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CHAPTER 1
Evie is 14, Leo is 15
I' up at the dark night sky, watching my breath plume in the cold Novehtly around htly to my chest Suddenly, a small stone lands on the roof next to round I grin as I hear hiin the climb up the ramshackle trellis on the side of the house Onewon't hold hih He won't be here to cliht but I school e and crawls towardsas he sits up next to ap that I love so much between his front teeth I sway towards hi into each other's eyes before he sighs and sits up straight
"I don't think I' like he's holding back tears
I bump my shoulder on his, "That's a little dra to tease a smile out of him It works
But then the smile disappears and he scrubs a hand down his face He pauses for a minute and then, "No It's a fact"
I don't knohat to say How can I comfort him when I feel the exact same way?
He looks over at ain and we look into each other's eyes once more
"Why are you looking ata line I know he'll understand It was the first thing I ever said to him
His expression doesn't change for a minute and then a slow smile spreads over his face "Because I like your face," he says, grinning bigger now, showinghis own line perfectly He's skinny and scrappy and shaggy haired, and he's the most beautiful boy I've ever seen I don't ever want to stop looking at hi across the country, and there's nothing we can do We met in the first foster care home each of us were sent to and he's rown to love intensely, the boy who makes me want to stay awake because reality is finally better than my dreams But he's been adopted and I'm so happy for him to finally have a family because it's so rare for that to happen to teens But at the sa inside my chest
He's looking at me intensely now like he can read my mind Which of course, he can Maybe I'lass straight into the souls of those n your heart
He keeps looking at me silently for several seconds and then I can tell by his expression that he's made a decision Before I can wonder what that is, he leans towards me and brushes his lips softly across nite in the air around us and I shiver slightly He scoots closer to ht into my eyes, his lips still inches fro to kiss you now, Evie, and when I do, it's going to mean that you're mine I don't care how far away from each other we are You Are Mine I'll wait for you And I want you to wait for me Promise me you won't let anyone else touch you Promise me you'll save yourself for me"
The whole world has stopped and it's just us, sitting here on a roof in the ht "Yes," I whisper back, the word reverberating through my mind, yes, yes, yes, a million times, yes
He pauses, still staring into my eyes and I want to scream at him, "Kiss me already!" My body is heady with anticipation
And then his lips are on entle, his soft lips nibbling atinside hi the sea out an involuntary ue flirts with oing to i for a few minutes, and even our inexperience is delicious in its exploration We are learning and , we are like two dance partners,out a passionate choreography of lips and tongues
I lay back on the roof, holding hi We kiss for hours, days, weeks, a lifetime perhaps Our kiss is blissful oblivion It's too h
It's my first kiss, and I know it's his, too And it is perfection
Suddenly, I feel sos me back to the here and now I open , fluffy snowflakes are falling down around us We both laugh onder It is as if the angels arranged this show just for us,the ical
He rolls off of et inside and he needs to go back home The realization washes overdown my cheeks
He pulls athering the strength to say goodbye
He pulls back and the look of toroodbye, Evie Reet our promise I will come back for you I'll write to you with o and we'll stay in touch that way I want to be able to carry your letters with ain I'll send you my phone number too just in case, but I want you to write to me, okay? Then before we know it, you'll be 18 and I'll be able to coether"