My Senior Year of Awesome (13 page)

For a second, I freeze, unsure how to react. Then, I place my arms on his chest, holding him at bay while trying not to recoil from the taste of stale tobacco. When he finally extracts his tongue from my mouth, his hands travel down to my waist. As he sways back and forth, I clutch the front of his T-shirt, fearing I may wind up flattened like a pancake underneath him.

“This was an experiment. I wanted to see what would happen if I found myself alone in the dark with my lab partner,” he explains, sounding way too logical for someone having trouble dealing with the effects of gravity.

“Oh,” I say, wishing I had one hand free to wipe his saliva from my lips.

“It wasn’t great, was it?” he asks with a smug grin.

“To be honest, it was kind of like kissing my brother. If I had a brother,” I admit.

“You’re funny. I like that in a girl.” He relaxes his grip on me and kicks open the closet door. “See ya, sis.” Taking the stairs two at a time, he disappears into the crowd, anxious to move on with his evening, I guess.

“What happened?” Jana asks in a low voice when I find her in the kitchen.

“He kissed me,” I say, touching my still-puffy lips.

“I knew it! Was it awesome?” Any semblance of volume control disappears from Jana’s voice.

“Surprisingly, it really wasn’t,” I say, still dazed. “There was a lot of slobber. Do you have any breath mints?”

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a tin of Altoids. “Always.”

As Jana continues chugging beer, I pop three mints in my mouth and wince at the harsh taste. It’s like scraping an ultra-fresh Brillo pad across your taste buds.

“Ooh Sadie, you know what, we can make this kissing Dom thing some type of achievement.”

“Like what? Kissing a hot guy? I hope that isn’t a once in a lifetime event.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t want to jinx ourselves.” She taps her finger on her chin, thinking. “How about kissing two boys in one night?”

“Great. Go kiss Ben and we’ll add it to our list.”

“What? Me kiss Ben? That doesn’t count.”

“Why? You want to kiss someone else?”

“No, I meant one of us kisses two guys in one night. At the same party.” Jana’s brows knit as she ponders the possibilities. “Or both of us kiss two guys in one night. At the same party. Hah. Like that would ever happen!”

My head starts to spin, not solely from the cloud of smoke in the room or the two sips of beer I drank before Dom dragged me away.

Jana glances at Ben, who’s standing with a group of guys from the track team. “I can’t really push him. We only started texting a few weeks ago.”

“At least you’ve had digital discussions,” I say. “You’re asking me to kiss a total stranger!”

“It’s a party. Everyone knows kissing at a party is meaningless. Just about any guy here would be glad to help us out, if we told him it was for a
thing
.”

“Everyone here just saw me go upstairs with Dom. I don’t want people to think my
thing
is acting like a slut.”

Jana shrugs and sloshes the last few drops of beer around in her can. “School’s over in a few months. No one cares about their reputations anymore. Just have fun.”

At that very minute, the back door smacks open and a tall form strolls into the kitchen. I strain my eyes, taking in a short crop of blond hair. My knees begin to cave as Andy Kosolowski slides into focus, with a new haircut, minus his eyeglasses. He’s wearing a tight shirt skimming over muscles I’d never imagined existed under his god-awful sweats. And his dark jeans are even more flattering than the corduroy pants that threw me for a loop in Market Fresh.

“Holy Geez-us,” I say.

Jana follows my gaze and does a drastic double take. “Who is that?” she asks. “Does Andy have a hot twin brother on break from military school?”

I shake my head and bump my fist against my chest to restart my heart. “No. That’s Andy.”

“Wowee. Did he hire a personal shopper?” Jana slaps my arm, breaking me out of my stupor. “You were right Sadie; he is like Clark Kent. Superman in the house!” She points to Andy, who’s thankfully engrossed in conversation with Sidh. I continue to stand there like an idiot, my mouth hanging open.

“Chica, you’re staring.” Jana leans over and whispers in my ear.

“Sorry. I just …” I’m at a total loss.

“Um, you may not want to hear this, Sadie, but Clarkie over there’s probably your best option if you want to try the double kissing achievement. He just walked in, so he missed round one of your
thing
. Just tell him how much you’ve wanted to be with him the last twelve years, and maybe the whole senior superlative mix-up was fate, blah, blah, blah. Maybe we can even steal someone’s beer and give it to him. You know, soften him up a little.”

