Page 16 (2/2)

I took two steps back and turned, standing at the midpoint between them Sam, tall and sliave no quarter Joe, with a face carved out of ry red flush in his cheeks, and clenched hands They stared each other down and I began to feel a strange, tingling sense of arousal The naked aggression that each showed triggered so , and skirting, and questioning that li completely different between men and woh stakes gah the stakes really were that day

Sa I’d done should have triggered this kind of bullshit With A placidity wasn’t just a skill I’d honed; it was a survival strategy at ho to mop up the water you spilled on the floor while in the shower, or hauls you out back for a thrashing because God told hiot to say "Sir," you learn to hold it all together and act as if nothing upsets you

Nothing It can’t, because giving that little splash of emotion to the world ainst you Joe was trying to provokeweak spots in people, I was the fucking king of ied situations Joe wasn’t my dad, and I could probably kick his ass if I had to, but ants to do that at a debate tourna event, you know?

"Why should I care?" Ross said, feigning aot into BU on early acceptance I don’t need a trophy" But his eyes said otherwise

"Then just do your best and have fun," Alowered at her "I’ll shred you if we face off, So on the voting topic?" Zing Amy had practically ripped his balls off and pinned theone 4-0 and won the entire tournaru and we heard the distant echo of his voice as he talked to hissure he had his car back by four o’clock

We both laughed, and the tension lifted Good In that hter, the aireverything about A else in the world was fake, and the only way to connect to a different level of the universe was to touch her

So I did She tipped her face up to me as I took two steps toward her and reached for her hand, the smooth, soft skin like a lifeline I didn’t realize how ainst round Solid land She was my anchor, my savior

My home

Her lips were the front door, and I crossed the threshold with a boldness I didn’t know I possessed

A around ainstAnd thenthe kiss as ardently, and my brain and body melted into a puddle of Amy He pulled his lips away and then came back, this time with more intensity This was the kind of kiss I’d read about in books, the kind of kiss I’d hoped for

"Hey, you two! Go to your assignments!"

We broke away, completely shocked, and I slid backwards and al ontome up We both turned in surprise and Saertips tothe kiss in It was Erin, ?" she said, in a hushed voice She pointed to the pairing sheet "Get to your classrooms before you’re disqualified" When she turned to hts "And you and I are going to talk about this later!" She looked at Sam, looked at me, and then skittered down the hall to her own event It was ain my ears I couldn’t look at Sam at first, so stunned by the kiss, until his warm, deep voice reached out

"Amy," he said It was a command, not a question

I could have held back if I had tried really hard I could have walked away at that moment I could have held up my hand and marched off and said ‘no,’ but I didn’t I turned and followed the demand in his voice The heat in his eyes burnedto find the resting tone, all of it triggered by one not-so-si to under him

He shook his head violently, brow furrowed "No, no," he said, his voice hoarse "Amy that’s not what I"

I held my hand up and touched him for the first tiertips on his lips So soft His clean shaven face, just rough enough for ainst my bare skin A rush of warmth pooled in my belly, and other places, places untouched but in need of exploration "It was a joke, Sam"

He s our fingers "Whatever happens today, A to happen today, Sahter twinkled in his eyes "You will?"

"Yeah, I’ll predict it"

"Go ahead"

"We’re both going to Nationals"