Kissing Lessons Read online

  “Ugh.” Emmaline groaned. “Too bad it’s illegal.”

  “What is?”

  “Running her over.”

  Laughter bubbled out of Hayden. She couldn’t help it. Emmaline Martin was feisty. “Yeah, probably not a good idea. I like living the life of a free woman. You don’t like her?”

  Emmaline shrugged. “She’s okay. I mean, everyone loves her. So.”

  “So,” Hayden echoed, understanding that even if she never much cared what other people thought. It was hard to go against what everyone else liked. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and glanced pointedly at the passenger door. “So. You gonna get out of the car or what?”

  Nolan moved past his girlfriend, stopping in the front walkway and turning when the cheerleader said something to him. She gestured to where Hayden and Emmaline sat inside the car. It was clearly in reference to Hayden. Homecoming Queen didn’t even bother pretending otherwise, sending a pointed glare at Hayden.

  “Okay,” Hayden began. “This has been fun and all, but I’ve really got to get to work.”

  Emmaline looked desperately between her brother and his girlfriend, and Hayden had the weird and unwelcome sensation that she was throwing the girl to the wolves by pushing her out of the car. “What can I say to convince you to help me?” Emmaline asked hurriedly, an undercurrent of desperation in her voice.

  Hayden shook her head. “Nothing. Nothing at all. Please, get out of my car. I can’t be late for work. I need this job. I don’t get an allowance, okay?”

  “I’ll pay you,” Emmaline blurted out.

  Hayden pulled back slightly. “Excuse me?”

  “You don’t know me. You don’t owe me anything. I get it. I will pay you for your time. It’s only fair. I do get an allowance, and I’ve hardly touched it. I get birthday money and Christmas money from multiple grandparents, aunts, uncles. They’re generous.” She snorted. “It’s like their generosity is going to make up for the fact that my dad is dead.”

  Hayden stared at her, marveling at what it must be like to have relatives sending you cold hard cash for things like your birthday and Christmas. Her mom’s parents were dead and who knew if she even had grandparents on her father’s side. That entire branch of her family tree was a mystery.

  “Hello. You in there?” Emmaline waved a hand in front of her face. “Will you do it? Will you let me hire you?”

  Hayden was torn. It might be the easiest money she ever made. She thought about her meager stash she was saving for after graduation. She needed money. She always needed money, but it would be especially nice to grow her little nest egg. The more she had when she moved to Austin, the better.

  Still, it meant she was going to have to spend time with a girl who she wouldn’t normally even talk to. “I don’t know.”

  Emmaline plucked her phone out of her bag and unlocked it with a couple of taps. “What’s your phone number?”

  Hayden hesitated.

  Emmaline looked up at her impatiently. “Number?”

  Hayden took a breath and decided giving Emmaline her number wasn’t a commitment. It wasn’t like she was entering into a contract with the girl. Hayden rattled off the digits and watched as Emmaline typed them into her phone with speedy fingers. Almost immediately her phone pinged from inside her backpack on the floorboard behind her seat.

  “There,” Emmaline said. “You have my number now. Think it over. Let me know.”

  Hayden released a huff of laughter. The girl was determined. “Okay,” she agreed, although she doubted it would ever happen. Right now she just wanted to get to work on time.

  Emmaline beamed, her cheeks as round as apples. She was pretty—and amusing. She shouldn’t need any tips on attracting boys.

  “You’re funny,” Hayden declared. “Are you like this with everyone?”

  “You mean with boys? No, I tend to clam up around them.” She nodded solemnly. “I turn into a mannequin if I’m around a boy I find even remotely interesting. And if he’s cute? Oh my God.” She rolled her eyes. “Forget about it. I’m a mess.”

  “Hm.” Maybe she was right then. Maybe she just needed to learn a few tricks to be more confident. Hayden gave herself a mental kick. She wasn’t doing this. It was ridiculous. She wasn’t an authority on anything, much less an expert on being irresistible.

