But since I don’t have a time machine, I’ll have to settle for making it better now.

“She’ll be fine,” I say. At his smirking expression, I explain, “We had a long talk. I told her that she needed to trust me. That even if you weren’t a good guy—which you are—that doesn’t mean I would follow you down the Delinquency Spiral.”

“Delinquency Spiral?” he echoes.

I roll my eyes. “Her words, not mind.” I step closer, place my hands on his chest, hoping the physical connection will reinforce what I’m saying. “I will choose my own friends, and she will just have to deal. Besides, she kinda feels like she owes you for saving my ass.”

He’s quiet for several long moments, and I’m not sure if I got through. I’m not sure if I’ve healed those wounds…or made them worse.

Then his mouth lifts into that cocky smirk.

“Friends?”

I smile back. “For now.”

He leans closer until his mouth is a breath away from mine. “With benefits?”

“Most definitely,” I whisper, and then close the distance between us.

Our lips brush in the briefest touch. A mere whisper. But I feel it like fireworks in every cell of my body.

Closing the door on the first phase of our friendship, and kicking in the second.

There are only thirty-six school days left in the quarter. Less than two months. What used to feel like an eternity, suddenly feels like nowhere near enough time.

What if you stayed? a tiny voice whispers in my mind.

Tru looks at me, into me, his dark, hooded eyes seeming to plead, Stay.

Three weeks ago, if anyone even hinted at the idea that I might possibly ever consider wanting to think about staying in Texas, I would have laughed them out of the room. And then killed them off in the next issue of Graphic Grrl. Gruesomely.

But now…? Now, with the magnetic pull between Tru and me sparkling like the Fourth of July, it doesn’t seem like such a horrifying possibility.

Not horrifying at all. And that scares me a little.

Reluctantly, I start to pull away. Tru doesn’t let me go. Instead, he wraps his hand around my neck and holds me in place for one second, two. Then his lips meet mine again, and the jolt is back, only this time it’s more a warmth spreading through my whole body, making my toes tingle and my hands tremble.

I could stay here forever, but we’re in the hallway and the bell already rang. He knows it, too, because this time when I pull away, he lets me.

As I open the classroom door, I whisper, “Maybe more than friends.”

I can feel the smile in his voice as he says, “Most definitely.”

Most definitely. I like the sound of that.

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About the Author

Tera Lynn Childs is the RITA-award-winning young adult author of the mythology-based Oh. My. Gods. series, the Forgive My Fins mermaid romance series, the kick-butt monster-hunting Sweet Venom trilogy, and the Darkly Fae series. She also writes the City Chicks sweet chick lit romance series and is co-writing the Hero Agenda series with Tracy Deebs. Tera lives nowhere in particular and spends her time writing wherever she can find a comfy chair and a steady stream of caffeinated beverages.

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