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"S houldn’t you be happy right now? All you wanted was a kiss before your seventeenth birthday, right? You said you didn’t even want a boyfriend.”

I glance up from the pasta I'm playing around with my fork and frown at Iris. "What makes you think I'm not happy?"

"Because you're being all mopey. You've barely even touched your food."

I shrug. "Maybe I'm just not hungry."

"Or maybe it's because of Denton."

I scowl at her. "What about him? He helped me get what I wanted, remember? I'm done with him."

Are you, really? Then why can't you stop staring at him across the cafeteria? Why are you irritated with the girl at his table who's busy flirting with him instead of eating her lunch?

Because she's wasting good lunch, that's why.

Yeah, that's it. I'm not affected by the flirting at all. So what if a girl is flirting with him? Good for him, right? Get it, Denton.

"You know, if you glare at them any harder, their table is going to catch fire."

With a scowl, I turn back to my best friend. "I wasn't glaring at anyone. I was just wondering when you were going to tell me about Jason."

Iris gives me an innocent look. "What about him?"

I roll my eyes. "Please. You're so totally busted. I know that the two of you are text buddies now. Or probably even more than that."

Realization washes over her features. “Denton told you, didn’t he? Oh, my God. You guys have been texting too!”

“So it’s true,” I say accusingly, totally ignoring the last part. “Why didn’t you tell me? You came over to my house yesterday.”

“Because the Denton thing was more important, duh. And I was planning to tell you anyway. Denton just beat me to it. Which we will definitely talk about in a minute.”

“So how did it happen?” Again, I ignore the Denton thing.

She shrugs a shoulder. “While you were locked in the guest room with your chosen toad at the party, I kind of hung out with Jason.” She chews on her bottom lip. "I know he's on your list, but I thought since he wasn't your first choice anyway, and there were a ton of guys on your list, well—"

"It's fine. He was like my fifth choice or something so it's cool. And that's totally beside the point." I waggle my eyebrows. “Define ‘hung out.’”

Iris rolls her eyes, then pops a couple fries into her mouth. “He just kept me company, that’s all. Then before we let you guys out, he asked for my number. I gave it to him, and now we’re texting. That's it.”

“Uh-huh.” I grab some fries from her plate. “You’re leaving something out.”

A wide grin spreads across her face before she lets out a squeal. “We’re going on a date on Friday.”

I let out a snort. “Knew it.”

“You know, you and Denton are totally welcome to join us for a double date.”

Yeah, that’s never going to happen.

“That’s a no for me. But you can ask the girl he’s flirting with. Maybe she’d love to come. There’s your double date.”

Iris laughs. “You’re totally jealous right now, aren’t you?”

“Please,” I scoff. “Why would I be jealous?”

She props her arm on the table and rests her chin on her palm. “I don’t know, Maise. You tell me.”

“I don’t need to tell you anything. He can flirt with any girl he wants. I don’t give a crap.”

“Girl, I don’t know who you’re trying to convince—if it’s me or you. But one thing’s for sure, you’re not doing a good job.”

I scowl at Iris, but I can’t bring myself to argue with that. Because even to my own ears, the words sounded unconvincing.

*******

My eyes are glued to my phone, reading Denton's text message over and over again.

I still have your kiss list. Do you want it back?

I still haven't responded. I don't even know what to say. Should I get it from him? Or just tell him to simply throw it away?

I'm done with the list anyway. Not that I even managed to use it in the first place. But it still served its purpose. I still got a kiss out of it.

"What are you staring at?" Iris demands, pulling me from my thoughts, reminding me that we're in the girls' bathroom for a quick touch-up before going home. In fact, she's currently reapplying her lip gloss.

Before I change my mind, I shoot a quick text back to Denton, then shove my phone inside my bag. "I have to do something before we go. Can you give me fifteen minutes?"

She's my ride home so she'll have to wait for me.

"Okay, but hurry."

"Promise." I give my reflection a quick glance, making sure my hair is still neatly tucked in my ponytail. Good thing I already glossed my lips before I got the text.

And don't I look pretty in my red floral romper?

Yeah, I'm not going to think about why I'm checking myself out right before I meet him.

Iris arches an eyebrow at me through the mirror. "You're meeting Denton, aren't you?"

Two fellow junior girls turn in our direction at the mention of his name, so I shoot my best friend a warning glare. But I don't bother denying it.

She smirks. "I knew it."

"Whatever. Just wait for me," I say, leaving the girls' bathroom without waiting for her response.

Denton told me to meet him outside the swim team's locker room so I head in that direction.

I shouldn't be nervous. It's not like I'm going to do something worth being nervous about. Yet my heart is pounding a little faster than usual. And I feel my hands getting clammy.

