“No, that’s not what I’m thinking at all.” She smiled out of embarrassment over what she was really thinking. “I mean, you are a geek. But that’s not what I was thinking.”
“I am a geek,” Alex agreed, and Gemma laughed. Then, apparently without thinking, he said, “You’re really pretty.”
The instant he said it, he turned away from her rigidly.
“I’m sorry. I can’t believe I just said that. I don’t know why I said that,” Alex said in one rushed breath. “I’m sorry.”
Gemma lay there for a minute, staring up at the stars while Alex squirmed in embarrassment next to her. She didn’t say anything at first, because she wasn’t sure what to say or what to make of his random admission.
“Did you … you just called me pretty,” Gemma said finally, her tone questioning.
“Yeah, I didn’t…” Alex sat up, as if trying to put some distance between them. “I don’t know why I said that. It just slipped out.”
“It just slipped out?” Gemma said teasingly and sat up next to him.
He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, and kept his back to her. “Yeah.” He sighed. “You laughed, and I just thought you looked really pretty, and for some reason, it just … I just said it. It was like I forgot how to control my mouth or something.”
“Wait.” She smiled, the kind of smile she couldn’t contain. “You think I’m pretty?”
“Well, yeah.” He sighed again and rubbed his arm. “Of course I do. I mean, you are very pretty. You know that.” He looked up at the sky and cursed under his breath. “I don’t know why I just told you that.”
“It’s okay.” Gemma moved closer to him, sitting next to him but slightly behind him, so her shoulder pressed up against his. “I think you’re pretty, too.”
“You think I’m pretty?” Alex smiled and turned to look at her, so his face was right in front of hers.
“Yep,” she assured him with a grin.
“I’m a guy. Guys aren’t pretty.”
“You are.” Her smile softened, giving way to a slightly nervous and hopeful look.
Alex’s dark eyes searched her face, and he paled. He looked downright terrified, and even though the moment felt perfect, Gemma was starting to think he wouldn’t take it.
Then he leaned in and his lips pressed softly against hers. The kiss was small and sweet, almost innocent, but it felt like fireworks inside her.
“Sorry,” Alex said when he stopped kissing her and looked away.
“Why are you apologizing?” Gemma asked.
“I don’t know.” He laughed. He shook his head and looked back at her, smiling at him. “I’m not sorry.”
“Me neither.”
Alex leaned in to kiss her again, but before he could, Brian yelled from the house behind them.
“Gemma!”
That was all it took to ruin the moment. Alex jumped away from Gemma like he’d been shocked.
Gemma got up more slowly than he had, offering him an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
“Yeah, no, it’s okay.” Alex rubbed the back of his head and refused to even look in the direction of Gemma or her father.
“I’ll see you later?” Gemma asked.
“Yeah, yeah, of course.” He nodded quickly.
Gemma hurried back over to her house, where her father stood at the back door, holding it open. When she went inside, Brian stood outside for a minute longer, watching Alex as he awkwardly tried to fold the blanket.
“Dad!” Gemma shouted at him.
Brian waited a beat before coming in. He closed the back door behind him and locked it, then flipped off the outside light. When he came into the kitchen, Gemma was pacing and chewing her fingernails.
“You don’t have to check up on me, you know.”
“You went out fifteen minutes ago to take out the garbage.” Brian leaned against the counter. “I was simply making sure you hadn’t been kidnapped or attacked by rabid raccoons.”
“Well, I wasn’t.” Gemma stopped moving and took a deep breath.
“Do you want to tell me what was going on out there?”
Her eyes widened. “No!”
“Look, Gemma, I know you’re sixteen, and you’re going to start dating.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “And Alex isn’t a bad kid, exactly. But he’s older, and you’re too young for certain things—”
“Dad, we just kissed. Okay?” Gemma’s face pinched with discomfort over discussing the topic with her father.
“So you’re … seeing him now?” Brian asked carefully.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “We just kissed.”
“And that’s all you should do,” Brian said. “He’s leaving in a couple months, and you’re too young to really commit to anything. Plus you have your swimming to focus on.”
“Dad, please,” Gemma said. “Let me figure this out on my own. Okay?”
“Okay,” he said reluctantly. “But if he touches you, I’ll kill him. And if he hurts you, I’ll kill him.”
“I know.”
“Does he know that?” Brian gestured toward Alex’s house next door. “Because I can go over and tell him that myself.”