"

"No, for everything. You've gone out of your way to help me when I know how hard it is for you. You're a good friend, Neighbor Boy."

"I aim to please," he winked and then his face grew serious. He pulled a small bag out of his coat pocket and handed it to me. "Happy birthday."

"My birthday's not till next week." I took the bag and shook it. I loved presents. "You didn't have to get me anything."

"I bought it before you started dating Ethan. I figured I'd give it to you anyway. Go ahead, open it."

The most gorgeous piece of jewelry I'd ever seen fell into my palm. It was the necklace straight out of the movie Titanic. Theone Rose wore when she was about to jump overboard that first night. An exact replica. I loved that necklace.

"It's zirconium," he said in a rush. "The ruby in the center is real, though. It reminded me of your hair, blazing in the sun. Plus, you went on and on about that necklace for months after the movie came out."

"Jeff...I..." I just didn't know what to say. "You..."

"Just say thank you." He looked down at his lap. I could see a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Thank you, but I can't keep this." Oh, but I wanted to...maybe...no, I couldn't.

"No, CJ, it's yours. I had it made for you."

Damn.

"Look, I know you don't think of me that way, but please, just take it."

"Jeff..."

He did something I didn't expect. He kissed me.

There was no fire as when Ethan kissed me, but I felt a warm heat seep into me and flow through me. The boy had learned to kiss. His lips were no longer wet or slobbery. They were hard and firm as they took mine in a gentle assault that left me breathless. Not good.

"What did you do that for?" I demanded, tearing my mouth from his.