A Thousand Words | ✓

Chapter Twenty Two: A Thousand Open Mouths

 

“You say it like our dating is a scandal,” Jessica commented, sounding amused.

 

I smirked and stopped to catch her lips in a chaste kiss. “Wouldn’t you think so? You’re not really my type, and I’m not really yours. The cliché good girl and bad boy story. Unless,” I began slowly, making her raise an eyebrow in suspicion, “what they say about good girls is actually true.”

 

Her eyes narrowed, and she leaned back to look at me. “What do they say?”

 

“Good girls are bad girls that haven’t been caught,” I teased, waggling my eyebrows at her. Jessica gave a simple eyeroll and pulled out of my arms, walking away. I laughed as I caught her around the waist, leaning down to say in her ear, “How ‘bout it, sunshine? Is there another side that I don’t know about you?” I continued to tease.

 

She slapped the arm I had around her and laughed. “Don’t get your hopes up, bad boy, this is all you’re getting from me.”

 

As we approached the school’s front steps, I slipped my arm from her shoulder and took her hand instead. Jessica let out a breath of air, and I gave her a smile of encouragement. She returned it softly and intertwined our fingers together as I pulled the door open for her.

 

A subtle hand hold wasn’t enough to catch much attention as we maneuvered ourselves down the hall and towards Jessica’s locker, though I did spot a couple guys from my English class eyeing us as we passed. Charlotte was waiting at Jessica's locker, as per usual, but Kyle was nowhere to be found. Her eyes widened as she zoned in on her intertwined hands.

 

“Is it happening?” she asked with a tone of excitement, clasping her hands together in anticipation.

 

“No more stealing a kiss in empty stairwells and hallways,” I confirmed, grinning as Jessica blushed and Charlotte squealed in excitement.

 

“You guys are so cute!” she exclaimed happily.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Jessica giggled, bumping her hip against Charlotte’s so she stepped aside.

 

“Where’s Kyle at?” I asked, taking a moment to scan the hallway for my best friend. No doubt he’ll annoy me more about this. He’s been very smug lately about Jessica and I finally being together, claiming that he, too, knew it was going to happen eventually.

 

“Don’t know, but today just got a whole lot more interesting. Now I don’t have to lie to people about if you guys are dating.”

 

I shot her a look of surprise and said, “People have been asking if Jessica and I are dating?”

 

“Duh,” Charlotte responded in the voice that suggested stupidity. “You’re literally with her all the time, so no doubt people would wonder if you’re dating. Some people think that it’s ridiculous that a question like that exists since you’re so not who people expected to get with Jessica.”