Maybe I'm feeling this way because—save for those texts—I haven't really talked to him yet. It's not that I was avoiding him or something. I just didn't know how to approach him. And it's not like he's been making an effort to look for me either. This is the first time I've heard from him all day.

Maybe because you stopped responding to his texts last night.

Wait. Was that why he was flirting with that girl at lunch?

I have no time to ponder that. I've already reached the swim team's locker room.

And sure enough, Denton's outside waiting for me.

My heart is thumping even faster now. It doesn't help that his eyes are determinedly fixed on me as I close the distance between us.

"Hey," I say awkwardly.

His mouth tilts at the corner. "Hey yourself."

"So, you're not in your swim trunks yet."

He's still wearing his school clothes—a black turtleneck shirt and blue jeans. And is it just me or does he look incredibly good right now?

He smirks. "Why Perry? Is that your way of saying you want to see me in them?"

I feel a blush warm my cheeks. "W-What? Of course not. That's not what I—" I cut myself off and shake my head. "You know what? Never mind. You can just throw it away." I spin on my heels to leave.

But Denton quickly grabs my arm, stopping me. "Wait. Just wait."

Slowly, I turn to face him.

He drops his hold on me and backs up a step. "Sorry. I was just messing with you."

Well, what else is new?

I purse my lips and cross my arms over my chest, saying nothing.

Exhaling a breath, he runs a hand through his golden blond hair. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

I just nod.

"Why did you kiss me?"

"W-Well, why did you?" I shoot back, my heart thundering in my chest once again. "I mean, I know I kissed you first. But why'd you have to go and kiss me too?"

"Because I wanted to."

My eyes go round at that. "Oh."

"Your turn," he says around a nervous chuckle. "Why did you do it?"

The blush is back on my cheeks. "The same reason you did."

A smile slowly creeps up his face. "So we wanted to kiss each other."

I can't help the identical smile that appears on my face. "Apparently."

For a moment, we just stand there, grinning at each other.

Denton clears his throat. "So, uh, your kiss list." He fishes the now-wrinkled yellow paper from his pocket and hands it over to me.

I take it. But instead of putting it inside my bag, I stare at the written names there. I made a kiss list, yet I never got around to kissing any of them. The one I ended up kissing was the boy who was never even there.

Iris's words ring in my head once again. "Or maybe he wants to get that kiss for himself."

I laughed at her when she said that. But as it turned out, she was right. Denton did want to kiss me. He literally just said so himself.

So what are you going to do with that information?

I lift my eyes to meet his gaze. "Can I ask you something?" I ask in a quiet, hesitant voice.

"Sure."

"You said you kissed me because you wanted to. But why? Why did you want to kiss me?" I ask nervously. "And be honest. No joking around."

"I don't know." He lifts a shoulder in a shrug. "At that moment, I just felt like it was the right thing to do. So I did." He scratches the back of his head and gives me a sheepish grin. "And okay—maybe because the kiss you gave me was too short, and it wasn't enough. I wanted more."

I stare at him, my heart thudding incessantly.

You wanted honesty, right? Now, you got it. You can walk away now and go back to Iris.

But I can't bring my feet to move. Not when I feel like I haven't got everything I need. Not when Denton is looking at me with a hopeful expression on his face.

Swallowing hard, I soldier on. "Do you still feel the same? I mean, do you still, um, want to kiss me?"

The sheepish grin comes back as he takes a step closer. "Only if you want me to."

I do. I really do.

I try to stifle a smile but fail. "I won't mind."

We share another goofy grin.

"Wait," I say. "That girl flirting with you at lunch—"

He chuckles, cutting me off. "Alice wasn't flirting with me. She was flirting with Con."

My eyes widen. I had it all wrong? "Oh."

"Yeah. But glad to know you were paying attention."

I bite my lip. "Only a little."

The smug smirk on his lips tells me he doesn't believe me. "So what about your kiss list?"

I stare at the paper still in my hand. "What about it?"

"What are you going to do with it? Not kiss any of the guys in it, I hope."

I dart my gaze between him and the said list that started it all. Suddenly, I know exactly what I want to do with it. With a small laugh, I tear it into small pieces, letting it fall on the ground.

I'm going to pick up the trash, of course. I just had to make a point.

Denton's mouth curves into a wide grin, the satisfaction in his eyes clear. "Was that really necessary?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I can make another one if you piss me off."

I don't mean that, of course. There's only one boy I want to kiss right now, and he's standing in front of me.

"Then I'll make sure to never give you a reason to be pissed." Then his lips are on mine for the third time.

And this time, my foot ends up popping.

The End

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