First one corner of my mouth then the other, kissing those tiny divots on either side of my lips.

I want to touch him more, but I’m not sure how. It sucks being twenty-one and this inexperienced and awkward, but that’s my reality and I have to live with it.

No shame in my lack of game.

We’re not making out. We’re kissing and it’s so sweet. His lips taste like coconut lip balm and I could stand like this forever, on this small stack of books, letting him kiss me like this, in this place.

So. Romantic.

We pull back at the same time we hear voices, my hands returning to my sides, but still, only an inch or two separates us.

His grin is lopsided. “See? The perfect height.”

A figure rounds the corner; a wide-eyed woman with a wire basket pauses, unsure how to proceed. Her eyes dart to the floor—to the books beneath my feet—then our flushed faces. The hands dangling at our sides.

The sheepish look on my date’s face.

We’ve been busted.

The woman doesn’t say a word, but it’s obvious we’re in her way—and that she isn’t going to budge from the end of the aisle until we’ve moved.

The woman wants romance novels? We’ll let her get to the romance novels.

I run a hand through my hair, flustered, smoothing down the strands that got mussed when Abe ran his hands over my shoulders. Clear my throat. “Should we find your table? Go sit maybe?”

He helps me down off the stack, offering me his hand even though it’s not at all high. Picks up the books and returns them to their proper places.

Grabs my hand again, tugging gently toward the back of the store.

“Yeah, let’s see if it’s open.”

It’s not. Another couple sits in the chairs, reading, and Abe slips his arm around my waist. “Let’s get out of here, then.”

“Where are we going?”

He shrugs. “Any suggestions?”

Not really. The university might have a huge enrollment, but the city it’s in? It’s small, run entirely on the student population. When summer break arrives and the co-eds return home, it’s virtually a ghost town. So, as far as things to do on a weekend besides hitting the bars? The options are few.

“Park. Roller rink. Coffee shop. Um…sit down by the lake?”

“We could.”

But it’s a bit too cold for that. I would freeze my ass off in this top.

He can hear the hesitation in my voice. “Inside then.”

Hmm. What’s quiet, private, and intimate?

“I say we just get in my truck and drive.”

“Perfect.”

Abe’s truck is bigger than I was expecting, and clean, and when I hop into the passenger side, he twists his torso to watch me buckle my seatbelt.

“What are you looking at?” I’m blushing already and I wish it would stop.

“You. In my truck.”

What a weird thing to say.

“It’s nice.”

Aww. Never mind what I said about it being weird. I’m not used to guys complimenting me, or being sweet, or…

Now it’s my turn to watch Abe as he starts the engine, lets it idle a few seconds before putting the truck into reverse and pulling out of the parking spot in front of the bookstore. It’s such a quaint little place. Quiet. And now etched in my brain bank as the perfect location for a first kiss.

The night grows dark, darker still when we make our way to a remote overlook point on campus. It’s a bluff, famous for its hiking trails overlooking the entire city, the university, and the river running along the edge of town. From it, you can see clear to the next county, and at night, the streetlamps below twinkle and shine, lending the most romantic glow to a pitch-black sky.

Stars. The moon.

The shadows of all the trees.

We stay in the car when he parks, surrounded by a few other vehicles, one overhead lamp fifty feet or so away the sole light in the near vicinity. It flickers wanly, weak and dim, needing a bulb replacement but casting enough light so I can see Abe’s face when he cuts the engine.

“It’s so quiet up here,” I muse to fill the empty airspace between us.

A center console separates us, and I wonder if it’s the kind that can be folded up to create bench seating. A furtive glance in the back seat tells me there’s plenty of room there, too.

My body gets warm.

Girl parts prematurely tingle—he hasn’t spoken, or touched me, and here I am, getting turned on by the sight of him in the near dark.

Get a grip, Skylar. Get. A. Grip.

“You know so much about me already, and I know almost nothing about you,” I start. “We have to play catch-up.”

“Good idea.” Abe gets comfortable, reclining his seat back a few inches from the steering wheel. “I love it here. I used to hike up here when I was a freshman but haven’t really been back since.”

“Why?”

“No time.”

“Do you not have a lot of free time?”

“I do, plenty. I just use it kind of…stupidly, I guess.”

“Doing what?”

He thinks. “Doing shit for other people, mostly—if I’m being honest.”

“That’s not a bad thing.”

He thinks on that, too. “Is it when you’re taken advantage of?”

I want to touch him then, reach my hand across the space and lay it on his big, brawny forearm—but Abe doesn’t need my comforting. He’s not looking for pity, he’s just stating facts and making conversation.

“It’s still really nice that you do good for other people, and you should never feel guilty about that. It says more about you than it does about them.”

I can see his smile in the dark and bask in the fact that I put it there, that I said something that made him happy.

“True.” His arms stretch, hands gripping the wheel to stay busy. Fingers tap the leather.

“Who bought you this truck?” I blurt out then wish I could retract it. It’s none of my business who bought it for him. It’s just…we’re so young, and it’s so nice and new. Still smells like the showroom floor. “I’m sorry, that was rude.”

“Promise you won’t tell?”

“Promise.”

“I use the money the athletic department grants me as an allowance to make my car payments, and my parents pay my rent because they don’t know about the allowance.”

“Resourceful.”

“Some would call it that. Some would call it shady as fuck.”

“I was gonna say that but didn’t want to insult you.” I laugh.

“Let’s make a deal: I want to be the one you’re always honest with, no matter what. Eventually I want to be the one person you tell everything.” He steals a worried glance at me. “Is it too soon to say that?”

Yes.

Kind of?

But I love that he said it and completely agree, so I nod like a bobble head. “All right. We have a deal.”

It takes me no time to forget why we’re up here, where we were before, and what happened last week, because all I want is for Abe to touch me. So, I summon my courage to test our new pact.

“Abe?”

“Skylar?”

“Since we’re being honest…”