His Kiss (14 page)

Then she announced loudly to the rest of the room, “This is ‘Study Hall’ people! You’re supposed to be
studying
—not practicing your candid photography.”

Candid … photography?

My heart was suddenly beating all crazy and wild, even more so than before. What was she
talking
about? I gazed down at Griffin’s cell phone and gasped, and my stomach did these weird loop-d-loops things. ‘Cause of what was on his phone.

It was a picture.

Of me!

Griffin had obviously just taken it—like a minute before Mrs. Harris caught him. I was staring down at my book (it was Biology), and my face was red as a beet, but I actually looked like I was reading it and totally into it. And the weird thing was, I looked … pretty.

While I was staring at the picture—which I’d probably been doing a long, long time—a text message came on Griffin’s phone.

Weird. It was from Jake.
Hm.
I was pretty sure I’d seen Jake when I first came into the classroom before I’d noticed Griffin. Those moments were all a frenzied blur, but still I was pretty sure … which meant Jake was here in the room and knew I had Griffin’s phone.

Puzzled, I glanced up and then sucked in my breath. Griffin smiled at me from across the room. He was sitting right next to Jake with a cell phone in his hands—apparently Jake’s. The Griff gestured at the phone and eased back in his seat, watching me.

I gave him a sideways glance, then read the text since that seemed to be what he wanted.
Don’t delete the picture.

Purrrrr.

Seeing the message gave me tingles and made me all happy and warm inside. I guess it was because I liked the picture too. I smiled, feeling toasty good that he had taken the picture and wanted to keep it.

So, of course I didn’t delete it. Not that I would have anyway, unless I looked super ugly in it.

Swallowing up some courage I dared to text back:
Can I look at your other pictures?

A second later Griffin answered:
No
.

That was all it said.
Just that one word.
No
.

Seeing it made my stomach knot a little though, and I wasn’t all happy and toasty warm anymore. In fact, now I was anxious and depressed. What other kind of pictures did he have on the phone?
Pictures of Hailey?
And girls like Hailey? Probably. The thought depressed me. And made me want to hurry and get back together with Aiden. Stop liking Griffin who liked girls like Hailey and made me feel all out of control and hopeless.

When class was over Griffin met me at the door to retrieve his phone—and that was probably the only reason he waited for me.
Seriously, the only reason.
I mean, I did all these kooky things—making him treats, leaving them in his locker, doodling his name all over my homework assignments,
writing
poems about him. The list went on and on. And I thought about him all the time, constantly. But it seemed he only thought of me when I was right there—in front of his face. The rest of the time it was exactly like the saying: Out of sight, out of mind. I’d already known that’s the way he was, but I was feeling it anew. When I wasn’t in his sight, I was completely out of his mind.

And that’s why he took the picture of me, because I was right there. And why he gave me a ride home that day, because I was right there. And why he kissed me at that party, because I was right there. But he didn’t actually ever think about me when I wasn’t “right there.” Or try to get to know me. He wasn’t like that—he was a “love the one you’re with” kind of guy. And that sucked.
Because I wanted him to like me.
Really
like me.
Me, me, me.
Not just any girl that was around. And not just to be a tease.

Ugh.

I wanted him to really like me. And it wasn’t fair. Because I knew he didn’t. Even though he had said he did the other night—and no matter how hard I longed to believe him I knew I shouldn’t. Because I knew he didn’t. Not really and truly.

“Why’d you take the picture of me?” I asked as I handed him his phone. I asked it all defiant and challenging since I was feeling—well, defiant and challenging. Seriously. I was all wound up and ready to throw things.

Griffin grinned, talking all husky as he headed to his next class, walking backwards so he could face me. “I told you. I like you, Heaven.”

Hah!

He was so full of it. A smooth-talker, all seductive and
heart-melting
. Grr! It was a game to him, though—I knew that—a total game. But still, my heart throbbed and yearned anyway. Totally purred.

I probably turned a thousand shades of pink, probably, because Griffin’s lips twitched with amusement as he continued to walk backwards watching me with his eyes trained on mine. But once he finally turned around, I snapped out of my hormone-induced daze, daring to call after him, “You don’t even know me.”

Griffin turned back to me and grinned. “Don’t I?”

Then he disappeared into the crowd of student traffic and I was left wondering what he meant by that. The way he said it, he seemed so—I don’t know—humored? Mischievous? Something. Like he knew me better than I thought. Okay, probably he was just doing his usual—messing around. But I spent the whole next class period—the whole hour—hoping I was wrong earlier. That maybe Griffin
did
think about me sometimes. And maybe he knew me … sort of.

It didn’t seem possible. But I wanted it to be.

***

By
lunch time
I was doing my best to forget about Griffin again. He was
all wrong
for me. He was a “bad boy.”
And a tease.
And that’s all he was doing with my heart—teasing it. I saw him on my way to the cafeteria, though he didn’t see me. He was leaving campus with Hailey and a bunch of Hailey wanna-bees. And Jake. Big, mean Jake.

