Page 66 of Left on Read

I follow Hayes out the door. I feel so light and free that I jump on his back right there in the hallway.

“Whoa!” He wobbles a little bit, but he doesn’t stop walking. I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck, and I kiss the top of his head. “That was delightfully unexpected.”

“What was?” I ask, because everything about the past hour was unexpected.

“You jumping me in public. And … everything else. Was it me or was that test super easy?”

“No, it was.” We reach the door, and he shifts so I push it open with my hip, since his hands are kind of occupied. “I could’ve done it without the book.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, because I love you and all, but I’m never taking another lit class again.” He hikes me up higher on his back, and I feel my books jostle around in my backpack.

I love you.My heart pounds.

“That’s okay,” I tell him, resting my cheek on the crown of his head. “That’s how I feel about literally any science.”

He goes quiet for a minute, walking through the mid-December chill.

“Oh, I love you too,” I whisper. “Did I forget to say that?”

He takes one of the arms I still have wrapped around his neck, and kisses my hand. If we get caught out here like this, we’d be in for the most uncomfortable conversation of our lives. Principal Hinshaw is against any expression of joy, and he considers PDA a capital offense.

“I think you’d better put me down before we get spotted by someone old,” I tell him.

He laughs, but he lets me go anyway. I slide down until my feet hit the ground, and I can’t resist pressing the tiniest kiss to his shoulder blade as I step back.

“Let’s go turn our books back in so we can head out.” He takes my hand, pulls me in the direction of the front office.

“Do we have to?” I ask, my voice a pitiful whine.

“Do we have to what? Leave?” He opens the glass door, the one right in front of my spot. A wall of heat hits me right in the face. It’s more than enough to knock off the barely wintery chill.

“No,” I tell him, looking at that spot. “We can leave. I just don’t want to give the books back.”

I have all the notes we passed back and forth stuck between the pages, and I have to pull them out so I can save them.

What did I do to deserve rooming with Luke?

On the cover of Nova’s favorite notebook

My bare feet pad silently down a hallway carpeted in the most horribly garish green-and-gold pattern. What is it with hotels and awful carpeting? I should’ve put shoes on for this. There’s no telling what kind of germs my toes are sinking into.

We’re at the state Beta Club convention, and this giant hotel is crawling with teenagers, high schools from all one hundred counties bringing us in by the busload.

I can’t be the only one sneaking around someplace I shouldn’t be.

I don’t see anyone else on this floor, though, which is perfect, because I am risking life and limb to do this. Well, I’m risking the ire of Mrs. Jacobs, and that’s basically the same thing. I reach the last room on the left, and I double-check to make sure I have the right one. (It would be desperately embarrassing if I didn’t.) The lock starts to whir when I hold the key in front of it. A green light flashes, and it snaps open.

The room is dark and silent. It’s barely 10:00 p.m. I thoughthe’d be up watching TV at least. I push the door wide open, letting the light from the hallway highlight my silhouette.

“Nova?” Hayes mumbles, his voice sleepy and quiet. That’s how I know he’s surprised; he used my actual name. His phone screen is illuminating his face, until he drops it onto the bed.

I step into the room and close the door behind me. He rubs the heels of his hands against his eye sockets, like I’m a smoky apparition he’s trying to dispel.

“What are you doing?” I ask as I sit down on the corner of his bed, crossing my legs underneath me on the pristine, fluffy white bedding.

“I was reading.” He picks up his phone, locks it, and sets it on the nightstand while he grabs his glasses. I was so hoping I’d get to see the glasses. “An abstract about neurocysticercosis.”

“And that is?” I respond. He scoots over to one side of his queen-size bed, then he peels the covers back and pats the spot next to him. I was so hoping for that too.