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have the lines. No actual kissing required, thank you.’
    I could feel Emmi breathing a sigh of relief beside me.
    She moved forward to where Flynn was standing. Mr Nichols directed them both into the middle of the empty space. They each said a few lines. Then Mr Nichols stopped them and made them explain
them. Flynn seemed to have no problem with this. Emmi, on the other hand, grew red in the face as she struggled to make sense of what she’d been saying.
    Mr Nichols frowned. ‘Right, guys, okay, so Romeo is angling for a kiss while Juliet’s quite happy to shake hands, as it were. They’re talking about pilgrims and saints and
Juliet points out saints use their lips in prayer. Romeo as a “pilgrim” asks Juliet as a “saint” to grant his prayer for a kiss – “ let lips do what hands
do ” – and Juliet says: “ Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake .” Can anyone tell me what she means?’
    I sat there, the blood pounding in my head. I knew what Juliet’s line meant. I wanted Flynn to know I knew. And yet . . . and yet . . . it was terrifying to speak it out loud.
    Mr Nichols’ gaze drifted across the room. ‘Anyone? Just jump in.’
    I took a deep breath and blurted it out. ‘I think Juliet is flirting . . . like, she’s hinting she won’t make the first move but she’ll go there if he does . . . I
mean, she’ll grant him his prayer and kiss him . . .’
    ‘ Yes .’ Mr Nichols punched the air.
    Emmi nodded, clearly relieved.
    ‘And now what does Romeo do?’ Mr Nichols demanded.
    ‘He kisses Juliet and says by granting his prayer she’s taken his sin away,’ Flynn said quietly.
    ‘ Yes. And then?’
    Flynn caught my eye. I knew he knew what the next lines meant, but he was waiting for me to speak.
    Letting me answer.
    I turned to Mr Nichols. ‘Juliet makes out that now, cos of him kissing her, her lips are all covered with his sin,’ I stammered, ‘which is gross. But she only says it cos she
wants him to kiss her again.’
    ‘ Yes .’ Mr Nichols was on his feet. ‘And then?’
    ‘He kisses her again,’ Flynn said. ‘To get his sin back off her. So she doesn’t have to carry it. It’s clever cos he’s making out he’s doing her a
favour. But really it’s what he wants to do.’
    As he said those last words, he glanced over at me again.
    That hot, powerful feeling I’d had before flooded through me, stronger than ever.
    Emmi stepped forward.
    I watched her doing the scene with Flynn – speaking our lines. I was jealous. Really jealous. I couldn’t help it. Then it was my turn to speak. As I said my lines to
Romeo, I didn’t look him in the face. I didn’t dare.
    After we’d gone through the whole scene, Mr Nichols took us all down to the sixth form common room where someone had laid out some more juice and biscuits. For some reason, Emmi was in a
bad mood and had already told me twice that she wanted to go soon. We’d already planned to go back to Grace’s for pizza so I was going to have to leave with the others.
    But I didn’t want to go. Not yet.
    I darted over to Alex – Emmi had said he was all right, hadn’t she? I murmured in his ear that she’d told me she’d like to talk to him.
    It worked. Thirty seconds after I’d scurried away Alex wandered over and started in on some hardcore chatting up.
    Emmi was already giggling as I headed for the orange juice. I just needed something to do with my hands before I turned round. Before . . .
    I sensed him before I saw him. Felt the thunderstorm circling above my head.
    ‘Are you Catholic?’
    I looked round, my hand poised over a plastic cup.
    Flynn was gazing down at me, his eyes so intense they almost peeled my skin away.
    ‘Er . . . no,’ I said.
    Brilliant, River. Sparkling repartee.
    ‘Oh.’ Flynn sounded mildly surprised. ‘I just thought . . . cos you seemed to understand all that stuff about the saints and sins so well . . .’
    I could feel my mouth moving involuntarily. Why was