So ….
no
. No, no, no. He just wasn’t my type, not at all.

I had to get that through to my head once and for all. Though really, my head got it. It did. It was my heart that was having trouble. It was all mushy and hot for Griffin.

I want Aiden, I want Aiden,
I
want Aiden!
That’s what I kept trying to tell myself all through lunch as I listened to Jazz gush about the school dance this Friday. She was going with Conner and totally psyched about it—which was strange because Jazz loathed school dances, hated them. Obviously she really, really liked Conner to get so excited about the dance.

While she talked, I kept thinking:
Maybe
I’ll go to the dance with Aiden
.

The idea made me happy. I loved school dances and Aiden and I had always gone together. They were fun and I was on the dance committee. Until today I’d been dreading Friday’s dance, knowing I’d have to help with the preparations but probably wouldn’t be going to the dance itself. The thought was depressing. But going to the dance with Aiden—I knew it would be fun, like old times. Suddenly, I was all perky and happy.

Until Destiny woke me out of my Aiden plans. She asked almost certain-like, “You’re going to the dance with Milo, right?”

“Huh? Oh.” I cleared my throat.

I hadn’t told her or Jazz that I had plans to meet with Aiden after school. I got the feeling they wouldn’t approve. Actually, I knew they wouldn’t. They thought Aiden and I should call it quits for good and move on. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that Aiden seemed to have actually
moved
on.
But whatever.
They didn’t know how Aiden looked at me sometimes—like he really, really wanted me back. And they didn’t know about some of his texts. They knew about most, but not about all.

“Um, no,” I said. “I’m not going to the dance with Milo. He didn’t ask me.”

“You mean not
yet
,” Destiny said. “I have him in my history class. He’s so sweet and he has it for you bad, Ally. And you used to act like you liked him. He’s still hoping you do.” She shook her head, like the situation was sad and she felt sorry for him. “He’s going to ask you, Ally. I guarantee it—he’ll ask you to the dance.”

I groaned. “I hope he doesn’t.”

She tilted her head at me, like I was an alien creature from another planet. “He’s really cute, Ally. And so is Griffin—what’s your problem?”

I blinked. “Griffin? What does he have to do with this?”

Destiny made a huffing sound and got up from the table. “I’m done eating,” she said all snippety. “I’m going to go make-up a test.”

I watched her march off, totally baffled. She seemed mad. “What’s up with her?”

Jazz sighed. “I told her about Griffin asking you out the other day.”

My stomach knotted. “He didn’t ask me out. He just asked me to
hang
out. There’s a total difference. Griffin’s not interested in me—he’s just playing around.”

Jazz shrugged. “Well, Destiny wants him to play with her.”

I texted Destiny.
I’m sorry
, I wrote.
Really. But Griffin doesn’t like me. Not for real.

She didn’t text me back until lunch was over. But then she texted this big, long essay thing saying she was sorry that she was jealous of me, and that she wanted me to be happy, and that she thought I should go for Griffin.

I read the message like three hundred times, then read it again.

She was
jealous
of me? I’d had no idea. As far as I knew, no one had ever been jealous of me before in my life. Well, except maybe Fiona. She had been jealous that I had Aiden. But then … she got him. So, I didn’t really like thinking that someone was jealous of me, especially not one of my very best friends.

It had my stomach in knots.

I didn’t know how to explain to her that she didn’t have to worry about Griffin. That he wasn’t right for either of us.
That we were both better off to stay clear of him.
I didn’t bother to lecture her about that, because well … what could I say? I was having trouble listening to the words myself—I wasn’t going to go spouting them.

I waited for Destiny after her Spanish class. “You don’t need to be jealous of me,” I told her. “I’m such a mess.”

I explained to her that I was trying not to like Griffin,
then
confessed I was planning to get back together with Aiden—maybe.

Destiny shook her head. “Don’t go back to Aiden,” she said. “You guys used to be a cute couple—but really, it seems like you’ve both moved on. Really, Ally.”

When I didn’t say anything, she bit her lip,
then
went on, hesitantly. “Look, okay? You’re telling me Griffin is all wrong for you—so I don’t want to give you bad advise, but if I were you, I’d totally,
totally
go for Griffin.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, already knowing that. She didn’t need to be me; she
had
gone after Griffin—she’d sat in his lap, and played with his hair, and sniffed his neck.

Destiny paused, turning a little pink as she went on with the rest of her spiel. “That night at Jake’s party Griffin kept talking about you.” She was beet red now. “I remember being all drunk and he pulled me away from—from some guy that was macking on me. He said, ‘That’s Ally Grange’s little friend, leave her alone.’ He said that! And then he like, baby-sat me the rest of the night … until
you
came.”

I bit the inside of my cheek harder, not knowing what to say to that. I was touched beyond words that Griffin did that. It was sweet and had me feeling all gooey inside.