As student body president, David does the announcements every day.
“That’s all you have to say about him?” I say. “You like him because he talks about food?”
“Food’s important,” Levi says. He pointedly looks toward the kitchen for his burger and fries.
“Did you say yes?” Hunter asks Georgia.
“I haven’t decided yet. I wanted to know what you guys thought first.”
“Doesn’t matter what we think,” Levi says. “If you like him, you like him.”
“You could do better,” Hunter says, and Georgia’s face turns white.
“Don’t be a dick,” I say.
“Well, she could!” He turns to her. “You’re gorgeous and smart and nice. And David needs, like, two belts to keep his pants up.”
Our waitress arrives, balancing a tray full of food and doling it out to us. Hunter and Levi dig in and then tell the server thank you with their mouths full. Boys.
Georgia does not look happy. I can’t believe Hunter is being so unsupportive. Her self-esteem is already shot thanks to her mother. She doesn’t need that from her friends. Thinking of how excited she was in church last Sunday, I say, “I think David’s cute and confident. You don’t run for student body president if you don’t have cojones.”
“I’m eating here,” Levi says, chewing his burger. “I don’t want to hear about some dude’s balls.”
“Balls, balls, balls,” I say.
Georgia gives me a grateful smile.
Dinner is a little strained after that, and I’m happy when it’s over. After paying our checks, we leave the diner.
Levi glances around the front parking lot. “Where’s your car?”
“I parked out back.”
“It’s dark. I’ll make sure you get in the car okay.” After waving bye to Hunter and Georgia, I show Levi where Dad’s car is. He takes one look at my horrible parking job and decides I’m not driving again tonight. “I’ll drive you home. C’mon.”
He gently takes my elbow, sending shivers through me.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what happened when I arrived at Jiffy Burger a couple hours ago. For a second, I thought he was someone else, and I was very attracted to that someone else. Does that mean I’m attracted to him? He barely touched me just now and my body went off like fireworks.
“You’re being really quiet,” he says. “Are you okay?”
I clear my throat. “Of course.” I try to pretend I wasn’t reminiscing about kissing him last weekend. Thinking of it makes me a little light-headed. I roll my shoulders and stretch my arms.
“You tight?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“Need some time in the hot tub?”
I know he means it in a therapeutic manner, but I have other ideas in mind. Not that I want to act on them. But I want to be in the same place as him. Maybe in case it happens again? Not that I want to force it. But if he wants to teach me some more lessons…I’d be okay with that. I know he enjoyed kissing me too—I felt him hard against my hip that night. Helping me learn to feel more comfortable in bed is not a hardship. Right?
At his house, Oma and Opa are watching a movie in the den while she knits and he reads the comics section of the newspaper. Levi’s mom still isn’t home from Nashville. I change into my suit I had in my bag in the car, a pretty pink and orange one-piece that Levi said he liked one time, and then I’m in the hot tub with him.
I can’t stop thinking about our kisses. I want more. It’s like craving a soft bed when you’re exhausted.
He stretches his arms on the back of the Jacuzzi and tilts his head to look at the stars. Normally he’s peaceful when we’re together like this, but tonight he keeps shifting his weight, causing water to spill over the side onto the deck. His eyes flicker to my mouth and hold there. That’s never happened before.
I bite down on my lip to distract myself from how much I want to make out. I bite until I can’t take it anymore. I glide through the water to sit closer to him.
Levi tenses. “What are you doing, Maggie?”
I press a light kiss to his neck. “I like what we did the other night.”
He sinks into me. “Me too.”
“Teach me more.”
His breathing speeds up as my lips nibble the skin beneath his ear. “I thought we already established that you don’t need lessons.”
“You decided that, but I really do need you to teach me. I totally bombed the condom race. If I can’t do right by a banana, how can I do it with a real guy?”
“Why me?” he asks. “You’re pretty. Lots of guys would be interested.”
I blush at his words—they definitely make me feel good. “I’m looking to explore,” I explain. “I want to fulfill my urges—”
“Mags, seriously, please stop talking about your urges.”
I swallow hard, working to find the right words to explain how I feel. “I need to stay focused on swimming, and you’re equally as focused. If I were to hook up with a guy I don’t know well, it could get dramatic. He could want me more than I want him. Or vice versa.”
“I know what that’s like,” Levi says quietly.
“Or what if I can’t find somebody who’s good at fooling around like you?”
Levi smirks a little, and I keep on rambling.
“And if I hook up with someone random, I could get a bad reputation. Or he could end up being a crazy person.”
“Like the Cal guy who wanted you to spank him?” He snorts at his own joke.
I give him a look. “What I’m trying to say is that I don’t need drama right now.”
I kiss along his jaw as I work my way over to his lips. He cups the back of my neck, bringing my mouth to his. After a few soft kisses that feel like lemonade on a hot day, he pulls back to stare at me.
“I’m nervous,” he says.
“About what?”
“I like this. But you’re the best thing in my life. The only thing in my life.”
“That’s not true. You’ve got your mom and Oma and Opa and Pepper. Hunter and Georgia.”
“You know what I mean.”
I do. I know what he means. He’s been my rock since we were kids. My constant.
But…I can’t help wanting to make out with him. The pull is too strong.
I slide onto his lap. Any other guy and I’d feel like a giant oaf, but with him, the way his hands play across my back, drifting up and down the ladder of my spine, makes me feel feminine.
“We promised we’d tell each other how we feel,” I say.
“And I told you, I’m nervous. I’m worried. I’m not sure if I want to do this, but you’re still in my lap.”
I swallow hard, and start to move to the other side of the hot tub, away from him, to respect his wishes and maybe rush home to hide under my bedcovers in mortification. But then he pulls me back against him. The water ripples around us.
I touch his muscled chest, look into his blue eyes and choke out, “I thought you were worried.”
“I am. But when you moved away from me just now, I realized you’d never push me.”
I lean closer to him. “So what does that mean?”
He shrugs. “I can give you a few more lessons.”
“Lessons in how to be full of yourself?” I tease.