Him by Carey Heywood (reading strategies book .txt) 📕

He drops a kiss to the back of my neck before reaching into the backseat to grab his camera case. "I'm going to let her stew."

"Will!"

I open the door, and he pulls me towards my bedroom, shutting the door behind him. I kick off my shoes and flop onto my bed, my heart pounding. Will has been in my room hundreds of times, but this time, it feels different. Click. I look up to see him grinning behind his camera. He sets it back in its case on my desk, stepping out of his shoes and coming to stretch out next to me. He's on his side, facing me. His hand moves up to my face to brush some hair behind my ear. I look at him and smile. Will Price is on my bed. I don’t want to close my eyes. I'm too afraid that when I wake, it will all be a dream. I move closer to him, and he does the same thing until we meet in the middle of my bed, facing each other. I put my hands on the sides of his face and his arm snakes around my waist. We kiss, his arm pulling me even closer as his tongue teases mine. We are like this when my older brother, Brian, opens the door.

We spring apart as Brian mutters. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

"Ahhh," is all I can come up with.

"How long has this been going on?" He gestures between the two of us.

Will regains his voice before I do. He reaches out to take my hand. "Not long."

"And you're already making out like that on her bed? Wait, don’t you have a girlfriend?" Brian looks like he's going to punch Will.

"They broke up."

"And my little sister is your rebound?"

Will's eyes widen. "She's not a rebound. I broke up with Jessica for her."

He did? I smile at him, and he sweeps his thumb across the back of my hand.

"Sarah, go to my room. I want to talk to Will alone." Brian pops his knuckles.

Oh shit. "What? No way. Anything you want to say to Will you can say in front of me."

Will squeezes my hand. "It's okay, Sarah."

Brian motions towards his room with his head.

"Fine," I grumble, squeezing Will's hand one more time before I let go.

Brian shuts my door behind me. I walk into his room and sit on his bed. The fact that I know they are talking about me but I don’t know what either of them are saying is driving me crazy. I nervously spin my ring until Brian opens the door, and Will walks out into the hallway.

I jump off Brian's bed and run over to him "What'd he say?"

Brian looks back and forth between us. "What I said was for Will's ears only, but here's something for the both of you. No more hanging out in your room together, period. Get your asses down to the family room before I tell mom and dad what I saw you two doing."

"Brian," I whine.

He shakes his head and points down the stairs.

"I need to grab my camera," Will explains, stepping back into my room. Brian waits, watching him until he's back out of my room. Taking Will's hand, I slowly walk down the stairs and tug him towards the family room.

He stops me. "I should probably head home."

I glare up at Brian, who shrugs and walks into his bedroom.

"Are you sure?"

"You heard my mom. Walk me out?"

I nod and walk out barefoot. Will must have put his shoes back on after Brian was done talking to him. We walk out to his car. He puts his camera case on the floor of the backseat and shuts the door. He leans his back against his door and pulls me to his chest, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"What did Brian say to you?" I ask, resting my cheek on his chest, smiling as I listen to his heart beat.

He lifts my chin so I'm looking up at him. "Nothing any good big brother wouldn’t say."

He dips his head and presses his lips to mine. I rest my arms on his shoulders and run my fingers through his hair.

He breaks our kiss and rests his forehead on mine. "You know you're not a rebound, right?"

I didn’t, but I don’t doubt the sincerity of his question so I nod my head. He lifts me off the ground and kisses me again. I don’t want him to leave, but after a few moments, he sets me back down and does.

"Call me after you talk to your mom," I yell as he's backing away.

I will, he mouths.

I hurry back inside and race up to Brian's room, flinging his door open. "What did you say to Will?"

Brian is lying on his bed, his telephone to his ear. "Hey, let me go," he says before hanging up. I walk over and sit on the edge of his bed.

He sits up and leans against his headboard, his brown hair flopping into his eyes. "Look, I only told him that I'll kill him and no one will ever find the body if he hurts you."

"Brian," I gasp. "I cannot believe you did that. What if you've scared him away?"

He laughs at me. "Sarah, that boy has been in love with you for years."

"No, he hasn’t." I wrinkle my nose at him. "Um, everyone at our school likes him. He's wonderful."

"I don’t know why he waited this long, but it's the truth."

"You're crazy, and if you scared him away, I'll never forgive you."

Brian moves closer to me and puts his arm around my shoulders. "Nothing is going to scare that boy away from you." He kisses my temple before laying back down. "Now get out and shut the door behind you. I'm trying to iron out my Friday night over here," he says, picking his phone back up.

I