Page 39 of The Lucky One
As fast as spring break came, it went again—and I still hadn’t told Jon about my reputation at school. The lunch bell rang and the hallway filled with people.
“Are you ready?” Jon extended his hand toward me and my throat went dry. Two girls had already fixed their gaze on us, whispering with mischievous glints in their eyes.
“Jon, maybe we shouldn’t go through with this yet,” I said.
“You say you don’t want to but you’re smiling.” Jon brushed his thumb against my cheek.
“No.” I shook my head. “I can’t do this.” I turned to escape down the hall, but I didn’t get far. Jon’s hand swiftly wrapped around my arm.
“Little German.”
“Jon, please!” I tried to shake him off. “I’m allowed to say no.”
He sighed, then guided me into the nearest room. We were in the janitor’s closet he’d pulled me into only a few months back, when I wanted to make sure our Halloween kiss would remain a ghost to everyone but us. It felt like a lifetime ago. The room was still the same though. Cleaning supplies, mops, little to no space. Jon’s hot breath landed on my cheek.
“I don’t get it.” He skimmed his fingers through his slightly disheveled hair. “I want to show everyone that you’re mine, but you barely even look at me when we’re at school. Are you ashamed to be with me?”
“No! It’s not that.”
“Then what? Is it because of Paul? We gave him time.”
I bit my lip. Paul was part of the reason. Despite the progress we’d made in our friendship, I didn’t want to test it. “I still don’t feel comfortable being all couply in front of him,” I said.
Jon huffed and leaned back against the wall. “I don’t buy his ‘let’s be friends’ line.”
“I do,” I said firmly.
“Then why can’t I hold your hand at school?” Jon’s voice grew more agitated. “Please, Little German. I want to respect your boundaries, but I need to understand.”
I was trapped. No dodging the question now. “When people see you with me, they’ll laugh at you,” I admitted, my voice filled with shame.
“Huh?” Jon grimaced. “Why the hell would they laugh at me? You’re the prettiest girl at school. They’d envy me.” He stroked my cheeks, making them flush with warmth.
A stupid grin crawled into my cheeks. “I’m the prettiest girl at school? Really?”
“Damn it,” he muttered. “You definitely are.”
I giggled. “I think you’re a bit biased as my boyfriend.”
My heart fluttered. This was the first time I’d said out loud that Jon fucking Henry Denson was my boyfriend. A wide grin spread on his face: he’d noticed it too.
“No one comes even close to you, Little German. I mean, this face?”
He kissed both of my cheeks.
“This golden angel’s hair?”
He ran his fingers through my hair and tugged at the ends.
“That ass.” He smirked and squeezed my butt, rucking up my dress a bit.
“And especially, those eyes.”
He stared right into me. I leaned in to kiss him—but he backed off.
“You still owe me an explanation. A kiss for an answer. How does that sound?”
I groaned and rested my head against a cupboard. “You’re not playing fair...”