Kiss and Break Up (Magnolia Cove, #1)(20)

I hadn’t told them about my fight with Dash. I wasn’t sure why, but every time I tried, it felt like a betrayal. He was my best friend but so were Willa and Daphne. And though I’d easily talked about Dash with them before, this felt different. Big and far too scarily personal.

“Back to the important matter here,” Daphne said, squirting a dollop of glitter glue onto her page and grabbing a small brush. “He kissed you, and you clearly survived. So what was it like?”

“You’re so funny.” I rolled my eyes. “And it was, I don’t know, pretty nice?”

Willa snorted. “Butterflies? Toe curling? We need more than just nice.”

“There were flutters, yes.” I spread some glue onto the page, then fixed the photo onto it. “He’s a good kisser.” I wasn’t lying. I’d replayed the kiss over and over. It was a decent first kiss, if not a little too much. I couldn’t exactly be the judge of that, though.

“How did you know what to do?” Willa asked, not unkindly.

“It’s not exactly rocket science. You let them take the lead until you’re comfortable.”

I looked at Daphne, wishing I’d had some of her confidence. Maybe then I wouldn’t have felt inclined to kiss my best friend for practice. “You’ve done it, right?”

“It?” Willa asked.

I tried not to blush. “You know …”

Daphne narrowed her eyes. “Thanks for assuming.” My cheeks reddened, then she sighed. “Yeah, I have.”

“Willa?”

Her eyes widened comically. “Uh, no, I would’ve told you.”

“You’ve done other stuff, though.” Daphne took a sip of her lemonade.

I was glad Mom was out grocery shopping. She’d tried to talk about sex with me once, but when I’d kept laughing, she’d given up. I kind of regretted that now.

“I have.” Willa’s face was so red, I couldn’t help but think if I touched it, my skin would burn.

“You don’t want to elaborate?” I asked at the same time Daphne said, “With who?”

“I can’t say, so please …” Willa’s cheeks puffed. “Drop it.”

Daphne tapped the tip of her brush against the table as she stared at Willa. “This is going to bug me now. Why can’t you say?”

Willa shifted in her chair, and one of her hands trembled.

I decided to let her off the hook. “What should I expect next?”

Daphne turned to me, and Willa gave me a grateful smile. “Has he asked you out again?”

“Well, not exactly. But he implied that he wanted to.”

Daphne nodded. “He’ll probably save getting dirty until he gets you someplace private. So, if you’re not ready, don’t let that happen.”

“Dirty?” I asked.

“You know, take you through all the bases.”

I nodded, trying to absorb all that would mean. I was ready, though. At least, I thought I was. I didn’t have to love him to experiment and have fun with him.

“You want to do more with Byron?” Willa asked.

“Yeah, I mean,” I blew a curl from my face, “I want to know what it’s like, and Byron’s really sweet.”

Daphne beamed at me. “Our little Pegs is growing up.”

I flicked some pink confetti at her. “Shut up.”

A little while later, after Mom got home, we began cleaning up. “Pegs, you do know Dash has been in your room since I got home, right?”

Dash hanging out here wasn’t exactly news to Daphne and Willa. They knew he came and went as he pleased. But the fact he hadn’t made his presence known raised brows.

I forced a smile. “He can wait a few minutes.”

“I need to get home.” Willa shut her kit, drained the last of her lemonade, then set the glass down. “Bye, Peony.”

Daphne joined her, waving over her shoulder.

“Okay.” Mom wiped her hands on a kitchen towel, watching them walk off with her head tilted. “Bye girls.”

Mom grabbed my shoulder before I could leave the room. “I’m cleaning it up.”

“Not that. Dash.” She hung the towel up. “What happened Friday night? It sounded like you guys had a fight.”

Her voice was quiet, but with or without Dash being here, I still didn’t want to talk about it.

“He’s just being his usual self. Interfering and too bossy.” I tried to play it off, but I knew she could tell it was more than that this time.

Even so, she let it go with a nod. “I picked up the last of your uniforms today.”

“Thank you.” I couldn’t believe my last summer as a high school student had passed, and we’d be back in school the next day. It seemed I’d been waiting years to become a senior and experience this magical turning point that would help shape the course of my life. And now that it was finally here, my confidence and excitement had vanished.

“They’re still in the car, but I’ll iron them later and bring them to your room.”

Dad gave us a credit card years ago. There was no way Mom could afford to send me to Magnolia Cove Prep without his help. As it stood, he paid for the ghastly yearly tuition, supplies, and had even said he’d buy me a car. Mom drew the line at that, seeing as Dash took me to school on most days.