Pedestrian |✓

| b o n u s |

|  b o n u s |
Pedestrian's bonus chapter:
PROM AND KISSES

I NEVER ADMITTED it to anyone, but it was Anna Jones's smile that caught me. Hook, line, and sinker. Nobody else knew. Heck, even Anna was oblivious to it. I heard from Patrick, who heard from Vincent, who heard from his Lily, who heard from Kayla, that Anna thought it was her singing talent that had me falling in love with her.

It's My Life was a great song, but it wasn't really for my girlfriend. Definitely not for her. Because even if she had the voice of an angel, it'd still be her toe-curling smile that would bring me to my knees. And I was easily reminded of that as I watched her descend down the stairs of their house, her smile at its brightest.

Anna's hair was curled and pinned on top of her head, a few tendrils were curled and left to sway to follow her graceful movement. Her eyes were brighter, cheeks pink and lips that looked so inviting were sparkling from her favorite lipgloss. Actually, it was slowly becoming my favorite as well. It didn't only make her a lot more beautiful, but it tasted of strawberries too. Not that I'd ever tell anyone about that.

I didn't realize that my breaths were coming in shallow pants of nerves and anticipation until she reached me, coming to stand at my side. She looked up at me through her darker-looking lashes, bumped her shoulder against mine, and grinned. "Like what you see?"

Letting my eyes take the liberty, I let them trace every curve of her face. From my favorite mole of hers—the faintest, smallest mole at the corner of her lips, her pretty brown eyes, to her sinful lips. Slowly, I let them travel lower to the bodice of her royal blue dress that ended just above her silver shoes. But if there was one thing that had been my undoing, it was her bare shoulders. Skin so creamy and smooth to look at, and soft to touch. It made me want to skip prom altogether and whisk her to a place where no one would disturb us.

Get ahold of yourself, Austin. Stop thinking like a dude.

Her brows began to furrow, and that was when I realized that I haven't given her a response yet. I quickly stammered out a reply. "Gorgeous. I mean, pretty. No—uh... I like what I see?"

Anna frowned. Obviously, I wanted to smack my face for always being unable to come up with the proper response. I opened my mouth to apologize, but was pushed to the side by her mother that grabbed her in a tight hug.

"Oh, honey!" She cooed, "You look gorgeous! My baby's all grown-up!"

I stepped to the side, silently watching the exchange. Anna's dad stood beside me. He clapped a hand over my shoulder. "Such a beauty, isn't she?"

Definitely.

"Dad," Anna groaned, hiding her face in her mom's shoulder. The way her cheeks flushed made me grin. "Stop it. You guys are embarrassing me!"

Her mom finally released her. She gave her an incredulous look, a look that was almost similar to her daughter's. "Honey, it's part of the job description as parents." She turned to me, "isn't that right, Austin?"

"Oh, uh,"—I saw Anna glare—"um." The agreement dried in my mouth faster than the earth's natural gas.

She gave her mom a victorious smirk that had my insides melting. Psh. I sounded like a total sap. "See, mom?" she said, "he only listens to me. You can't coerce him into embarrassing me further."