CHAPTER 26

Dex was taller than me, and as he pressed me against him, he actually hauled me up on my tiptoes. His arm was around my waist, his other hand plunged into my hair, and he was kissing me. I mean, really, really kissing me.

I was kissing him back. And I was good at it.

I didn’t know if it was the spell, or if I was some kind of kissing prodigy. Everything I’d worried about—weird head movements, awkward lip placement, the Spit Dilemma—none of it was an issue. Dex and I kissed like we’d been doing it forever. That buzz I felt every time I touched him was still there, but now it was wrapped up in all these other feelings, feelings that seemed a lot more potent than any magic.

My fingers curled against his shoulders, the material of his jacket as soft as it had looked, and I shivered.

When we finally broke apart, his eyes were bluer than normal. He seemed dazed—and I wasn’t feeling particularly clearheaded either. “Izzy,” he murmured.

I pulled back. “It’s a spell.”

Dex blinked twice, shaking his head. “What?”

I was still trying to catch my breath. Trying to keep myself from jumping back into his arms. “This place. It’s got some kind of love spell thing happening. That’s the only reason we…we, uh…”

I was moving back toward him, my hands already itching to grab his lapels. One of his fingers curled around my belt loop, pulling me in, but before our lips could meet again, I slammed both of my palms against his chest. “You don’t really want to kiss me,” I blurted out.

“I…I’m sorry, what?”

Stepping back, I crossed my arms. “This cave. Someone did a love spell here. That’s what all this—” I went to point to his hand, but it was empty now. Somewhere in the middle of…everything, Dex had dropped the heart charm. Clearing my throat, I rushed on. “Anyway, love spells are, like, crazy powerful. They can…seep into places. Make other people feel the effects of the magic. That’s what’s happening to us.”

I was babbling and I knew it, but I just wanted to find something I could say that would erase the dawning horror on Dex’s face.

“So…we kissed because of magic?”

“Right,” I said, relieved. “So it doesn’t mean anything.”

His expression twisted, and now he didn’t seem horrified. He seemed…angry.

“Is this something else you learned on the Internet?” he asked, his voice cold. “The effects of love spells on people who don’t like each other?”

Confused, I shook my head. “I do like you.”

Dex laughed, but it was a laugh I’d never heard him use before. It was sarcastic and harsh. “Of course you do. As a friend, right?” And then suddenly, all the anger seemed to drain out of him. He ran a hand over the top of his head, ruffling his hair. “Look, it’s fine. We kissed because magic made us do it. Whatever. Let’s just…let’s just go.”

He moved toward the tunnel and made what I thought was another harsh laugh. But it wasn’t. It was a cough. Then a wheeze. And suddenly he was sliding to the floor, his shoulders and chest working, but no air coming in or going out.

I rushed over to him, thrusting my hands into the pockets of his jacket, but he shoved me off.

“I know things are weird with us, but now is not the time!” I shouted. In the dim glow of the flashlight I could see the skin around his lips turning blue. Dex made another wheeze, but this one sounded like it was trying to be a laugh. “Car,” he mouthed.

I was bolting out of the cave the second the word was out of his mouth. Ducking to keep from whacking my head, I crawled faster than anyone has ever crawled before. By the time I got out to the car my hands were shaking. I yanked open the door and started pawing through the glove box. All that got me was a box of tissues and some hard peppermints.

Every bad word I knew was spilling from my lips as I thrust my hands between the seats. Finally, my fingers closed over metal, and I could’ve wept with relief when I pulled out Dex’s inhaler.

When I got back to him, the wheezing had given way to a terrifying silence. Fumbling, I shoved the inhaler at him, sinking back on my heels when I heard him take several deep pulls on it.

It took much longer than it had that day on the football field, but after several agonizing seconds, Dex started breathing again. Color rushed back into his face, and he closed his eyes, shaking.

“Well, that was different,” he whispered once he could finally talk. He opened one eye. “Never had an asthma attack from making out. You are one heck of a kisser, Izzy Brannick.”

I would have hit him, but I was so glad he wasn’t dying that I just patted his shoulder instead. “I think it was the arguing rather than the kissing.”

“Heh,” he breathed. “Maybe.” Both eyes opened. “I’m sorry, by the way. I shouldn’t have gotten so pissed, but—”

“Forget about it,” I said. “And…maybe it wasn’t just the magic that made me kiss you. But, Dex. I can’t…we can’t…”

I didn’t know what else to say. That seemed to sum it all up. I couldn’t. We couldn’t. My life was full of ridiculously dangerous stuff. And Dex, in his own way, was ridiculously brave. I thought about the clothes he wore, the unabashed affection he showed toward me, Romy, even his Nana. Every day of his life, Dex was uniquely himself, and he didn’t care what people said about it. And I knew that if he really knew what my life was like, he’d want to be a part of it. That was the kind of guy he was—all in.

And being “all in” with me would get him killed.

“It’s fine,” Dex said, breathing more slowly. “As long as we can be friends, I’m…I’m good with that.”

“Me, too,” I said. And even though I knew that was true, I wondered why it made me so sad.