Second Kiss Read Online Free PDF Page B

realized that I had stood in the same position, watching them through the entire song. I quickly shifted my gaze to the disco ball as they made their way back to Nina and me.
    A moment later Nina leaned in behind me and whispered in a fluttery sing-song voice, “Trace incoming.” The sound of his name made me panic, and my breath caught at the bottom of my throat. I wanted to rewind back to the beginning of the week and tell Clarissa-stupid Clarissa!-that I did not want to dance with Trace, and she could not ask him if he liked me. That stupid deal! To think that the only thing I was getting out of this was Clarissa asking Jess to dance-the very scene that just made me want to puke!

    When Clarissa and Nina stepped away to decide how to approach Trace, I stole a glance at him standing against the far wall. He was wearing a dark blue dress shirt with a silver tie and black slacks. He looked like he’d stepped straight out of a GQ magazine. But other than his suit, he looked exactly the same. He didn’t need to make a special effort for the dance, I thought; he just always looked dreamy.
    Jess must have seen me looking at him. “There’s Prince Charming. I was wondering when we were going to get this show on the road.”
    “I’m glad you’re getting a kick out of watching my dignity being flushed down the toilet.”
    “Just tell Clarissa and Nina that you don’t want them to do it. They’re your friends. They’ll respect that.”
    I shook my head. “It’s too late. We had a deal, and Clarissa has already done her part of the deal.”
    “What was her part of the deal?” We both looked at Clarissa, who looked as if she didn’t have a worry in the world. “I have the feeling that her side of the deal was a bit easier than yours.”
    I felt sweat building up underneath my armpits. “It was so easy for her. She just walked right up and asked you to dance, like it was no big deal.”
    Jess’s eyes widened. “What? You told Clarissa she could do all of this to you if she would just ask me to dance?”
    I couldn’t do anything but nod.
    “Wow, if I would have known she was asking out of obligation, I would have said no. She has so much hairspray on that I swear it is sticking to the walls of my lungs.” Jess let out a fake cough.
    “I’m so sorry,” I started. “It was a stupid bet and I shouldn’t have gotten you in the middle of it.”

    Jess’s fake coughing turned into a smothered bout of laughter.
    “You’re not mad?”
    “Mad?” He stopped laughing. “How could I be mad? You are basically hyperventilating over here because Clarissa and Nina are going to tell Trace you like him, all because you thought you were helping me dance with a girl that you thought I liked. How could I be mad at you for that?” Jess cleared a stray eyelash from my cheek. “I don’t deserve a friend as good as you.”
    Jess’s closeness eased my nerves, and I felt my breathing slowing down to a more even pace. I almost forgot the whole terrible situation going on around me when Jess looked over my head and said, “Uh-oh.”
    I twisted around to face what he was looking at. Through the crowd I saw Clarissa and Nina, standing in front of Trace Weston!
    No! I yelled in my head, but no word came out of my mouth. I wanted to scream, but it was too late. The damage was being done, and there was nothing that I could do. But I didn’t have to watch. Without looking back at Jess, I bolted from the tight group of ninth graders and headed straight for the double doors that led to the hall. Without stopping, I went straight into the bathroom, which was still packed with giddy teenage girls and their disgustingly potent body sprays. I didn’t look at anyone as I shimmied my way into the stall farthest away from the door and locked the stall door behind me. How could this be happening to me? How did I let it get this far? I wanted to cry, but I didn’t let myself. I wasn’t wearing any makeup, so I didn’t have to worry about