Right now Holsterās talking to March and April from the volleyball team, and Rans isnāt looking, because heās making out with one of last yearās bio classmates where Holster can definitely see. Itās a good kiss. Rans tries really hard to leave parties with a good kiss, because it keeps both the ruse and his reputation in a tidy spot. He likes that people know heās a good kisser. Every party needs a showstopper, and Holster ā Holster doesnāt need the reminder, he doesnāt, but sometimes it feels likeā
Ransās former classmateās smiling into his lips. Her name is Grace, he thinks; they spent enough time together for him to know sheās into him but not long enough to remember her name. Heād feel worse about it if he thought sheād care. A summer kiss is a summer kiss.
Hands in his hair, nails a slight and deliberate pressure, a subtle brush of tongue. Usually this is when heād kiss his way along her jaw to her ear and whisper an invite back to his place. Tonight, though, Rans tugs her bottom lip with his teeth and steps away.Ā
āI gotta go,ā he says.
Grace touches her mouth. Gives him the eyes. āMaybe we can do it again sometime?ā
āYeah, for sure,ā he tells her, even though he knows they wonāt. Sheāll meet someone else and heāll be another hookup and he still wonāt hold Holsterās hand as they walk home.
Over her shoulder, Holsterās still laughing with the girls, the sweat on his neck shimmering, and Rans can almost taste it.