Track 16: Side B

15 Stolen Kisses

 

Lincoln

We were walking down the road, on our way to get ice cream at the Taste-E-Cone, and I couldn’t stop stealing glances at Jace out of the corner of my eye. It had been three weeks since I realized I was in love with Jace. When you’re fifteen, three weeks feels like an eternity.

I’d been watching him closely, looking for any sign he could feel the same way I did. I’d come to the conclusion it was a fifty-fifty chance. I’d caught him looking at me a few times when he thought I wasn’t looking, and his expression was…strange. Maybe he was checking me out, or maybe he was on to my secret and trying to figure out how I could possibly be into guys—into him.

Then there was the way he was all of the sudden nervous every time I touched him. I’d always been a touchy-feely person, and it never seemed to bother Jace before. Again, it could’ve meant he was into me or that he’d figured out I was into him and was totally freaked out.

At this point, I was worried I’d be stuck in limbo the rest of the summer with no idea whether I had a shot with Jace or not.

More cautious men may have waited for more evidence so they wouldn’t risk the friendship. I had never been cautious, and I wasn’t about to start now. Not when I couldn’t sleep because I was too busy thinking about what it would be like to have Jace in my bed.

Deciding it was now or never, I reached over and snatched Jace’s baseball hat off his head.

“Hey,” he complained, turning and trying to grab it back from me. I held it high, out of his reach and smirked at him. “Lincoln, stop it!”

“What’s the magic word?” I taunted in a way only a fifteen-year-old can perfect.

“Give it to me,” he insisted, jumping as high as he could and still falling epically short of reaching his hat.

“Fine, forget the magic word, I’ll take something else in exchange instead,” I offered boldly, my heart racing as if it knew there was a possibility it was only seconds from being shattered.

“What?” Jace asked skeptically.

“A kiss.”

Jace’s mouth dropped open, his eyes going wide and a rosy blush painting his cheeks.

“Linc…” My heart sank at the hesitation in his voice. I knew it was a longshot to think he’d been feeling the same way I had.

“I was kidding.” I forced a laugh and shoved his hat back into his hands. Jace opened and closed his mouth several times while I tried to achieve a poker face. “Please forget it.” The desperation in my voice was borderline pathetic and that’s when Jace’s expression changed from confused to resolute.

Without warning, he slammed his mouth against mine, our teeth clashing and our tongues clumsily tangling. He tasted like Capri Sun and summer…and something I would come to know as a flavor specific only to Jace.

“Lincoln,” Jace gasped, pulling back and looking around to make sure no one had spotted us.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the woods, just off the road, so we could be hidden by the trees.

Once we were out of sight of the road, I pulled him to me again, parting my lips and shoving my tongue back into his mouth. It was inelegant and a bit sloppy, but neither of us seemed to mind.

When we managed to stop kissing some time later, I was amazed at the pink blush in Jace’s cheeks and how puffy and wet his lips were from our kiss. I wanted to make him look like that all the time.

“I like you,” I said stupidly, and Jace laughed.

“Yeah, I kinda got that from your tongue down my throat.”

“Was that okay? I mean, did you like it?” I asked nervously, afraid I’d somehow misread the situation.

“I liked it,” Jace assured me. “I like you. I didn’t know…I mean, how long have you been gay?”

“Uh, since birth probably?” I raised my eyebrows at him as his face reddened further.

“God, that was stupid, sorry. I meant, how long have you liked me? Have you dated other guys?”

“I haven’t dated anybody. And I guess I first started to notice you last year? I wasn’t sure what it meant. But when I saw you this summer, I knew right away. It’s been driving me crazy all summer wondering if you might like me back.”

“I’ve liked you for a while,” Jace admitted.

“How long?”

“A few years.”

I felt my smile growing.

“Can we be like, boyfriends or whatever? I know I sound lame right now but, I’m just—”

Jace put a hand over my mouth to stop my rambling. “Yes, we can be boyfriends or whatever,” Jace mocked with a smile.

“This is the greatest day ever. Now, all we need is ice cream.”

“If you want to go get ice cream, you’ll have to let me go.”

I grumbled and reluctantly released Jace from my grasp, immediately missing the feeling of him.

“No pouting. We’ll get ice cream and then go hang out at my house and make out all afternoon.”

“Hell yeah,” I agreed, unable to believe my luck.