  Emmaline snatched up her stuff from the floorboard, her brown braids bouncing. “I’m going to hear from you. I know it.” With a small giggle, she exited the car, slipping past her brother and his girlfriend, who lingered in the driveway, still staring at Hayden in her car. Emmaline sent a jaunty little farewell wave behind her and disappeared inside her house.

  Hayden started to shift into reverse when she noticed that Nolan was approaching her car. Fabulous.

  Homecoming Queen called out to him. He turned back to look at her and gave her a swift shake of his head. Pouting, she turned abruptly on her heels and disappeared inside the house.

  Then he was at Hayden’s window, giving it a light tap with his knuckles.

  She manually rolled the window down. That’s right. She didn’t even have automatic windows. She had to crank down her window with a creaking lever that stuck on every upswing. She was embarrassingly aware of the long moments until the glass slid far enough down.

  “Hey,” she finally said, placing her hands back on the steering wheel.

  “Did you skip school with my sister?”

  All right then. Straight to the point. “Yes, we skipped last period.”

  “Why?”

  “What do you mean, why?” She felt like she was being grilled by a parent or school administrator and not a guy in her own grade. “I thought she might like to test out my new crack pipe with me.”

  His expression remained unchanged. “Not funny.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “It’s kind of funny,” she disagreed.

  “My little sister is a good kid.”

  Her hands tightened where they gripped the wheel. So what was she then? Anger bubbled inside her chest.

  “Well, your good little sister . . .” Really. They were just one grade apart. “Is the one who wants to hang out with me.” She paused, letting that sink in. “So maybe you should interrogate her and leave me the hell alone.”

  He narrowed his dark eyes on her. “Why does she want to hang out with you all of a sudden?” He bent at the waist so that his face was close to hers. He settled a hand on her windowsill, revealing the sinewy underside of his bicep. The guy worked out. She fought back a grimace. That’s what privileged guys did. At least the jocks. They worked out at gyms full of shiny equipment, ate lots of fast food, went to parties, and applied for colleges the rest of their time.

  “I don’t know. Maybe that’s something you should ask her.” Her gaze drifted to where his big hand gripped the peeling interior vinyl of her car. “Can I go now?”

  He held her gaze, a muscle ticking in his cheek. “I’m not stopping you.”

  No. No, he wasn’t.

  He stepped away, his arms falling to his sides. She put the car into reverse and backed out, wondering what it was about that guy that got under her skin. She watched from the corner of her eye as he stood there, watching her leave.

  Perfect people living their perfect lives.

  No wonder she didn’t like him.

  Lesson #10

  The best foreplay starts with conversation.

  x Nolan x

  Nolan’s stomach grumbled, alerting him that it was almost time for dinner.

  He lifted his head from his notes and shut his laptop. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he stood and stretched the kinks from his back, glad the week was almost over.

  Calculus wasn’t his friend, but at least it took his mind off other stuff. Stuff like Priscilla. Stuff like his sister and whatever was happening between her and Hayden Vargas. After that little standoff with Hayden outside his house the other day, his sister had been weird. He wanted—needed—things to go back to being unweird bet
ween them.

  He glanced down at his phone and read the texts he had been ignoring. Priscilla wanted to start talking about prom plans. Already. He shoved his phone into his pocket. He was going to ignore those messages for a little longer.

  As soon as he stepped out of his room, he could smell dinner on the air.

  When he entered the kitchen, he spotted Mom at the stove, her back to him as she stirred the contents of a pot.

  He must have made a sound because she glanced over her shoulder. “Hey there. Dinner’s almost ready. I’m about to plate the pasta.”

  “Smells good.” He approached and peered at the bubbling tomato sauce swimming with meatballs and slices of Italian sausage. Just the way Dad had made it. A carnivore’s dream. Nolan’s chest squeezed at the thought. He tried not to think about Dad too often. At least not in any lingering way. He was usually so busy that it was an easy enough task. Between sports and school and looking after his sisters and Priscilla, he hardly had time to think. He was go-go-go all the time, and the minute his head hit the pillow at night, he was out.

