Chapter 32

"Hey there," she greeted me with a smile.

"Hey," I replied as I placed my backpack on the floor and then sat next to her.

She then curiously looked around again. "So, where are the others?"

"They're staring at us right now," I replied with a slight smirk. She looked at me in surprise before slowly scanning the area. "Don't look. They wanted me to come over and talk to you as some kind of experiment to see if I could totally charm you."

She sighed and laughed in embarrassment. "Oh, gosh," she remarked as she folded her hands over her mouth. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me," she replied with another coy laugh, followed by a deep sigh. "So..., I'm guessing you've noticed, too?"

"It's kind of hard not to," I calmly replied. "With you staring at me all the time now."

"I don't mean to stare... it's just..." she shyly rubbed her arm and looked away. "I, um..., you know, I've always thought you were pretty cool. But the way you've been acting the past few days is... is really interesting—in a good way. I like it."

I smiled. "I like it, too," I said, causing her to look back at me and gently smile. "I feel like... I'm finally being myself, you know?" She nodded. "I don't feel as tired or bored. I don't want to keep things to myself as much anymore. I just want to... let everything out."

"That sounds really awesome," she said as she placed a friendly hand on my arm. "I admire that."

Then, I remembered the other three were watching me and hoping for results. So, I smiled even wider and decided to put on a show for them.

"You know... you have such pretty eyes," I softly remarked as we looked at each other.

Her cheeks very visibly became flushed with red, laughing coyly again. "You really think so?" she asked with a demure grin.

I nodded in response. "And they're accentuated by those glasses you wear."

She laughed heartily. "Ooh, 'accentuated.' Such an advanced word."

"Why don't you take those glasses off?" I asked. "So I can see your eyes up close."

She was a little intimidated by my straightforward advances, but nodded anyway.

"Okay," she softly said, taking the glasses off her face and setting them down.

I then wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her a bit closer. She gasped in response.

"Oh...," she softly uttered as she placed her hands on my shoulders and looked straight at me.

"Is this making you uncomfortable?" I softly asked.

She uttered a reserved chuckle. "Not in the least...," she replied with a coy smile.

I chuckled as well. "What about if I did this?" I asked, leaning in slightly. She gasped softly as my lips press against hers for just a moment. Our lips then parted with a gentle smack as I looked into her eyes again. "Does that make you uncomfortable?"

Her lips spread into an enthused grin as she shook her head. "Mm-mm, no," she remarked with a soft giggle.

I smiled back at her before leaning in once more and sliding my lips firmly against her own.

Our lips wrapped around one another as she moaned and sighed softly. I easily felt her racing pulse through every part of her body touching my own. She moaned nervously, her arms uncertainly shifted between sliding around the crook of my neck and placing her hands somewhere down my upper back. I held her tighter, causing her to instinctively pull her arms around my neck where they stayed.

Once she settled down, we kissed slowly and intimately, savoring the moment. Her slender hands soon came up to my face, affectionately stroking my cheeks and forehead. I responded in kind by slowly drawing a hand up and down her back, occasionally brushing against the back strap of her bra. Our heads slowly tilted from side to side and pushed toward each other, deepening our kiss. Her soft, warm hands felt so good brushing over the cool skin of my face.

A couple of guys walked by and saw us. "Oh yeah!" one of them exclaimed. "Get you some, boy!"

The two of us were far too entranced to pay him any mind.

We sighed against each other, enjoying our make-out session while, at the same time, the other guys in our group looked on in awe. I don't think any of them were able to believe I went through with it, not to mention succeeded.

Her hands soon slipped down to my shoulders again. Our lips parted ways and we gazed into each other’s eyes for just a moment.

"Wow...," she quietly remarked. We then broke out into a laugh together, amazed and enthused by the moment we shared—not to mention have done it as a dare from the others.

She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling herself into me and hugged me tightly. She sighed happily, still riding on high spirits as she rested her chin on my shoulder. She lifted a hand and began to slowly stroke the back of my head. I looked over at the other guys and gave them a thumbs-up, which they avidly returned. I then closed my eyes and continued to rub her back while we shared our embrace.

"How do you feel?" I quietly asked.

"Really good," she replied. "Like, really calm. I've never felt this relaxed on a school morning."

I chuckled. "Glad I could make your day."

The school bell suddenly rang out, causing her to groan softly as she nestled her chin deeper into my shoulder.

"Don't let go," she quietly remarked, "not yet. I want to stay like this just a little bit longer."

"No problem," I replied with a smile, listening to her sigh softly. We calmly listened to the march of countless shoes all stomping around us. After a moment, she pulled away, placing a kiss on my cheek on the way back. Both of us smiled as we looked at each other.

"That was really nice," she said. "I'm happy we shared that moment together."

"So am I," I replied.

"You are really cool," she said as she combed her fingers through my sideburns.

"I've always thought you were really nice and... I'm glad to have you as my friend."

"I feel the same about you." she grinned happily.

But, our high spirits wouldn't last for long as she sighed and pulled away from me to put her glasses on.

"Well, we should probably get to class now," she said as she reached for her backpack and slung it over her shoulders.

"Yeah, probably," I replied as we both got to our feet.

"I'll see you later," she sweetly said before placing one more kiss on my cheek.

"Looking forward to it," I said. She giggled softly and began to merrily walk away. I quickly picked up my own backpack and put it on, joining the masses on their way to class.