Kissing the Right Guy

I’ve been obsessed with Jake Austen for years.
He used to go to my high school.
Now he’s been cast as a lead in a NYC Broadway show.
He’s coming home and wants to hang out.
The only problem is his best friend, Hunter, has become my ballroom dance partner.
We’re going to spend a lot of time together, preparing for a big dance competition.
The more I spend time with Hunter, the more I wonder if my infatuation with Jake was a mistake.

Chapter 1
An Unforeseen Arrival

“I think it’s about time we get you a boyfriend.” Hannah brushed another coat of bright red polish onto her toenails as we sat on my bedroom floor.
“I don’t have time for that.” I stared at my phone, pretending to be interested in the TikTok dance video I was watching, as my cheeks started to burn. The truth was I did have time, but I hadn’t had the greatest luck with guys in the past. My cat, Jingle, purred and rubbed up against my legs before settling at my feet.
“Whatever, Emma. I’m busier than you, and I still make time for boys.”
“But there’s no one at our school that I’m interested in. Besides, that’s what I have my books for. When I read about a high school romance, the happy ending is pretty much guaranteed.” I pulled my dark brown hair behind my ear and looked up from my phone.
“You have got to get your head out of those silly books and start living. Let’s see, who would do the trick?” She tapped her chin and paused. “What about Jake Austen?” She twirled her fingers around in her blond hair and giggled.
“Um. He’s living in New York City now. There’s no way he’d be interested in me. I live in San Diego.” My cheeks burned brighter than the California sun.
I’ve had a crush on Jake since I was a freshman. He’d been the best-looking guy to walk the halls of Hidden Shores Academy. I—along with half the other girls in our school—was heartbroken when he moved away. His piercing blue eyes and golden-blond hair would drive any girl insane. Not to mention he was a local celebrity that the entire student body went crazy over.
My friends always told me that we would end up dating. I mean, it made sense. We were best friends when I was a freshman. But sophomore year, we weren’t in any of the same classes anymore, and he was in an entirely different social circle than me. Sadly, his new group of friends didn’t want much to do with me. It didn’t help that he had landed a huge role in a major movie and I was a literal nobody.
Hannah snatched my phone. “Good thing I know your passcode.”
“Wait, what are you doing?” I threw my hands up in frustration.
“Chill, I’m just looking through your contacts.”
“I guess that’s okay,” I said with a lump in my throat.
If she sees I have his number saved in my phone, I’d
never hear the end of it.
“Ooh! There’s Jake! This is a good picture of him.”
Hannah shot me a wicked smile. “You should text him.”
“Why? He didn’t text me. There’s no way I’m texting him first.”
I crossed my arms against my chest.
“So what? Guys love it when you text them first. In fact, Alexander told me to message him first.” She paused. “Unless…you aren’t scared, are you?”
“I’m going to be honest. My parents are old school and have always said the guy is the one who needs to be making all the moves. Not to mention, I don’t want to get my hopes up.”
“Your parents were teenagers decades ago. Times have changed. Live a little! Text the man,” she said with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
“I can’t. What if he never responds? Besides, he might think I’m chasing him if I do that.”
“If you don’t, I’m going to text him from my phone, pretend to be you, and tell him that you have a pillow with his face on it, and you make out with it every night.”
My mouth fell open. “You wouldn’t!”