  His youngest sister walked in the room. “What are we having?” she asked, tugging the buds from her ears.

  “Spaghetti,” Mom answered.

  Savannah’s eyes brightened. “With Dad’s sauce?”

  “You bet.” Mom slid the garlic bread into the oven to warm.

  Nolan fixed his smile in place. Faking happy was something he’d been doing for a while now. He wouldn’t be the lone voice to ruin the moment by saying that his stomach cramped every time he tasted Dad’s sauce.

  Mom slid off the oven mitts and moved back to the fridge, pulling out the salad dressing. “Now, I’ll never make it as good as Dad, but I’ll keep trying. Can one of you fetch Emmaline?” Mom asked, oblivious to Nolan’s less-than-kind thoughts.

  Savannah plucked a carrot out of the salad bowl. “She’s not here.”

  “What do you mean, she’s not here?” Mom frowned as she set the dressing on the counter. “I thought she was in her room.”

  Savannah shook her head. “She left about an hour ago. You didn’t hear her call out? She took your car.”

  “Oh.” Mom looked confused. Not concerned, though, because she trusted Emmaline. She trusted all of them. They never gave her cause to worry. They never got into trouble. She told them all the time how lucky she was to have such great kids.

  As always, Nolan stopped himself from reminding her that she couldn’t be that lucky. She’d lost her husband at forty-one.

  Nolan wasn’t one of those kids who thought anyone over thirty was old. He wasn’t that shortsighted. People could live to ninety these days. He knew forty-one was young. Too young to lose a spouse.

  Which was maybe why he tried so hard to be good. It was like an unspoken rule among all three of them. Do not add to Mom’s grief.

  “Where is she?” he asked.

  “I think she mentioned Sanjana.”

  Mom picked up her phone, presumably to call Emmaline.

  A few seconds later Emmaline’s phone jingled from the couch cushions.

  Savannah retrieved it from beneath a cushion and waved it in the air. “Guess who forgot her phone?”

  Mom tsked and shook her head.

  “I’ll go get her,” Nolan volunteered. Sanjana only lived a few streets away in a neighboring subdivision.

  Mom nodded. “I’ll keep everything warm.”

  He snatched his keys from the hall table and his hoodie from the peg near the door, pulling it over his head as he stepped outside.

  Less than five minutes later he was knocking on Sanjana’s door.

  She answered, even as she was chewing something. Evidently he’d interrupted her dinner. “Hey, Nolan.”

  “Sanjana,” he greeted. “Is my sister here?”

  Sanjana seemed confused “Um. No. She hasn’t been here today.” Suddenly, she got a cagey look. It reminded him of the way Lia had looked in the parking lot the other day. “There was a study group at IHOP,” she quickly said. “She might have gone to that.”

  “A study group?”

  “Yeah.”

  She was covering for Emmaline. He suddenly felt tired. Tired of being kept in the dark. Tired of feeling like he didn’t even know his sister anymore—and that really worried him. He’d made a promise to his father, and she was making it very difficult to keep. “What’s going on, Sanjana? Where is she?”

  “Uhhh—”

  “She’s with her, isn’t she?” He nodded. “Hayden Vargas.”

  Hayden. His sister’s new friend.

  She gave a single shake of her head. “N-no.”

  “She’s at IHOP? You’re still sticking with that story?”

  Sanjana exhaled, her shoulders slumping. “I actually don’t know where she is.”

  He gave a snort of disbelief. “Right.”

  With a quick goodbye, he turned and jogged back to where he’d parked his truck along the street.

  He started the engine and headed for Pleasant Ranch.

  His gut told him Emmaline was there.

  Emmaline and Hayden both refused to explain their sudden association. It didn’t seem accurate to call it a friendship, because he was pretty sure they just met. He doubted they ever had a conversation before that night at the party.

  There was something weird happening and he was going to find out what.

