He nodded and took my small hand captive in his. “At least you shake my hand now. A few days ago I was convinced I’d have to show you how like John Smith did to Pocahontas.”
“Funny.”
“Aren’t I?” He chuckled and pulled my hand so that we were almost chest to chest.
“I’m sweaty.”
“Yup.”
“And I — I smell.” Wow, way to scare him off.
Wes leaned in and sniffed the side of my head.
“Are you sniffing my skin?”
He shrugged. “You said you smelled. Just trying to prove you wrong.”
“So I don’t smell?”
“No…” He still hadn’t moved his face. My breath quickened when I felt his intake of breath across my neck. “You smell, but it’s a sweaty smell. I happen to like sweat.”
“Charmer.” My voice sounded airy and foreign.
And then a wet tongue touched just below my ear as his lips grazed the side of my face. “Absolutely.”
Before I could slap him or push him away or roll my eyes, a ringing sounded. He stepped back and pulled out a sleek new iPhone. “What?”
I waited awkwardly while the smile fell from his face.
“No, its fine. Not a problem. Yeah, I’ll… I’ll be there.” He put the phone back in his pocket and zipped it up, then like a switch he was happy again.
“You okay?” I crossed my arms.
“Fine, why?” He started walking back up the path toward the school.
“Phone call, sad face. You know, tension in your voice. That sort of thing.”
“Oh. That.” Wes didn’t meet my gaze as we made our way through the last part of the trail and back onto school property. “No big deal, just drama with my dad, you know how parents can be. Sometimes they just annoy the hell out of you because they can.”
I froze.
“Kiersten?” Wes touched my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
I opened my mouth but all that came out was a gasp, and then I started running all over again.
Because the last time I’d talked to both my parents we’d gotten into a fight, an epic fight, about me wanting to go to my first party as a sophomore in high school.
“Kiersten!” Wes called after me, but I kept running focusing on the slap of my shoes against the cement. Left, right, left, right. I needed to get away.
I ran all the way up the huge concrete stairway that led to the dorms until finally I collapsed onto the ground scraping my knee in the process.
“Crap!” Blood trickled down my leg and pooled in my shoe. Tears burned at the back of my throat as I tried to keep myself from hyperventilating.
“Kiersten!” Wes was immediately by my side, must have paced along behind me. He ripped part of my shirt and blotted the scrape alternating between blowing on it and trying to stop the bleeding. “What the hell was that? You scared the shit out of me. In fact, you’re still scaring the shit out of me. What’s wrong?”
I tried to jerk free from his grip, but he was too dang strong. I refused to meet his gaze.
“Talk to me.” Wes’s voice was gentle and coaxing. “I know it was something I said.”