Page 7

"O kay, spill it."

I stare at Iris over the top of the book I’m reading. "Uh, hello to you too."

She drops on the couch across from the loveseat which I'm currently occupying and glares at me. "I can't deal with the suspense anymore. What happened in that room last night?"

I roll my eyes and set the book down on the coffee table. "You couldn't wait till Monday?"

"Nope. The suspense is killing me. So stop making me wait and tell me what happened."

I sit up straight and redo my sloppy ponytail. "Who let you in anyway? Mom's out buying groceries. I'm the only one home."

"Easy. The door's unlocked. You should've checked when your mom left."

I just shrug my shoulders. "I was busy reading a book."

She waves a dismissive hand. "Shut up about the book. Just tell me."

"So impatient." I laugh, then blow out a breath. "Fine. I kissed Denton. Happy?"

She gasps, her eyes widening. "You did it? You really did it?!"

I bite my lip to stifle a wide, goofy grin. "I really did."

"Oh, my God!" Iris laughs. "Okay, so how did it happen?"

"Because of you." I scowl at my best friend. "You egged me to kiss him, remember? So when I had the chance, I went for it."

"Was it good? What was his reaction?"

"It didn't last for more than a couple seconds. But obviously, he was shocked." My cheeks burn at remembering what followed after that.

Her eyes narrow. "Maise, why are you blushing right now?"

"Give me a break, Iris. I just had my first kiss last night." But I'm avoiding her gaze, knowing she can easily see through me.

"Then why aren't you looking at me?"

"Because prolonged eye contact is sooo awkward."

"No, that's not it." Iris goes quiet. And for a second, I assume she's dropped it. But nooo. "Oh, my God! He went back for seconds, didn't he? You had your first kiss and second kiss in one night!"

Of course, she figured it out. She knows me too well.

I cover my face with both hands and nod. "I did. I really did."

"Told you he'd be the best choice for your first kiss," she says in a smug voice.

I sigh. "Yeah, you did."

"Bestie, I'm so happy for you. You've wanted this for like, what, a week? And now you got it. We should celebrate."

I groan, covering my face once again.

"What are we celebrating?"

I remove my hands from my face to see Mom staring at us from behind the couch, with two grocery bags in her arms.

"Need help?" I offer.

She shakes her head and smiles. "It's okay, hon. I can manage. So what are you two planning to celebrate?"

"Maise had her first and second kisses last night," Iris answers before I can stop her.

"Iris!"

She winces. "Sorry. I couldn't help it. I'm just so happy for you."

"Ugh."

"Second kiss?" Mom narrows her dark brown eyes on me.

"It was the same boy," Iris quickly responds.

"And when do I get to meet this boy?"

I open my mouth to tell her that I'm not even dating Denton, but I'm not so sure she'll take it nicely. So I settle on a simple answer. "I don't know, Mom. Maybe never."

"Well, if you want to date this boy, then I want to meet him."

"Fine," I finally say.

Not that it's ever going to happen. I have no plans of dating Denton Chase. And I'm sure he's on the same page on that matter.

But why does the thought upset me?

This is all Iris's fault! I turn to glare at the culprit. See what you did?

"Sorry," she mouths sheepishly.

Again, ugh.

*******

I'm up in my room—finishing the book I'd been reading before Iris interrupted me—when my phone buzzes with a message.

"What now?" I say with a groan, dropping my book on the bed next to me and frowning at the ceiling.

Is Iris not satisfied with everything I told her? I didn't even leave anything out. She made sure of that. So why the heck is she texting me?

But it's not her.

Hey, it's me. Denton. I hope you don’t mind, but Jase gave me your number.

My heart skips a beat. He’s texting me now? And how did Jason…

I shake my head and type a quick response. It’s fine. But how did he get my number? I don’t remember giving it to him.

Denton: He got it from Iris. Turns out they're texting now.

“What?!” I gasp out loud, sitting up against the headboard. My fingers move furiously. No way!

Denton: Yep.

Me: She was here this afternoon and she didn't tell me.

That little sneak. Is that the reason why she kept on grilling me about Denton? So there was no way I’d ask about Jason? I never even had the slightest idea. At all.

Oh, I’m so going to call her out on it.

Denton: Uh-oh. Did I just get her in trouble?

A giggle bursts from my lips before I can stop it. Because apparently, Denton’s making me giggle now. One kiss and you’re acting silly.

But it wasn’t just a single kiss, was it? It was two kisses. Two good kisses.

I’m full-on smiling now. Oh, yeah. And I’ll point her to you when she asks who the snitch is.

Denton: Really, Perry? After the night we’ve just had? That’s cold.

I bite my thumb as I stare at the text. How should I respond to this? I can’t believe he brought it up so casually. Isn’t he feeling awkward about it? Because I am.

Honestly, I don’t even know what I’ll do when I see him at school on Monday. Whether I like it or not, last night changed everything between us. Denton was supposed to help me find the right guy out of my kiss list—not kiss me himself. But that’s exactly what happened, and now I’m dealing with the aftermath.

Looks like I’m the only one feeling conflicted about the kiss though. Because judging from the text message, Denton doesn’t even seem affected by it. Heck, he’s just probably going to downplay it when I see him.

And I should do the same.

But why does the mere thought upset me?