“Better than you! You’ll get the cooties from all those girls.”
“Oh, yeah, sure! Just admit you’re jealous.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but that was the truth. Again, I knew that even if we both thought I was jealous, it was for different reasons. Robert probably thought it was because I wanted all those girls for myself. I knew better. I was jealous because they got to spend so much time with him, especially those in his school.
“Hey, Edi, are you okay?”
Robert’s palm against my cheek felt so cool, despite the summer heat, which made it impossible for anything to be cool. “Squirt, you gotta breathe.”
My eyes met his and I realized I was in fact holding my breath. My cheeks were burning, my eyes were bulging out, and my body refused to let go of that breath. I forced myself to exha
