Pucker Up
an excerpt

Logan tucked his arms behind his head. “I’m going to make it, Rory. I’m going to win the Cup someday, I promise you that.”

She believed it. Logan had said the magic word and with all her heart, Rory believed that you couldn’t break a promise. “Well, don’t forget that you promised to let me hug it.”

“You’ll be the first,” he said, raising one pinky and extending it to her.

“Good.” Rory linked pinkies and peeked at him from beneath the lip of her beanie. She tugged the scarf up and mumbled into the soft cloth. “When we grow up, we’ll get married and I’ll help you throw a big party for the Cup. Then we can invite everyone we know and Toby MacIntyre won’t be able to say anything because you won it and it’d be yours.”

“Yeah,” Logan said wistfully.

Rory blushed at his agreement, aware that their fingers were still linked together like the outline of their snow angels.

He spotted a falling star and pointed. “Check it out, Rory. Make a wish.”
Closing her eyes tight, Rory wished that all their dreams would come true.

“What’d you wish?” he asked.

“I can’t tell you,” she said. “Or it won’t work.”

Logan frowned. “Fine. I won’t tell you what I wished.”

She smiled and sat up. “I already know what you wished. You wished for the Cup.”

He shrugged and faced her. “If we get married—“

“—When,” she corrected, holding up one hand. “You promised.”

His eyebrows snapped together over his ice blue eyes. “I did?”

“Sure you did. I said, ‘when we grow up and get married, I’ll help you throw a party with the Cup’. You said ‘yeah’.”

“That’s not a promise,” Logan argued.

Rory waved her pinky. “Our pinkies were still linked.” She pouted and sat back, crossing her arms. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as realization dawned. “So you’re saying you’re not going to marry me?”

“No, I didn’t say that.” Logan blushed now, too. “We’re just kids, Rory. People don’t get married until they’re old, like twenty or something.”

“Yeah, I know, but I’m just saying.” She felt her throat closing up, and her eyes started to brim with tears. “You’re my best friend, Logan. I don’t wanna marry anyone else.”

He thought about his parents and how they seemed to do everything together. They laughed and talked and played together, and sure, it kind of seemed like they were best friends. He tried to think about who his best friends were and could only think of Noah Sterling and Jacob Pearson.

After them, there was Rory.

He didn’t want to marry Noah or Jacob, so if those were his options, he’d much rather marry Rory.

“Okay,” he said. “I promise to marry you when we grow up.”

She was still frowning at him. “Really?”

He shrugged. “Yeah.”

She held out her pinky, and he stared at it for a while before taking it. Then he smiled until a thought occurred to him.

“Don’t married people have to kiss?” He asked the question with his face twisted in disgust.

Rory looked at him, curious. “I guess so. Why?”

“Maybe we should try it.” Logan sat back. “I mean, what if we don’t like it?”

She hunched her shoulders against the breeze that blew past them. “Okay. You want to try it now?”

Logan shrugged. “Sure, okay.” He leaned forward, resting his weight on his hands planted in the snow. Eyes wide, Rory watched as he brought his face close to hers. Her ears burned and her cheeks were hot. What did he expect her to do?

When she didn’t move, Logan rolled his eyes. “Pucker up, Rory.”

She pursed her lips together and pushed them out. He did the same and came forward until their lips touched. They held their positions, waiting to feel a spark.

At that precise moment, the back door swung open. Allison called out, “Hey, you guys, come on in. Dinner’s re—what are you guys doing?”