Ever After (East Raven Academy Book 1)(64)

“No way,” I answer.

I hear the crowd start cheering, so I look at the large screen. There is a guy down on one knee, proposing to a girl. I hope she likes baseball. Because, seriously. Who wants to get engaged at a baseball game? Apparently, she does. Because she nods her head, with tears streaming down her face. The couple kiss, and the crowd goes nuts.

“I’ve never seen anybody get engaged at a surfing tournament,” I tell Estaine, and he starts laughing. “Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a couple get engaged before.”

“Well, now you have,” he says.

The crowd starts cheering again, so I look up at the screen, expecting to see another couple get engaged. Instead, there are little hearts on the screen and words that say Kiss Cam. The couple on the screen start kissing.

“What the heck is this?” I ask, as the camera flashes to another couple. This girl just kisses the guy on the cheek and the crowd boos.

“Kiss Cam. That awkward moment when sometimes strangers are forced to kiss,” Brooks says.

“One time, when I was at the game with River, they put the camera on us,” Estaine says.

My mouth falls open. “They pointed the camera on you and your sister? That’s so weird. Shouldn’t they make sure that the two people aren’t related?”

“River just kissed a random guy on the other side of her,” Estaine says. “He was some politician’s son that had come with us. My dad was so mad at her, but I think the other kid fell in love.”

“She told me about that,” Brooks says. “We were dating then. River didn’t want me to be mad.”

I look back at the screen and see a couple kissing very enthusiastically. The girl’s face is red when the guy pulls away.

These poor people. Why do they do this?

I continue watching the screen and then see my own face pop up beside Estaine. Neither of us makes a move to do anything, but then the crowd starts cheering kiss, kiss, kiss! So, I lean over and kiss him. It’s hardly even a kiss. Our lips barely touch and then it’s over. The crowd doesn’t seem too happy with our kiss, though.

Then, I feel Brooks’ hand on mine. I look over at him and he presses his lips against mine. I don’t have time to process anything. He’s just... kissing me. So, I kiss him back. And I’m vaguely aware that the crowd is cheering, but I’m just thinking about his lips.

He pulls back and I slap a hand over my mouth.

Did he seriously just kiss me?

“What the heck did you do that for?” Uncle Matty asks Brooks.

Brooks just shrugs, but there is a smile on his face.

“We need to go,” Jake says. “These things are televised, and after the spectacle you just made...”

He doesn’t finish his sentence.

But I can see the worry on both of their faces.

We get up during the middle of halftime and leave the stadium.

The whole time that Uncle Matty pulls me away from the box where we were just sitting, all I can think is, what just happened?





3pm.





Ever after.





“Why the heck did you do that?” I ask Brooks, after we’ve been in the car for a good thirty minutes. It’s the first thing anybody has said since we got in the car, and anger has been slowly building up inside of me.

“I was jealous,” Brooks answers.

“Jealous? Seriously?” I ask, then slap him across the face.

Because I am so mad at him that I can barely stand it.

He deserved it.

“That hurt,” Brooks says, covering his cheek with his hand. “Why did you hit me?”

“Because I didn’t want to kiss you,” I answer. “And you had no right to do that.”

“You kissed me back,” he says.

“Because I was in shock,” I say. “How dare you? Seriously. I wanted my first kiss to be something memorable, and you just stole it.”

“You kissed him first,” Brooks says, pointing to Estaine.

“That hardly counts,” I say. “And Estaine didn’t force me to kiss him.”

Brooks opens his mouth to say something, then closes it.

“I’m sorry,” Brooks says, after a few seconds of silence. “I didn’t realize that kissing me would be so horrible.”

“Don’t even try to turn this back around on me,” I say, hating that his words make me feel guilty.

“Teenagers,” Jake says, from the front seat.

“So dramatic,” Uncle Matty says.

“Uh...” I groan. “Seriously, guys. Can you just not talk right now? And can we drop Brooks off at West Raven?”

“We are on our way there, now,” Jake says.

“Thank you,” I say, sitting back against the seat.

“Is Phoenix in danger?” Estaine asks.

“Possibly,” Uncle Matty says.

“I’m sorry,” Estaine says to me. “I never should’ve suggested going to the game. I never would have, if I’d thought this would happen.”

“It’s not your fault,” I say.

“She’s right,” Uncle Matty says. “Being on the kiss cam wasn’t bad until Tweedledum decided to kiss her. And if the video of what happened goes viral, they won’t know she’s at East Raven. But they will know she’s in Massachusetts.”