Page 76 of Wish Upon A Star

Fuck.

“If I’m not feeling better in a day or two, call my parents.”

“I should call them now.”

“Then we won’t be alone when I feel better.”

“We’ll figure that out then.”

“I want to make love to you, Wes.”

“I know. Me too.” My whole being burns with emotional agony. Helplessness. Anger that this is happening to her.

“This isn’t…it.”Her eyes open to slits of green. “It’s not it. Not the end. Not yet.” She finds my hand. “I promise. I won’t go, Wes. Not until we make love, at least once.”

“Just…rest, okay? I’m not going anywhere.”

“I want to say it,” she murmurs. Again, this part doesn’t seem addressed to me, necessarily. “It’s true, and I want to say it. But I’m not going to. Not yet. But it’s true.”

Somehow, I know exactly what she’s refusing to say.

A moan escapes her lips, a ragged groan of pain.

“Do you believe in love, Westley?” Her eyes open, suddenly. Fix on mine.

I nod. “Yeah, I do.”

“How do you know when it’s love?”

I shake my head and shrug. “I don’t know, Jo. I’ve never been in love before.”

“You haven’t?”

“No.” I brush a thumb over her cheekbone. Her skin is on fire. “Not until you.”

A smile curves her lips. She doesn’t say anything else. An occasional whimper rises from her.

* * *

She’s the same,the next day. She refuses another pill, though. “Call them,” she whispers.

Her dad’s number rings twice, and he answers it. “Hello?”

“Hi, this is Wes.”

He hesitates. “Wes, hi.” A clearing of his throat. “If you’re calling instead of her…”

“She’s…it’s pretty bad. She felt pretty crappy a couple days ago, on the way here. This is…worse.”

“Has she taken a pill?”

“Yes.”

“Crap. That’s not good. She hates those things.”

“When it first hit, yesterday evening. Just the one, so far. She told me to call you.”

“Is she feverish?”