Page 14 of Charger

“I’m going to go with truth.” He slides his arm around my waist, holding on tighter than before. Zach’s jaw clicks and he sends knives through his stare. I must admit Zach showing this type of reaction makes me a little satisfied.

“Okay, where was the craziest place you ever had sex?”

“Come on, Hannah.” He threatens her with annoyance.

“It’s a simple question, Tommy.” She glances at me then over at Sam.

“Fine, the craziest place was in the boys’ locker room at school. There, happy?”

I cringe. This is Tommy Stevenson who’s sitting next to me and holding onto my waist. He probably slept with the whole senior class of girls. Josh being the runner up in that category. What am I doing hanging out with him? He has to know that I don’t have much experience in that department. Am I hanging out with him because he’s the first boy to give me some attention? Do I like him? Or is it to try to make Zach jealous? Maybe it’s all the above.

“Since it’s going in order, I guess you’re next, Jules.” She flashes me one of her bitchy smirks. God, why do all the girls suck in high school? I take another drink and everyone (except Zach) laughs at the disgusted face I make. It really is gross.

“Okay, I pick truth.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. We must have forgotten to tell you—our rules are different. If someone picks truth, the next person has to pick dare.”

“You’re such a fucking liar, Hannah.”

She cocks her head at Zach. “Am not. It’s how we play, unless Julianna over here is too scared to choose dare.”

Everyone waits for me to answer, she and Sam both smiling, all eyes on me. “Okay, DARE,” I challenge.

“Okay, then, I dare you to kiss Zach.” My stomach drops and Sam whips her head to Hannah. The boys in the circle are “ooo-ing” into their fists.

“What the hell, Hannah? That’s not part of what we talked about.”

Hannah shrugs her shoulders at Sam, playing the innocent card. “It’s what I picked, so she can either do it, or run scared.”

I glance over at Tommy, who looks uncomfortable. The other guys in the circle are laughing, and then I meet Zach’s eyes. He doesn’t look that upset, or even phased by the dare, not at all. If I didn’t know any better, I would say he is intrigued. Does he actually want to kiss me?

The room starts to get hazy and, for some reason, any nerves I felt disappear. Not being one to drink, I was a light weight for sure. So, standing up and getting ready to kiss Zach may be part of that liquid courage.

My heart stills as I connect eyes with Zach. “All right, let’s do this then.”

Zach looks stunned, Sam is about to have a hernia. Her eyebrows are burrowed inward with her mouth open in shock. “Jules, you don’t have to…”

“Get up, Zach, now,” I order.

He hesitates, but then scurries over to me like an eager puppy. Sam’s still pouting. This time her arms are folded at her chest while everyone is watching in fascination.

Nothing is between us except about a foot of space. He’s so close that I can feel his body heat, and he smells so fucking good.

He leans in to whisper to me. “You don’t have to do this, Jules. We have nothing to prove.”

So, what if I’ve never been kissed before, and so, what if my first time is going to be at some dumb party in front of people I don’t really like? This is Zach. If my first kiss is going to be with anyone, I want it to be with him. So, what if the thought of his lips touching mine gets my heart racing out of control? The more and more he gets into my head, the more and more I want him. And the more and more I want to kiss him. To feel him touch me. To really touch me. To feel his hands on me. His lips.

I can hear “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus playing in the background. Nothing else. All other voices, noises, are drowned out by my beating heart.

He’s standing so close to me. He’s so tall. I don’t remember him being this tall. He’s searching my eyes, looking for something in there that is going to deny his touch, deny his kiss. But I don’t give it. My eyes slowly rake over his body, his chest, his arms. That’s when he slowly raises his hands, skimming them up my arms using only his fingertips.

I shiver from his touch, but I don’t look away. He’s staring at my mouth before he swipes his tongue along his lower lips. Then he looks back at me, into my soul, his eyes igniting with fire, like lava.

Fuck it.

I fist his shirt in my hand and I pull him down to me; his lips crash onto mine, the chorus of Miley’s song playing at that exact moment. At first, he’s unsure, hesitant, but then I swear I hear him moan and he pulls me closer to him, using my waist. My breasts are pushed against his chest and he tightens his arm around me, while his other hand caresses my face.

This feels so good. Too good. I should stop but I don’t. Everyone is watching us kiss right now, but I don’t care. If this is what kissing Zach feels like, then I never want to stop. His tongue enters my mouth and he teases it with mine. I mimic him, hoping I’m doing it right.