Page 66 of Lick
“I like graphic novels. Stuff likeHellblazer,Preacher.”
I took another mouthful of soda, trying to think up a genius question. Only all the blatantly obvious ones appeared inside my head. I sucked at dating. It was probably just as well that we’d skipped that part.
“Wait,” he said. “What’s yours?”
“Jane Eyre.How about your favorite movie?”
“Evil Dead 2.Yours?”
“Walk the Line.”
“The one about the Man in Black? Nice. Okay.” He clapped his hands together and rubbed them. “My turn. Tell me something terrible. Something you did that you’ve never confessed to another living soul.”
“Ooh, good one.” Scary, but good. Why couldn’t I have thought of a question like that?
He grinned around the top of his bottle of beer, well pleased with himself.
“Let me think…”
“There’s a time limit.”
I screwed up my face at him. “There is not a time limit.”
“There is,” he said. “Because you can’t try and think up something half-assed to tell me. You’ve gotta give me the first worst thing that comes into your head that you don’t want anyone else ever knowing about. This is about honesty.”
“Fine.” I sniffed. “I kissed a girl named Amanda Harper when I was fifteen.”
His chin rose. “You did?”
“Yes.”
He sidled closer, eyes curious. “Did you like it?”
“No. Not really. I mean, it was okay.” I gripped the edge of the bench, hunching forward. “She was the school lesbian and I wanted to see if I was one too.”
“There was just the one lesbian at your school?”
“Oh, I suspected quite a few people, but only she was open about it. She gave herself the title.”
“Good for her.” His hands settled on my knees and pushed them apart, making room for him. “Why did you think you were a lesbian?”
“To be accurate, I was hoping I was bi,” I said. “More options. Because, honestly, the guys at school were…”
“They were what?” He gripped my butt and pulled me across the bench, bringing me closer. No way did I resist.
“They didn’t really interest me, I guess.”
“But kissing your lesbian friend Amanda didn’t do it for you either?” he asked.
“No.”
He clicked his tongue. “Damn. That’s a sad story. You’re cheating, by the way.”
“What? How?”
“You were meant to tell me something terrible.” His smile left a mile way behind. “Telling me you tongue-kissed a girl isn’t even remotely terrible.”
“I never said there was tongue.”
