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I’d felt like a freak in the clothes I’d been wearing that night.

The too-small skirt and Clementine’s top that didn’t fit me right.

I couldn’t think of a single reason why Sebastian would find that appealing.

But as I watched him, smiling to himself like he was recalling a fond memory, I wasn’t sure why he would try to lie so convincingly.

“When somebody suggested kissing bingo, I knew I had to play,” he said. “I knew it was my chance.”

“Did you win?” I asked absent-mindedly. I was too lost in his words to keep up any better conversation, but it seemed like a good enough question. But when he turned to look at me, his face slack, I wondered if I’d asked the wrong thing.

“Nora,” he said softly, “you really think after that kiss I kept playing?”

“Of course you did,” I said, but my voice was clearly uncertain. I was swimming in uncharted territories here and I didn’t know how to react.

Sebastian leaned across the car, coming so close that I thought he was going to kiss me again, until I realized he was opening the glove compartment.

He only needed to dig through it for a moment before he found what he was looking for and pulled it out, holding it out to me.

It was a small piece of paper, maybe about a quarter of a printer page. I stared at it blankly, then at him.

“You… That kiss… All of it, Nora, it was…” He gulped and I watched his Adam’s apple bob.

I’d been thinking about this moment for a week now, of all the ways I thought Sebastian might react to me asking about the kiss.

But there hadn’t been a single daydream of mine that looked like this.

Not even the best version of my imagination had him thinking about the kiss as much as I did.

“It was perfect. How could I kiss anybody after that?”

He flipped the paper over and I realized it wasn’t blank, like I’d initially thought.

On the side that was now facing up, there was a 5x5 grid with prompts and KISSING BINGO along the top.

It looked just like the one he’d shown me at the party, except while that one had no writing on it, this one had one thing: aggressively circled in blue pen was the prompt WEARING DENIM.

I gaped at the paper as I realized what it meant.

That kiss was me. And if it was the only one that was circled…

he wasn’t kidding when he said he didn’t keep playing after it.

“I don’t understand,” I mumbled. I took the paper from him, running my thumb over the blue circle again and again.

“I couldn’t keep playing,” Sebastian said. His fingers brushed along my thigh, just below where my dress ended, and I shivered at the cool touch. “Not after you.”

“But…” My brain wasn’t following. All I’d been asking about was Tiffany. I hadn’t even expected him to remember the game, let alone still have his copy of the paper. “But what about Tiffany? You went back to her, even after you kissed me. You say it was perfect, but you still chose her.”

His fingers slid up, running along the fabric of my dress until they came to rest on my hip. Every touch sent shivers up my spine and made it harder to concentrate.

“I didn’t go back to her because it wasn’t good,” he whispered.

Was his face closer than it had been? I could feel his minty breath on my face now, and I was sure I hadn’t been able to before.

I was still staring at the paper but I finally dragged my gaze up, my eyes meeting his in an instant.

He was so close that our noses were almost touching.

My heart was pounding so hard in my chest that I was sure he could hear it.

Heck, he could probably feel it with how close he was to me right now.

Did he know he was the one doing it to me?

“I only went back to her, because I knew if I didn’t, I would go after you. ”

“And that would be bad?” My voice was barely audible.

“I told you, Nellie…” Hearing the nickname again, instead of Nora, had me leaning in closer. “You’re off-limits.” His fingers continued, going beneath the varsity jacket and along my side. “I’m not allowed to touch you.”

“But you did.” I ran my tongue along my bottom lip without thinking, and couldn’t help a small smile as his eyes followed the movement. “You gave me my first kiss.”

I felt his sigh more than heard it, the cold air brushing against my face. “I shouldn’t have.”

“But you did,” I repeated. Unspoken words hung between us: and I want you to do it again.

“Do you have any idea what you’re like? A siren’s call to me. I always know where you are, Nellie. I can always feel you. You’re all I want, you’re what I dream of day and night, and you’re…” His fingers curled, digging into my side. “You’re Dean’s little si ster.”

It was the first time he’d said those words in a way that I didn’t mind. It wasn’t, you’re Dean’s little sister, you’re just a kid or you’re Dean’s little sister, so you’re basically my sister too. I was Dean’s little sister: the girl he wanted but couldn’t have.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, “that I took your first kiss from you.”

I tried to shake my head, but all I did was softly bump my nose into his. Even that tiny accidental touch sent shivers through me.

“There’s nobody I would rather it be with.”

I didn’t care if this was forbidden. I didn’t care if we were doomed before we began. Even if I could, I would never take back the moment we’d shared.

“I’m sorry I took your first kiss,” he repeated, his voice softer now. “Would you mind if I take your second kiss too?”

I wasn’t even sure if I nodded before he was leaning in.

His lips touched mine carefully, like he didn’t want to startle me.

He pulled back just enough to look at me, but I leaned forward and kissed him again.

Nothing had changed in the last week, not really.

We still shouldn’t be doing this and I still had no idea what I was doing, but somehow neither of those facts mattered in the moment.

His hand pressed more firmly into me, almost pulling me into him, while the other tangled up in my hair.

I had the passing thought that Clementine would be annoyed the hairstyle she’d worked so hard on would be ruined, but it slipped away as fast as it appeared.

I was too swept up in Sebastian—his smell, his lips, his touch, him —to care about anything else .

I just let myself sink into the kiss, let myself breathe and accept this moment and this boy for what it was. We would deal with Dean later. We would deal with Tiffany and Thomas later. But right now, all I needed was him.

It seemed like hours passed with us sitting there, kissing and catching our breath, then kissing again. By the time we pulled away fully, I thought we should be able to circle off a few more boxes on the bingo card.

I thought we might have stayed there forever, if a car hadn’t gone racing by, flashing its high-beams at us and totally ruining the moment. I laughed a little as I blinked the stars out of my eyes and said, “Maybe we should find a better place to do this than the shoulder of the highway.”

Sebastian chuckled softly. “Probably not a bad idea.”

He kissed me softly one more time before sliding his way back over onto his seat.

I straightened up as well, pulling the varsity jacket on better since he’d practically shoved it off my shoulders.

He was just about to turn the engine on when he paused, squinting at something in front of us.

I followed his gaze and realized there was another car pulled over, much like we were a little ways up.

“That’s Lavender’s car,” Sebastian said, more to himself than me. I hadn’t seen Lavender around enough to recognize her car or the license plate, but I trusted that Sebastian probably did, so I followed him as he got out and started walking toward it to see if she needed help.

Which meant that I got a full view through the driver’s side window of what exactly was going on inside her car as we walked up: Lavender, lips locked with a boy.

And not just any boy—my brother.