Kissed Read Online Free

Jacob ended up behind her.
    “Perfect.
Now I can see over your shoulder,” he teased.
    “I’ll
tell your mom if I catch you cheating, Jacob Lindsey.”
    He
placed a hand over his heart.   “You wound
me, kid.”
    She
rolled her eyes and faced forward.   “Yeah, yeah…”   It was nice having
him close by, though.
    Second
semester was definitely better than the first.   Monday through Thursday afternoons, it was good odds Jacob was over at
her house to study, though they went to his sometimes, too.   Mom and Mrs. Lindsey were frequently out
gardening on weekends and chatted over the back fence until one or the other
offered a glass of lemonade or iced tea.   Beth kept expecting Dad to wonder what this boy was doing at the house
so much, but Jacob was usually gone before he got home for dinner and she guessed
Mom hadn’t said anything he felt the need to worry about.
    Spring
Break came along, but not with fun time for her—Jacob and his mom were out of
town.   Dad didn’t have the time off, so
Mom dragged her around to her daytime activities when she couldn’t escape to
the park to practice with her camera.   She got her first SLR for her thirteenth birthday, but she’d been
shooting since she could hold a camera without dropping it and she had plans to
make a career of photography.
    With
May racing by and the weather heating up, her fifteenth birthday was
approaching.   Birthdays were a family
thing, since she hadn’t had enough friends for a party since she was seven, and
brought mixed emotions of loneliness and anticipation.
    “Don’t
forget we’re going out to dinner tonight,” Mom said, setting two sodas on the
table.
    “Special occasion?” Jacob asked.
    “Her
birthday,” she said with a smile.
    “Your
birthday’s today, Bethie? Mine’s in a week. Small world.”
    “No
wonder you get along,” Mom said.   “The
symbol for Gemini is The Twins. Two sides of the same coin.”
    “Mom…”   She knew Beth didn’t believe in any of that
stuff.
    “Fine,
I’ll let you study.”   She walked down the
hall and they heard a door close.
    He
bumped Beth’s shoulder with his.   “Should’ve said somethin’. I’d at least get Mum to bake.”
    “It’s
no big deal.”   She wrote out an equation
from today’s assignment.   “Just another day.”
    “Next
year, have a party. My sixteenth was awesome.”
    “Honestly,
who’d come?”
    His
knee nudged hers under the table.   “I
would.”
    “Thanks.”  
    Two
weeks later, finals arrived.   The end of
the school year filled her with dread.  
    What
if Jacob went away all summer?   What if
he didn’t need her help next year with Algebra?   What if he met a girl ?   Duh, she knew he dated.   Anybody with ears at their school knew if
Jacob Lindsey had plans Friday night.   The junior girls he asked out couldn’t keep their mouths shut about
it.   Summer, though…summer meant pools
and beaches and parties she wasn’t invited to.   Every date was the potential end to their friendship.   He was two years older than her, so what else
could she expect?
    But
the last of June was okay and she started to relax.   He passed his driver’s license test and they
celebrated with hamburgers and ice cream.   She ordered a chocolate fudge sundae.
    When
the waitress brought him the check, she said, “You know, I think it’s so sweet
you took your little sister for lunch.”
    Beth’s
face flamed as the server walked away and she excused herself to the ladies’
room.   Staring at her reflection, she
couldn’t blame the woman for the assumption.   She wore no make-up, her hair was in pigtail braids, she still had
frames from eighth grade, and she’d yet to graduate from the double-A training
bra Mom bought her a year ago.   Might as
well have been twelve .
    She
sulked during the ride home and mumbled an excuse about eating too much and not
feeling well.   He shrugged and said he’d
see her tomorrow.   Completely oblivious to my