Unfortunately for me, Jana’s beer-infused rationale makes complete sense. Other than the last ten minutes of my life, I have never attracted guys for casual, impulsive kisses. And, for whatever reason I suspect Andy will, in fact, indulge my request. Given the opportunity, of course. But is this something I really want to do?

“What exactly constitutes kissing?” I need to make sure I carry through with the minimum requirement for the proposed achievement. No more, no less. “Like if Andy and I happen to bump into each other and our lips touch …”

Jana shakes her head. “Both parties need to fully engage. And there’s a three-second rule.”

“What, like when you pick food up from the floor after you drop it?”

“God, no. Floor food is a five-second rule. Kissing is only three. Close your eyes, aim for Andy’s mouth and count one, one thousand, two, one thousand, three, one thousand. Then disembark and say adios, amigo.”

“So, I have to touch his lips for three full seconds?” My stomach jumps at the thought. “I went to detention, and now you want me to touch Andy’s lips for three seconds?”

“Well, it’s just that, I think you have the better shot at this one,” she stammers. “If you do this, I’ll work harder to do something spectacular, I promise.”

“Fine. You are so breaking a law in the very near future!” I grit my teeth and stomp off in Andy’s direction.

Even with his highly improved appearance, he looks uncomfortable, leaning back against the kitchen counter, hands firmly entrenched in his pockets. He seems lost, and I resist the urge to ask if he needs help finding a man in a uniform to call his mommy. Andy’s definitely not a regular at Dom’s parties.

“Hey, Sadie,” he says hesitantly when I approach in a stalkerly manner.

“Hey, Andy. What happened to your hair? And your glasses?”

“I, ah, got a haircut. And I’m trying out new contacts. My flight instructor recommended them for vision correction.”

“Cool. How about another driving lesson?”

“Are you drunk?” he asks, suspiciously.

“Stone cold,” I say, crossing my heart. “Jana and I are merely observing the festivities.”

“Okay. Let me just tell Sidh,” he says. “In case you hit a wall or something and I wind up with amnesia.”

I get the idea that he isn’t joking.

“Not gonna happen,” I promise. “Send Sidh in Jana’s direction. She’ll entertain him until we get back.” My best friend deserves payback for putting me through this.

Andy and Sidh exchange a few brief words, which, based on their body language appears to be some sort of a pep talk. Sidh waves to me and flashes a huge grin, wordlessly thanking me for taking Mr. Nervous Nelly off of his hands for a while.

When Andy returns, I cut and run through the kitchen door, for once leaving him struggling to keep up as I vanish into the dark February night. At the first intersection I stop, pretend to shiver and lean into him. His tall body stiffens for a second, registering my uncharacteristic sign of affection, and then he drapes a long arm around my shoulders.

“Thanks. It’s cold out here.” I smile up at him, injecting coyness into my expression. What I wouldn’t give for just one beer in my system. Ben’s donated can somehow disappeared when I left with Dom.

“You’re not really dressed for the weather,” he says, and his long fingers brush over one of the cutouts in my shirt, igniting a trail of heat along my bare skin. “What happened to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have holes in your clothes. Did you have an accident?”

I lock my jaw to stop my teeth from chattering and press into him for added warmth. “No accident. It’s a fashion statement.”

“What’s your statement? Are you conserving natural resources by wearing less material?”

“Exactly. I’m eco-friendly.” When I bat my eyelashes, his Adam’s apple bobs up and down.

“My car is this way,” he says, his voice cracking. We find his vehicle wedged into a tiny street spot. I leap past him into the driver’s seat.

“Why don’t you at least let me pull out?” Andy asks, and I hear another nervous hiccup in his voice.

“C’mon, buddy, give a girl a chance.” His shoulders drop and with a sigh, he relents. When he lowers himself in the passenger side, I turn to him.

“How do I start this thing?”

“You know, Sadie, it’s dark, and you’re not the best driver in broad daylight, so maybe …”

“What? You’re backing out of this?” I infuse anger into my voice.

Andy closes his eye and presses his fingertips into his temples. “I’ll still take you driving. Tomorrow, maybe?”

“Fine. Then you owe me something for making me walk outside in this bitter cold!” I am resoundingly irate. I’m not starring in the school musical for nothing, dammit.

“What do you want?” he asks, eyeing me warily.

