Page 27 of The Fire Between High & Lo (Elements 2)

“It’s Kellan’s,” I explained. “He drove out to drop it off when I realized Ass-Crack wasn’t going to make it.”

“You’re swimming in it,” Alyssa joked. “But you still look handsome. I’ve never seen you dressed up before. Did you like the recital? It wasn’t my best performance.”

“It was perfect.”

“Thanks, Lo. I think we should do something fun tonight. Don’t you think? I think we should, oh I don’t know…do something wild!” She was talking and talking and talking, something she was very good at. As she walked, she spun in circles, smiling and talking, talking and smiling.

But I wasn’t completely listening to her, because my mind was somewhere else.

I wanted to keep telling Alyssa how amazing she was at the piano recital, how she was better than everyone else who performed. How she made me feel alive just from how her fingers played the keys. How she made my eyes never falter from her the whole time. How when she hugged me, I wanted to never let her go. How I sometimes thought about her when I was doing random things like brushing my teeth, or combing my hair, or searching for clean socks. I wanted to tell her everything I was thinking because all my thoughts were her.

I wanted to tell her how I felt about her. I wanted to tell her how I was falling for her. I wanted to tell her how I loved her wild hair, and loved her mouth that was always chattering about something or another.

I wanted to…

“Logan,” she whispered, frozen still on the sidewalk. My hands somehow landed against her lower back and I guided her closer to me. My breaths were falling from my lips as they hovered inches away from her mouth. Her hot exhales were mixing deep with my heavy inhales as both of our bodies shook in each other’s hold. “What are you doing?”

What was I doing? Why were our lips so close? Why were our bodies pressed against each other? Why cou

ld I not break my stare? Why was I falling in love with my best friend?

“Truth or lie?” I asked.

“Lie,” she whispered.

“I’m fixing the flower in your hair,” I said, combing her curls behind her ear. “Now ask me again.”

“What are you doing?” she asked as I moved closer, feeling her words brush against my lips.

“Truth or lie?”

“Truth.”

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” I told her. “Not even just now, I mean all the time. Morning, afternoon, night, you’re on my mind. I can’t stop thinking about kissing you, either. I can’t stop thinking about kissing you slow. It has to be slow, though. Because the slower it goes, the longer it will last. And I want it to last.”

“That’s the truth?” she softly spoke, staring at my lips as she hiccupped once.

“That’s the truth. But if you don’t want me to kiss you, I won’t. If you want me to lie, I’ll lie.”

Her eyes locked with mine, and her hands fell against my chest. My heartbeats hammered against her fingertips as she inched closer to me. She bit her bottom lip and a tiny smile found its way to her. “You’re my best friend,” she whispered, tugging on the bottom of her polka dot dress. “You’re the first person I think of when I wake up. You’re the one that I miss when you’re not lying in bed with me. You’re the only thing that ever felt right to me, Lo. And if I were honest, I’d say that I wanted you to kiss me. Not just once, but a lot.”

Our bodies wrapped together, and I felt her nerves racing through her as she kept hiccupping.

“Nervous?” I asked.

“Nervous,” she replied.

It was awkward, but at the same time felt exactly how I’d always hoped it would. Like we were meant to be.

I shrugged.

She shrugged.

I laughed.

She laughed.

I parted my lips.