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I turned back to the ocean, sing hard There wereup from a deep place in my stos I’d expected So ed since last semester

Opening er to well back up It was still there inside me, but noas… different

I stayed like that for severalin the salty spray of the ocean, tasting it on ue

Then I pressed my lips closed Took a deep inhale

And turned back to face the Princes

They atchinglike stars as I moved purposefully toward Elijah

He’d kissed ame, outside of a dare—and now I kissed hie teased my nostrils as I rose up on tiptoes and pressedkiss, not as desperate and needy as our kiss in the basement had been, not as slow and deep as the one in my dorm

But it felt purposeful, like I was giving so at the same time

When I pulled away, he blinked down atthe curve of my waist and the swell of my hips

I stepped back, turning toward Finn next He had a look on his face that would’veso fast—like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing and was torn between shock and awe

But when Ied there

Cole was next, and his jaw clenched as I approached hi to think they did when he was trying to avoid feeling too much

I didn’t let it stop ht kisses to both corners of his mouth, entranced by the full, perfect bow of his lips He was beautiful, the way an apex predator was beautiful A piece of living, natural art too wild to contain behind a glass case or a frame

His chest rose and fell beneath my palm, and I felt the moment when his restraint snapped, a half-second before his lips sealed over mine

I was breathing hard when I pulled back, and I glanced at the other three, who’d gathered around close in the darkness The bottle was gone from Mason’s hand, and I wondered if he’d thrown it in the ocean