“I want—this.” I suck in a huge breath and dive over the center console, smashing my lips against his. Of course, kissing him is even worse than kissing Dominic.

Because it’s a good kiss.

Better than good.

Once Andy catches up with the program and realizes what’s going on, he eases his arm around my waist and gently lifts me closer. The touch of his lips sends warmth zinging down to my toes and I forget about the cold. A small shudder runs through his body, and I can tell he’s shocked out of his mind, even more surprised than I was with Dominic. But then Andy really gets into it and, in a momentary lapse of sanity, so do I.

Keeping my mouth attached to his, I scoot into his lap. My heartbeat revs up and all I can think about is touching and kissing Andy. He’s hands down a better kisser than Dom. If there was a list of best kissers in the Sadie and Jana repertoire, Andrew Kosolowski would absolutely be rated number one.

When his hand slides around to the small of my back, I throw my arms around his neck, suction cupping myself to his chest, seeking more of his body heat because we never bothered to actually start the car and turn on the heater. The only sound between us is the rise and fall of our ragged breathing.

When a horn beeps at the far end of the street, we spring apart as if a bolt of lightning zapped the car.

“We should probably get back to the party,” I say, shifting my weight off of him and pressing my back against the dashboard.

“Okay,” he answers, robotically. His blue eyes glaze over.

“Are you all right?”

He blinks. “Okay,” he says again.

I place my hands on the sides of his face and direct his head downward, checking for over-dilation of his pupils. Wait, is that just for head injuries? What happens to people who’ve been kissed senseless?

“Andrew. Can you say something besides okay?”

“Not right now.”

“Funny. Come on, let’s go.” Using the toe of my boot, I pop open the passenger side door, and we topple out of the car. Andy lands in the wet grass, and I fall on top of him with a bone-jarring thud. He grunts, and I feel his chest cave in beneath me.

“Sorry. Are you hurt?” I mumble into his shoulder.

“Fine. Heh, heh.”

His lunatic Kermit the Frog laugh echoes in my ears, sending me into a full-fledged panic. I scramble to my feet, ankles turning and high heels wobbling. As soon as I’m balanced, I tear away from him, back toward Dom’s house.

I just kissed Andy Kosolowski. Not only that, I made a total fool of myself by jumping his bones. Like some desperate freshman girl who’s never been alone with a boy.

“Do you need help, miss?” A police officer rounds the corner and steps in front of me, the brass badge pinned to his uniform gleaming in the moonlight.

I glance around, searching for Andy, but he’s not close by. “No, sir. I’m walking home.”

“Young women should never travel alone at night. Even a town as safe as Harmony can be dangerous.” He leans in; I assume to sniff for illegal substances. I know my clothes smell like cigarette smoke, but at least no one had been drunk enough to spill beer on me. I hope Andy has the sense to hide.

“I’m walking her home, Sergeant Peters.”

No, he doesn’t. Super. We’re both getting arrested.

“Kosolowski, right?” the officer asks. Poor Andy. Everyone in town recognizes him.

Andy comes up behind me and takes my hand. “Sadie and I were babysitting for Mr. and Mrs. Ryan. They live on Magnolia Drive.” He gestures to the street behind us.

Sergeant Peters takes stock of Andy’s untucked shirt, now streaked with mud, and smirks. “Say, you kids didn’t happen to hear of any underage drinking going on tonight, did you? We got a tip call, and I promised to take a walk around the neighborhood.”

“No, sir,” I answer. “I didn’t hear about anything like that.” I twist my fingers through Andy’s, partly to keep up appearances, partly because I’m terrified, but mostly because I don’t want to let him go.

“And you’re going straight home now, correct?”

“Yes, sir,” Andy promises.

“Alrighty, then. Have a nice evening.” Sargent Peters tips his cap and continues down the block.

“You know him?” I whisper once we’ve turned the corner.

“His kids are patients of my father’s. And his daughter Isabel dances with my little sister. I drive the two of them to ballet class sometimes.”

Just for that, I consider kissing Andy again. “Thank God you are such an upstanding citizen,” I say, squeezing his hand. “I thought I’d be calling my mom to pick me up at the station.”

Hands linked, we walk back to Dom’s house, which by now is fully illuminated, like a three-story beacon on the edge of a dark sea. He might as well put up a sign welcoming the entire population of Harmony, PA to his drink fest. Oh, yeah, he did that too.