The ABC's of Kissing Boys by Tina Ferraro

Author:Tina Ferraro
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780375891953
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2009-02-14T10:00:00+00:00

Nuzzling: As the perfect precursor

to the perfect kiss, rub your face

against his neck.

That night, I spotted Tristan out front, shooting hoops against a twilit sky.

A smile grazed his mouth as I crossed the street and headed toward him. He tossed me the ball. I caught it, aimed at the basket and shot. The ball bounced off the backboard, then thumped down on the pavement.

“Not bad,” he said.

“Not good, either.” I got my own rebound, then attempted to bounce the basketball from one thigh to the other, as I'd been doing with soccer balls since forever. But the weight and buoyancy of the ball was too different, so I gave up and tossed it back to him.

“So hey,” I said, “I hear I'm supposed to tell you my favorite color. Something to do with flowers?”

He cradled the ball in the crook of his arm and met my eye. “Someone's got a big mouth.”

“Apparently Emma's not real good at secrets.”

“Apparently.”

I waited for him to elaborate. When he didn't, I sat down on the curb and lifted my chin up at him.

“Tristan, you don't need to buy me flowers. In fact, don't waste a penny on me, okay? I think a kiss now and then at school is enough to keep everyone believing.”

“I'm not buying you flowers. And I don't really care what your favorite color is. It was just something to say. A way to chat up the girls.” He moved the ball over his head and lined it up to shoot. “Very soon this thing between us will be over, and it doesn't hurt for me to get to meet as many girls as I can now, while I have the opportunity.”

He fired off the shot. I didn't bother to watch where it went. I was too busy smacking my leg (and wishing it were his head). I knew I should be relieved that he had such a good handle on the limitations of our so- called relationship, but the last thing I wanted was him making time with other girls on my dime.

“You're using me to meet girls?”

“Not ‘using’ …”

I jumped to my feet. “Hey, bad enough I'm dating a freshman. But one who's hitting on girls behind my back? Now the only way I'll save face is by murdering you in your sleep.”

He retrieved the rolling ball, then walked toward me in long, even strides. “You're reading too much into this, Parker. Don't you realize that no girl would take me seriously right now? That she'd know that if I didn't realize how the gods had smiled on me by giving me you, I was not worth having?”

Huh? Man, was he good at double- talk.

“And not just because you're two grades ahead. But because you're totally beautiful and way out of my league. Not to mention kind of fun when you let your guard down.”

Beautiful?

“The thing is,” he continued, “I know it's not in the stars for us. And I'm okay with that. But you can't blame a guy for looking out for himself.

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