Page 87 (1/2)

“I know You were defending me”

“It was s for you, too Since that very first day Real feelings Feelings I don’t think I’ve had for anyone before Feelings that confuse me And also I …” He shuts his eyes “I was afraid of you”

That takes me aback “Afraid?”

“What you could do to ht now The potential you have of breaking my damned heart Shit” He scoffs at himself and shakes his head “I sound so stupid”

“No, you don’t,” I state, wide-eyed, my words like percussive instruuy has ever said to me You really think I could break your heart?”

“You can breakto say You could break it right now if you wanted” Vann glares at me “I’ve been so messed up about you, Toby, since that first day I … I want you You s for you Look at this lonely place Out here in Spruce, Texas, out here in theIn this town I have no business being in, you giveto that school A reason to make art A reason to be better than the street rat I used to be Toby, you are the beginning and the end of my every heartbeat”

I lose all sense of gravity and fall into his eyes For all those pretty words of his, I think it’s ether anew

Is this the boyfriend speech I aiting for? Is this when it happens? Is this the start of that thing I always dreamed about?

“I … I think I love you, Vann,” I hear myself say before I even realize I’ve said it

Those words should scare him off If he has any sense at all, he will realize that he’s fallen in too deep with a sweet, siuy like me with stars in his eyes Once those words are returned, if he dares to return them, he’ll be stuck with me in this precious little corner of the world forever

He reaches up and thoughtfully pulls a feet strands of my hair off my forehead His dreamy, dark eyes meet mine “Damn it, Toby,” he whispers

My heart is beating so fast, I wonder if it’sJurassic Park ripples in the water around us, like the kind you see in a glass of water when a great, big, prehistoric beast is approaching with its Earth-shaking footsteps

That’s what s are for Vann