My lips were numb when Luke stopped kissing me. His kiss sent sensations coursing through me that I never knew existed. His lips made mine tingle until he stopped. When he stepped back, I felt a rush of air fill the space that used to be his body. You see me. His voice was in my head, repeating the words he'd spoken moments before our kiss. I opened my eyes and looked into his. He smiled softly at me. I was breathless. Did he regret it? Luke was an unbelievably handsome boy and I... I couldn't believe what he had done. He kissed me. Luke raised a hand and ran it through his messy hair. This entire time, his blue eyes were fixed on me. If the ocean was fire, he could burn me with his gaze. His kissable lips exhaled and he said: "Now you know." I wasn't sure. My heartbeat was still recovering from a marathon. "What?" "I like you." We didn't say much while Luke grabbed his gym bag and slung the strap over his right shoulder. He held the door open for me as I walked out of the basketball court. I think we were both processing what happened and what it meant. I technically had a date with Jake and yet here I was... Of all people, with Luke. Luke Dawson. The infamous player and heart-breaker. What was I doing?! The sound of people talking in the distance made me freeze. I recognized the noise emitting from the math classroom. The one where the Mathletes trained every Wednesday night. This was so not the time. I did not need to be bumping into my cheating ex-boyfriend right now. I grabbed Luke. He glanced down at my hand on his arm. And then he smirked. "Luke," I whispered, shaking those thoughts out of my mind, "We need to hide." He looked at me strangely, "And why is that?" Luke has probably never hidden from anything in his life. The door to the Mathlete class opened and the team stepped out. I quickly dragged a confused and reluctant Luke behind a set of lockers. He was about to say something when I put a finger gently to his lips. I was surprised it worked. He actually stayed silent. For a second. "Are you actually trying to hide me from nerds?" he asked in disbelief, "Is that what's happening right now?" He stood in front of me like it was the most absurd thing he's ever heard. I noticed a door nearby and pushed it open. I tried to pull him through, but this time, he didn't budge. "Come on! Let's go!" I begged. He didn't listen. He looked at the team that was crossing the hallway, cracking bad math jokes along the way. One of his hands gripped the strap of his gym bag and the other gripped me. "They're nerds," he said and pointed, "One kid is wearing suspenders." "They're not-" I defended them and then I realized who he was talking about, "Oh, that's Joe. His trousers keep falling down without them." "Millie. I don't know if you know how this works, but I don't run away from guys like that," he explained, "They run away from me." I rolled my eyes... until I heard their voices get louder and panicked. "Luke, please. Remember when I told you about my ex-boyfriend. He's in that group." I pulled Luke's hand again. This time he smiled down at my hand and kissed it. Where is his sense of urgency?! "Which one?" he asked, not letting the nerd squad go, "Suspender boy?" "Luke!" I think he saw the desperation in my eyes. I was terrified he was about to confront them. He sighed, and reluctantly let me lead him out the back door. Thank you. The air was cool that night. The sun had long since faded and the half moon shone brightly. We were in the backyard of the school, where students had lunch on the bleachers overlooking the track. "I'm turning soft," Luke muttered to himself. "Thank you," I said, "I wasn't ready to face him." "Those used to be your friends?" he asked me, ignoring the ex-boyfriend part, "Including suspender boy?" "Suspenders are a good look you know. Joe's brave enough to rock it." "That's not how I'd describe him," he laughed. "He's got his own . Guys like you try to make everyone else conform." Luke let the insult roll over his shoulders, "That's all good, Mills. But if the guy doesn't want to get bullied, he'd change his look." "You shouldn't bully Joe-" "I'm not bullying him," Luke raised his hands in innocence, "But there are guys in his year ready to turn his suspenders into a springboard." We had such different perspectives. Coming from opposite ends of the social spectrum, that was reflected in our opinions. "He kept his originality and that's something to be proud of. And how would you even... never mind," I shook my head. "Come on, let's not wait around for the nerd squad to leave," Luke said, "We can jump the fence." I stared at the giant, wire fence in shock. I could never climb that. "No," I shook my head, "that's not a good idea." "I ran when you wanted me to," Luke reminded me, "So now it's your turn. Do you trust me?" I hate that question. There's always a catch after that question. He smiled at me. A genuine, caring, soft smile. And he leaned down to kiss me. "I trust you." Luke caught me on the other side of the fence. I felt the thrill of the drop and then the safety of his strong body shielding mine. I reached out and ran my hand through his tousled hair. I've always wanted to do that. Our romantic moment didn't last long. We walked to his car and I got into the driver seat.