I don’t like it when you call yourself fat. Not because of your parents or your dumb threats. “I’m your friend because I want to be your friend. When he finally spoke, his voice shook a little. She felt her cheeks flame and her heart race. Unfamiliar feelings began to erupt throughout her body. All of a sudden, he didn’t seem like just this boy who was always around. For the first time, she noticed how clear his blue eyes were, how his hair was so blond it almost looked white. He reached toward her hair, and she flinched a little before he tucked a stray strand behind her ear.

A foreign feeling-desire-began to take root. When he licked his lips, her pulse sped up. Suddenly there was an awareness that had never been there before. A little gangly, a little quiet, a lot overprotective. But these brief flirtatious moments were with Jeremy. In fact, she could’ve sworn Jeremy had been flirting with her lately-complimenting her clothes and hair, brushing against her “accidentally,” inviting her to the movies without Cain around. Feelings that hadn’t been there before were now creeping in. Lately she’d felt flustered when Jeremy was nearby, with his mess of curly dark brown hair and dimpled smile. He’d never looked at her this way-the way the cute guys looked at the pretty girls. His cheeks were flushed and the vein by his neck pulsed. She looked up at him and saw an intensity in his eyes she’d never seen before.

He turned her around brusquely and pressed her back against a tree, the bark digging into her. At nineteen, Cain was thin and lanky-all limbs.

She was kicking a rock out of the way when Cain grabbed her hand and pulled her to a nearby tree, causing her to yelp as she struggled to keep her balance.

Laid Out by Sidney Halston