Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 121916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Titus narrows his eyes. “That kiss looked awfully real, Ruby.”
“What would have been the point, otherwise?” She pokes my shoulder. “Tell him, KC.”
“Yup. All for show,” I choke out, barely able to command my tongue. I feel deflated, confused, and embarrassed. My brain understood the situation, I think, when Ruby first planted her lips on mine. I saw the camera. I knew Cooper’s song was blaring. I mean, I didn’t fully get her logic, but I knew something was up. Something she’d explain later. But then, somewhere along the line, my body convinced my brain Ruby was kissing me for real—that she was feeling every kilowatt of electricity in that moment that I felt. I was such an idiot.
Titus says something I don’t catch, because my mind has been racing and spiraling. But Ruby’s reply to her brother draws me back.
“You honestly think if I was truly kissing my best friend, for real, for the first time, I’d do it in front of you and the rest of the band? Not to mention, in front of everyone at the party, and possibly the whole world, if I’m right and Rex is going to post that video?”
Well, there it is.
Drunk or not, I was most definitely a fool.
“Come back to the party,” Titus says, motioning toward the door behind him.
“We can’t,” Ruby says. “We made it seem like we were running off to hook up. If we come back now, everyone will think Kendrick jizzed in his pants before we ever got to his room.” Ruby snickers at the idea, but the scenario doesn’t seem that far-fetched to me. It’s never happened to me, thank God, but after twelve years of pining over and fantasizing about this girl, I wouldn’t call it out of the question if Ruby ever kissed me for real and gave me the green light for more.
“Kendrick, come on. We haven’t even played Birthday Truth or Dare yet.”
“We played the other night at the emergency band meeting.”
Titus scoffs. “That one question didn’t count. And we never play with Truth as an option, anyway.”
Why is Titus pushing so hard for us to come back into the party? Is he, like Savage and Laila, convinced I’m the ‘like a brother’ guy in Cooper’s song? If so, my kiss with Ruby surely added fuel to that fire.
“Right, KC?” Ruby asks, jerking me from my thoughts.
Clearly, I missed something when I zoned out. “Huh?”
“You’ve been out of good ideas for birthday dares for a while now.”
“Oh. Yeah. Definitely.” I rap the side of my head with my knuckles. “Can you hear that echo? There’s nothing inside there.”
Ruby squeals with laughter and squeezes my neck. After kissing the side of my head, she says to her brother, “Are you done interrogating us now? Because I want to go to Kendrick’s room, have a nightcap from the minibar, and help him fall asleep.”
“Help him what?”
Ruby explains the whole insomnia thing to him, as well as her theory. “I told him we’d test it out days ago, but then Cooper’s song came out, and I got distracted and fell down on the job.”
Titus doesn’t look convinced. In fact, he looks downright cynical.
“Now, go back to the party,” Ruby says to her brother with a shooing motion of her hand. “And tell our bandmates the deal about that kiss, okay?” She giggles. “Man, I wish I could be a fly on the wall when Cooper sees it. He’s going to lose his mind to find out I’ve moved on from him so fast—and with his nemesis, of all people.”
Nemesis? The word feels like a record scratch to my brain. I’m Cooper’s nemesis? That seems like a pretty strong characterization, even if he secretly dislikes me.
Titus exhales. “She’s shitfaced, KC. You realize that, right, brother?”
“I am, too.”
“I’m saying don’t do anything she might regret. Not when she’s shitfaced. Okay?”
“What the fuck is your deal?” Ruby yells. “We’ve both been shitfaced together a million-billion times, and you didn’t feel the need to give us this speech any of those times.”
“Yeah, well, if you’d kissed right before taking off together any of those times, I certainly would have.”
Ruby flaps her lips together. “It was a fake kiss, dude. Are you not listening to me at all?” With that, she bats my shoulder. “Come on, horsey. Giddyup! Let’s ditch this wet blanket and keep the party rolling!”
Titus sighs. “Goodnight, guys. Happy birthday, KC.”
“You, too. I mean, thanks. Sorry if we confused you.”
“The only thing that’s confusing to me is this conversation.” With that, Titus swings open the door to the party and disappears.
“Weirdo,” Ruby mutters.
“What did he mean by that?”
“By what?”
“That our conversation was confusing to him.”
“Who knows and who cares?” Ruby says with a wave of her hand. “Now, giddyup! I’m thirsty!”
I adjust her on my back and grip her thighs firmly, the same way I always do at times like this. Except, if I’m being honest, the touch of her bare thighs against my palms feels different now. More loaded. Thanks to that kiss. Just this fast, I already know it was The Kiss That Changed Everything, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to go back.