Page 53 of Left on Read

“Then don’t,” he whispers back.

My spine tenses. There’s no way. Success is so important to me, and there’s no way that I’m giving it up and admitting defeat in the election. I’m not throwing in the towel before we’ve ever started the fight.

“No, I don’t meanconcede,” he says, leaning forward again. “I just meant we don’t have tocompete.“

Hayes stops talking for a second, and my mind races. He rests that hand on my hip again, and the other gently holds my neck. His thumb rubs slow circles on the underside of my jaw.

“What do you mean?” I ask after probably too long. I’m too comfortable like this. Too safe and too warm and not nearly as guarded as I need to be.

“We could just run for president and VP. Together.” He shrugs, which displaces his hands, and that’s such a tragedy. “You take the president spot; I’ll be VP. We work together instead of fighting. We’ll accomplish more than we could on our own, and that’ll matter more in the end than the titles we had.”

His hands find me again, and mine go back to his chest.

“Wait,” I say, my brain pulling at painful threads until a theory unravels. “Is this you making it up to me? I don’t want you to just bow out as some weird penance.”

“No.” He shakes his head, leaning up on one elbow to look at me. “You deserve this more than I do. You need it more. It just makes sense. I beat you in the student-government race last year, and I didn’t do anything with it. It was a complete waste, and I got absolutely nothing accomplished.But you get shit done.“

I hadn’t thought about it that way, but he’s right.

“All the time, I hear my dad’s voice in my head talking about how much of medicine is leadership. I’ve been thinking about that and med-school applications for years and years. But I literally don’t care anymore.”

“That’s how I feel about scholarships,” I whisper. “Years and years.”

“Exactly. And I’m not going that route, anyway. I’ve decided.” He nods. “Let’s do this together, Nova. You can turn the presidency into something good.”

I sit in silence for a minute, wondering if I can accept his acquiescence. My mind reels, and I try to consider if I’m capable of feeling anything right now. I’m not sure yet. The cloud of heavy fear that had been hanging over me has dissipated some, though. That’s something.

“Seems like a pretty well-thought-out plan.” I whisper. “How long have you been thinking about this?”

He actually blushes. I run my fingers over his cheek again, just to feel it.

“Since I realized it would come down to me and you, and I knew everyone would be expecting a fight. Especially you.No more fighting.“

My eyes drift closed. There’s an almost painful sense of relief that threatens to take over me at the thought that we could both get what we want and not ruin each other in the process.

“I told you, Novella.” He starts leaning in so close, I can feel his words against my lips. “I’ll be your partner as long as you want me.”

I do want him. So much it terrifies me.

It feels like I surge forward, but it’s really only a tilt of my chin.My lips press against his, andrelieftakes over. His hands hold me tighter, and I can feel his heartbeat in his chest.

He rolls over and so do I, and somehow, we end up tangled up in each other and completely off the blanket. Hayes laughs, an open-mouthed chuckle that I feel on the apple of my cheek.

“See?” He grins. “I told you all you needed was to touch grass.”

OfficialEndeavourHigh:Beta Club: Meeting today at 3:00! —Mrs. J.

It’s the first day back to school after fall break, and the floors smell like fake lemons and the furniture has been polished within an inch of its life. You can hardly tell none of it came from this century.

We’re all waiting for the Beta Club meeting to start, and the vibe in the room is kind of feral. There are way too many people in here, and everyone’s standing too close together. Thankfully, the only people standing too close to me are Esha and Hayes, and I can handle that.

“Alright.” Mrs. Jacobs gives me thislook.It’s a raised eyebrow that’s barely visible. “Though I am loath to interrupt the peace and reignite this war, we do have to discuss our upcoming elections.”

Hayes is standing slightly in front of me, and I can feel the smugness radiating off of him. I wanted to tell Mrs. Jacobs in advance, and everyone else for that matter, about our plan. He insisted on this dramatic moment. I tug on one of his belt loops, hoping to silently compel him to tone it down a notch. His handsreach behind his back and meet in the front pocket of my hoodie. Okay, I’ll take that as a polite no.

We stay like this as Mrs. Jacobs continues on, explaining the rules of the election and taking note of which underclassmen want to run for what positions. Esha shoots me a side-eyed look that tells me Hayes and I don’t look like two people who are about to engage in academic warfare.

“Okay, now that that’s settled,” Mrs. Jacobs mumbles, her eyes drifting from her notes to us. We’re mostly hidden from view by a crush of other people, but I justknowshe can see that we’re standing too close. “I will admit that the last several years’ elections have been brutal. And there has been some bad behavior.” She’s meeting everyone’s eyes, but I know she’s speaking directly to us. My cheeks flame at the implication. “I’m reminding us all of that because we need to remain civil. No matter how bitter a rivalry.” Mrs. Jacobs looksdirectlyat me, and thendirectlyat Hayes. Can she tell his hands are in my hoodie? “We need to keep things in perspective.”