Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
“Uh, yeah you do,” he argues back. “You’re a girl. You’re wearing a silly dress and have flowers in your hair. That makes you a girl, and I don’t want stupid girl kisses.”
“They’re not stupid,” I throw back at him, tears welling in my eyes.
“Ugh,” he groans, getting annoyed. “Why do we always have to do what you wanna do? Can’t we just play tag or something like that? You haven’t even seen my new bike yet.”
My cheeks burn with embarrassment, and as the tears fall down my face, I turn and run. I run with everything I am.
“Mommy,” I cry, only she doesn’t look up because she’s silently crying into Aunt Maya’s shoulder. My tears fall harder at the sight. She never has time for me anymore. She’s always busy talking to doctors or crying with my daddy.
Huffing, I go for the door, barging through and passing our daddies in the living room. The game is on, but neither of them seems to be watching it. My feet hit the stairs, and I run faster than I’ve ever run before.
Noah said my kisses were stupid, but they’re not stupid. They’re special. Like a gift from me to him. If he gave me a kiss, I would always keep it special.
Barging into my room, I slam the door behind me and throw myself down on my bed, smooshing my face into my pillow and letting the tears flow free.
He’s supposed to be my bestest friend.
My tears eventually dry, and while it’s barely been a few minutes, it feels like a lifetime. Is this what life is supposed to be about? Boys hurting my heart? Because if that’s it, I don’t want it. I want to always be happy with Noah. I want him to love me like I love him, but he can’t love me if he thinks my kisses are stupid.
A knock sounds at my bedroom door, and I sit up on my bed, watching as it swings open. Noah stands on the other side of the doorway, looking like he just swallowed a whole lemon.
He looks anywhere but at me, and I squint my eyes at him real hard, more than ready to give him a piece of my mind, but I don’t know what to say. Noah Ryan broke my heart, and even though we were just playing, it still hurts.
“Your mommy made you come and say sorry, didn’t she?”
Noah rolls his eyes and huffs, inching into my room, still refusing to meet my stare. He’s never been good at apologizing. He hates it, almost as much as he hates my kisses. “Yes,” he grumbles.
Scrambling off my bed, I go and stand in front of him, knowing that when it comes to Noah Ryan and apologies, he sometimes needs a little help. At least, that’s what his mommy says. “You broke my heart,” I tell him, pouting out my bottom lip. “My kisses are special.”
Those dark eyes stare back at me. “I didn’t mean to make you sad, Zozo,” he says, the ring I’d lost in the long grass now looped over his finger. “I just don’t like kisses, but maybe I might like them when I’m bigger.”
My heart booms with happiness. “Really?”
He nods, a wide smile stretching across his face. “Yeah,” he says before something flickers in his eyes. He steps into me, taking my hand just like he did out in the yard, and pushes the too-big ring onto my finger. “Zozo,” he says, squeezing my hand as he leans in to whisper in my ear, a wave of goosebumps spreading over my skin and making the butterflies start to roam again. “You know I love you, right?”
Tipping my head up, I meet his stare, his dark eyes locked so tightly on mine as my heart thunders in my chest. My whole world revolves around this boy, and I’ve never been so happy. I don’t ever want this to change.
“I’m sorry I hurt your heart,” he whispers. “I don’t ever want to do that again.”
“I don’t want you to do that either.”
A soft smile pulls at his lips, and the way his eyes sparkle has me already forgetting how it hurt. “Can I still marry you?”
I laugh, pulling him into my arms and squeezing him tight, my every dream coming true. “Yes,” I tell him. He beams back at me, and then surprising me, he takes my face in both his hands and presses a big kiss to my lips, making my heart beat faster than it ever has in my whole entire life.
And I realize this is exactly what Aunt Maya meant. This is what it means to blow me away, and I swear to myself that every day of forever and ever, I want Noah Ryan to blow me away.
When Noah pulls back and meets my eyes, the look he gives me makes me feel as though I could burst right up into space. “I guess girl kisses aren’t that bad.”