💋 THE LIST 💋
- Lip ring
- Harvey
- Nathan
"How was your date??" Jess asks excitedly as soon as group discussion starts.
It takes me a second to even realize what she's asking - Friday night feels like ages ago, especially since my weekend was consumed with thoughts of Nathan. I peek over at Harvey and find that he's looking down at his notebook, actively avoiding being part of this conversation.
"Oh, um, I guess you could say it didn't go well," I say with a sorry smile. She nods, urging me to continue. "It was super awkward... he called me that night and asked me to be his girlfriend..."
She grimaces. Harvey looks up.
"Yeah..." I continue. "I said no, of course. He also had his friends there while he was calling. It was so awkward. I could hear them in the background."
Jessica laughs. I'm surprised to find that Harvey is smirking too. I guess his mood has improved since Friday.
"You didn't tell them the best part!" Nicole leans in, speaking in a low voice so that no one outside of our table can hear us. "You have to tell them about it."
I groan. I really really didn't want to tell anyone else, but Harvey and Jess are both looking at me expectantly.
I sigh and lean in as well. "Okay, but this never leaves this table. I would feel so awful if this got out and people started making fun of him." Jess and Harvey nod eagerly. "Okay... when he tried to kiss me, he turned his head a full 90 degrees and said that kissing had to be done that way, otherwise your noses would bump into each other. He says it's like eating a taco." I can't help giggling, which sparks Nicole's giggles too. Harvey looks at me incredulously.
"So he... like, with his mouth open?" Harvey asks.
I nod. "Uh-huh, fully open. He pretty much licked my mouth from side to side."
"Oh. My. God!" Jessica exclaims before letting out a loud laugh. Nicole swats at her arm in an attempt to quiet her before we garner the attention of the neighbouring group tables.
"So he did that and then asked you to be his girlfriend?" Harvey grins at me. I nod, and he laughs. "And you said no. Poor guy."
I grin back at him. He's in such a good mood today. I almost ask him if everything was okay on Friday, but think better of it. I look over at Nicole to find that she's already looking at me. Her eyes shift from me to Harvey, and she raises an eyebrow at me. No one else notices, but I blush slightly at her silent suggestion. She doesn't know that he's on my list.
For once, we actually focus on our classwork for the rest of the period. Every time I sneak a glance at Harvey, he seems to be doing the same to me.
--
Maia is already waiting for us at our lockers after first period, as usual.
"Soo, did you text Nathan last night?" She asks.
Nicole gasps. "I can't believe I forgot to ask you about that! What happened?"
I bite my lip. "I did text him actually... and he called me... and we spent 3 hours on the phone." I know I'm blushing by the end of my sentence. Nicole and Maia are both gaping at me, their jaws practically on the floor.
"Three hours??" Maia exclaims, smiling from ear to ear. I smile back and nod.
"What did you even talk about for that long?" Nicole asks.
"Lots of things, family, school, music... I didn't realize it had been so long until I was getting really tired." They both stare at me incredulously, still smiling. "Okay, stop, you're making me blush!! Let's go to class." I link my arms with theirs and pull them down the hall.
Maia giggles. "Fine, but this is SO not the last time we're talking about this."
--
When lunch rolls around, I'm surprised to find Jason sitting at my usual lunch table. I give him a confused smile, and he jumps up, surprising me by hugging me.
"I was waiting for you!" He says when he pulls away.
"You were? Why?" I ask.
"I thought you looked familiar on Friday. When Nate told me you went to this school, it clicked. Anyway, you should sit with us today!" He points to the table in the corner of the cafeteria - the same one that I passed last week with Maia and Nicole.
"OH!" I exclaim. "Sure, that sounds nice. But we have to wait for my friends, okay?" I spot Maia and Nicole entering the cafeteria and wave them over.
"Um, Jason, this is Maia and Nicole." I feel awkward making introductions, but it seems it was unnecessary anyway.
"I've seen you before, with Will," Jason grins at Maia. He turns to Nicole, but she speaks first.
"I'm friends with Aaron, but I don't know if we've met."
Maia giggles. "So we all pretty much know each other already! Are we having lunch together or what?"
I look at Jason. "Lead the way!"
As we sit down, I notice that the table looks emptier than it did on Friday.
"Did you kick people out for us?" I smile jokingly.
"That would have been very courteous of me!" He laughs. "No, we're a pretty spread-out group. Plus, a lot of us do extra-curriculars that take up some lunch periods." He gestures around the cafeteria.
At the end of the table, three guys seem deeply engrossed in a conversation that involves one of their textbooks.
"Mark, Leon, and Jake - ignore them, they have a calculus exam in 5th period today. Oh, and here's Gray," Jason says as a fourth guy joins the group with a small, confused wave to the rest of the table. I recognize him as the yellow t-shirt boy from last week, except he's wearing his glasses today.
Just then, Jason is interrupted by the commotion of two boys sitting on either side of him. They greet each other, and he introduces them to us as Ian and Matthew.
Ian is lean and tall, with curly brown hair framing his small face, drawing attention to his wide, friendly smile. Matthew is blonde, short, and muscular, with a lazy smile and a slight drawl in his voice. Sitting across from Nicole, he leans across the table to shake her hand, which she accepts with a surprised smile. Maia nudges me and giggles at how flustered Nicole gets.
The table fills up, and I'm relieved to find that conversation flows easily. Everyone seems happy to welcome us into the fold, and lunch seems to fly by. As the bell rings, the four boys at the end of the table speed out of the cafeteria, textbook in tow. I watch them leave and smile when the boy Jason called Gray looks back at me and waves.
Jason, Ian, and Matthew gather their things and stand up to leave. Jason knocks once on the table. "Same time tomorrow?" he asks with a grin. We return his smile, and he takes it as a yes.
My phone dings with a text message as I get up to leave, and I find myself excited to think that it could be from Nate—but it's not.
*Unknown Number*
*hey it's ethan*
*we met at the park last week*
I try to remember his face and frown when I realize that he was the guy who made a show of checking me out. I let out a slow breath as I walk to my next class.
*Hey Ethan, how'd you get my number?*
*from Nate haha*
I roll my eyes and bite back my annoyance at Nate for passing around my number.
*I think you're cute, can i take you out sometime?*
Shit. I try to think of what Maia would do in this situation and text back my reply.
*I'll think about it*
YOU ARE READING
The Kiss List
Romance"Let's make a list of places we want to hook up in and people we want to hook up with," Jessica says with a playful glint in her eye. - Making a hook-up list was not the way Rachel imagined 10th grade would begin, nor did she think it would take ove...
