My eyebrows rise as I consider it: Maddox Finnegan, a happy drunk. I scoff and shake my head. He can't be. "Maddox!" Cassidy calls from beside me. He turns around and approaches us with a smug look on his face. His eyes are glazed over and he's wearing only a dark blue shirt, jeans, and shoes. There's no jacket in sight. I'm surprised when I notice how muscular his arms are. I wonder what they feel like. My face is blushing from the thought but if anyone asks, I'll blame it on the weather. "Aren't you cold?" I blurt. I'm cold and I have a sweater on. "I know how to keep warm," he winks and takes a quick step closer to me. He catches me off guard by pulling me into a hug. I stand there, frozen, and not temperature wise. I hear people, most likely his friends, cackling and laughing around us. They knew. They didn't warn me. But they knew. I shove him off of me and it doesn't take much to move him. "Get off," I hiss with a clenched jaw. My face grows hotter and he slings his arm over my shoulder from his position beside me. "I won six games of beer pong," he announces proudly. I smell it on his breath. I give him a short nod. "I bet you did." I try my hardest to get his limp arm off of me. "Well, aren't you going to congratulate me?" he asks teasingly. "Congrats," I mutter once I manage to slip out from under his arm. "That's all?" he asks in a disappointed manner. I look up at him and gasp when his hands cups my face and he presses his lips to mine. As he retracts, I swing my hand and it hits him in the face. I rub my lips vigorously on my shirt and shake my head. Nicholas is in fits on the grass and Jackson is hooting loudly. Cassidy and Winona are in tears as they hunch over. Meanwhile, I'm practically vomiting. It's less of the kiss and more of the beer. "I'm not that bad of a kisser!" Maddox mutters as he holds his eye, which I'm guessing is where my fist landed. "I got a picture of it!" Cassidy exclaims breathlessly as she waves her phone around. "Delete it!" I snap and she quickly tucks her device into her pocket. I stared at Maddox and he grins and talks to Nicholas, who still hasn't recovered from his laughing fit. Through gritted teeth, I stared at Maddox. That idiot just stole my first kiss. + + + The following Monday, I'm nervous about going to school. Cassidy and Winona won't let me live down the fact that Maddox had kissed me, and for the entirety of the weekend, they sent me edited pictures of the stupid kiss. Jackson somehow got my number, too, and took a picture of his lock screen, which was the same picture I've been receiving all weekend. Nicholas, however, is the only one who didn't harass me with the photo. Instead, he kept asking me where I learned how to punch like that. As expected, Maddox hasn't said anything. I go to school red-faced and embarrassed. All of Maddox's friends make sure to laugh at me in all of the classes that we share. Maddox thoroughly avoids me and vice versa. Every time I see him, I replay the kiss, though it was only a peck, in my head and I cringe each time. I know he's aware of the events on Friday too because he's sporting a black eye. Serves him right. Once the bell rings, signaling that US History is over, I'm bombarded by the two girls who bothered me all weekend. I had plans to go to the courtyard to wait out lunch in the cold but I'm being dragged down to the cafeteria. Today of all days is the day they managed to get me to go with them. After I get my lunch, I sit down at the table where everyone is already settled. Jackson is snickering as he opens his ketchup packet and Nicholas elbows him in the side, but he's wearing a smirk as well. The tension in the air is thick and I feel the urge to excuse myself and go to the courtyard. And if things couldn't get any worse, Winona decides to speak up. "So, that party on Friday was pretty awesome," she announces. I exhale slowly as I stare at her, swearing under my breath. "Really?" I hiss quietly. "I really need to stop drinking," Maddox mumbles more to himself than to the group, however, everyone laughs, aside from me and him of course. Obviously annoyed, he stands up and dumps his lunch before striding out of the cafeteria. No one makes a move to follow him and I sigh in relief. + + + I'm walking through the parking lot when a horn honks from behind me. I swiftly move over so the car can pass but it slows down to match my pace. "Get in the car," Maddox demands from the driver's side. I scoff and shake my head. So he can soberly take my second kiss? "Yeah, no thank you." "Just get in the car," he insists with a slightly pleading look on his face. "I need to talk to you without an audience." I give him a flat look before opening the door and getting into the passenger's seat. "What?" I ask as he returns to normal speed and exits the lot. "I don't like you," he informs me. I stare at him and wait for him to continue but he doesn't. "Yeah, I know that," I tell him. "You asked me to get in your car just to tell me that?" "No, I mean, I didn't kiss you because I like you," he clarifies. "I know that as well," I comment with a shrug. "Then why is it so tense?" he asks in slight annoyance. "It's always been tense—," I start to explain but he cuts me off. "You know what I mean," he bites. I simply shrug in response, not wanting to tell him that he was my first kiss. And it wasn't even a good kiss. It was barely a kiss. It was drunk and gross. I've been saving my first kiss just so it wouldn't be drunk and gross. "I don't know, you tell me," I conclude with a shrug. We're silent until we reach my house. "I'm sorry," he announces as he keeps his eyes locked on the road. "For what?" I ask, feeling bewildered at the words that just exited his mouth. "For invading your personal space. I may be a jerk, but I'm not a creep," he explains with a shake of his head. "I got you back though, didn't I?" I ask with a smirk. I admire my handiwork. My father taught me well. "Yeah, you did," he acknowledges with a quiet chuckle. "Now get out of my car."