Stranger by Megan Hart

half expecting the smell of cigarettes and motorcycle exhaust. He smelled like spring-night air, the sort that can’t decide if it wants to be cold or not.
    “Hey,” he murmured until I looked up at his face.
    “Hey,” I replied.
    Jack leaned in, slow to kiss me, giving me plenty of time to turn my face if I wanted. I didn’t. I wanted his mouth on me, all over, including mine. I like kissing. Sometimes that’s all I wanted to do. Kiss. Soft and slow, hard and fast. Long, lingering kisses or brief brushes of lip on lip.
    I’d given him unspoken permission to kiss my mouth, and Jack took it without a second pause. His mouth slanted over mine as he pulled me closer with one smooth motion. Our mouths opened. I tasted mint. He didn’t use his tongue right away, but when he did, the sensation of his warm and wet flesh sliding against mine made me draw in a short, sharp breath that wasn’t quite a gasp.
    He pulled away, just enough to ask, “Is this okay?”
    I pulled him back to my mouth. “Less talking.”
    Jack’s smile curved against my lips. “Yes, ma’am.”
    I slid my hands beneath the hem of his buttoned shirt and found the soft cotton of a T-shirt beneath. I pushed that up, too, to give my fingers room to play on his bare skin. I slid my palm flat along his stomach, just above the waistband of his jeans. He pushed against my touch and left my lips to slide his mouth to my ear.
    “Thanks for going out with me tonight.”
    I turned my head so he could kiss my neck. “You’re welcome.”
    “I don’t have to be home until midnight.”
    I’d been specific about what I wanted, but I’ll blame the way his lips and tongue were painting a picture on my skin for how long it took for his words to click. “Midnight? But…oh.”
    I got it. I fought my smile by biting down on my lower lip, hard, and heard Jack’s smile in his voice when he answered.
    “Yeah. Mom and Dad said I could stay out a whole hour later because I made the honor society.”
    I put a hand on his chest and twisted away from his mouth and hands. “Is that so?”
    Jack nodded, glee glinting in his eyes but his face solemn. “Yes.”
    I turned my back, part of the game, but also to gather my composure. I’d told Jack to do his homework and he had.
    Good boy.
    “You must have studied hard.” I made my voice casual and didn’t turn around.
    “Yeah, I did. Really hard.”
    This was a game I’d never had the chance to play before, and my heart stepped up its thumping as I contemplated how it should happen, exactly.
    I turned to face Jack. “So, I guess you think you deserve a reward.”
    He gave me a perfect, puppyish look. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
    “I don’t know.” I feigned skepticism. “I’m not so sure it’s a good idea. Your parents—”

    Jack looked indignant. “I’m a freshman in college! They can’t tell me what to do forever!”
    I fought back a giggle at his grand gesture. It was my game, and if I didn’t hold it in, how could I expect him to?
    “This is serious!” I shook my finger, as much a warning to myself as it was part of the role playing.
    Jack crossed his arms over his chest. “I might not even be home by midnight, so there.”
    “Well, then,” I answered. “You know what that would make you.”
    One corner of his mouth twitched. “Bad.”
    My hips swayed a bit more than usual when I moved closer to run a fingertip up the line of his buttons to stop just below his chin. “Is that what you want to be, Jack? A bad boy?”
    He shook his head. “No.” He put his hand over mine and pulled it away from his chin. “So don’t make me be one.”
    He’d improvised, surprising me. I looked at his hand circling my wrist, and to the way his face had shaded from eager to intent. Yet unlike at the Pharmacy or even the first time he’d kissed me, Jack wasn’t hesitating now. He was going for it the way I’d advised.
    It was working.
    There is always a part of me that can’t get lost in the