  He knew Hayden lived near Beau. He’d spotted her walking on the sidewalk before. Freshman year. Before any of them could drive themselves anywhere. He’d noticed her as far back as then, though he tried not to think too deeply about that fact now.

  He punched in Beau’s number.

  Beau answered on the second ring.

  “Hey, man,” Nolan said. “Where does Hayden Vargas live?”

  A beat of silence stretched between them, and then Beau’s voice came out slowly, as though he were still processing the question. “Two streets over from me. Tangled Wood. Why?”

  “Going to get my sister.”

  “Emmaline’s at Hayden’s house?”

  “I think so.”

  Another pause followed and he knew Beau was thinking that over and probably coming up with more questions, but Nolan didn’t feel like giving any answers. “Thanks. Gotta go.” He hung up before Beau could ask anything else.

  Nolan identified her house easily enough. He recognized Hayden’s car in the driveway. He parked in the street and sat there a moment. He stared up and down the road before resting his gaze back on that lone car. His sister had taken his mom’s car, and he didn’t see it anywhere.

  It was enough for him to turn around and go. No sense knocking on the door.

  His fingers tapped a few times over the steering wheel until he stopped the anxious motion. With a mutter, he climbed down from the truck and started for the front door.

  A pair of dogs flung themselves against a neighbor’s chainlink fence. The fence looked ready to collapse from the force. Nolan hoped that wouldn’t happen now. He could run fast, but he wasn’t sure if he could outrun them.

  Hayden’s house wasn’t that different in size or style from Beau’s, except this place was a shithole. He felt a twinge of guilt for the mean thought, but it was the truth. A hurricane could take it down.

  There was no grass. Just a lawn full of dead weeds. The wind blew an empty egg carton across the front yard, pinning it to the chainlink fence.

  Beau did a good job maintaining his yard and worked to take care of their home.

  Before stepping up on the concrete porch, he noticed the drooping gutters, overstuffed with leaves and debris. The aluminum bowed, ready to break under their burden.

  He couldn’t find a doorbell, so he knocked. Two strong raps.

  A muffled cry came from within and then the door yanked open.

  It was Hayden. Only not a Hayden he had ever observed before.

  She was in a loose T-shirt and shorts—shorts that showed a hell of a lot of gold-skinned thighs. No makeup. Dark hair piled into a kno
t on her head.

  She blinked at the sight of him. “You must be lost.”

  “I was looking for my sister.”

  The corner of her mouth kicked up. “Of course you are, Sherlock.”

  When she didn’t look ready to comment further, merely continued to look bored, staring at him as though he were some unwanted solicitor on her doorstep, he added, “Is she here?”

  He had already deduced she wasn’t here, but he had to ask. Even if he looked pathetic standing in front of her door.

  She leaned against the threshold. “No. No, she’s not here.”

  He cleared his throat. “Was she here earlier?”

  “No.” That smile of hers made him feel funny inside. Like an idiot and . . . other things.

  “Lost her, huh, big brother? Thought you better come here and rescue her from me.”

  Heat burned his face at how close to the truth she was. “No—”

  “C’mon.” She snorted. “That’s it exactly. Why else would you risk driving into this part of town?”

  “My best friend lives two streets over,” he defended.

  “Yeah.” She nodded. “But I bet you usually go to your house to hang out, not his.”

  He opened his mouth but couldn’t argue that.

  He wanted to protest that Beau always preferred it that way. Beau came over. He liked being around Nolan’s family. It was Beau’s choice. Beau’s mother could hardly tolerate having Beau around. She definitely didn’t want Nolan creeping into her space.

  And while all that was true, he didn’t know if Hayden wasn’t just a little bit right. Did he avoid the neighborhood?

  It was an ugly thought to consider.

  Suddenly a loud sound carried from the living room and she darted back inside, leaving the door open, leaving him standing there on the small slab of porch, the wind buffeting his legs.

  “Oh! I missed it . . .”

  He took a step closer, peering inside.

  She snatched up the remote control and punched a button, holding it up and aiming it at the screen. “Ah, there we go.”