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of Varsity Cheer. She was super-tall, with Superman-broad shoulders and muscular legs that looked like they belonged to a guy. There were rumors that she had to shave her legs twice a day because the hair on her body grew fast. Jenna thought Devin was a man.
    I was cursing my Big Bird outfit because I couldn’t hide in it. What was I thinking? I should have worn taupe or gray, and it seemed everyone at Jock Wall could see me coming from miles away. I planned to walk by, glance over to see if Christian was there, and then sprint to my class if he wasn’t.
    Not so fast, my yellow sausage casing dress was challenged by the steep incline of the hill. Even so, I tried to walk as fast as possible without ripping the dress up the back, my steps short and robotic. When it looked like Christian wasn’t there, I flitted past the wall with my head down. That’s when I ran into him… with my face.
    I fell back on my sunny butt, books and purse flying in all directions. He crouched down to help gather my stuff as I brought my legs up to my body. The last thing I wanted was for Christian to see up my skirt.
    He lifted me up by the hand. “If anyone asks, you could say we really did run into each other.” He was as tall as Devin, for sure, but being that he really was a man that didn’t seem so odd. Christian was one of those guys whose porcelain smooth skin never seemed tan, even in the Southern California sun, which only enhanced the milk chocolate brown hair that hung in a shag around his face. The perfect frame.
    “You’ve got that right.” I straightened my body without looking too rigid. Inside I went completely concrete, holding solid so I wouldn’t slip up and accidentally burp or do something worse.
    I could have said anything at that moment — something like, “How’s it going?” or “Thanks for helping me up.” No. Not me. I was the one with the big feet that fit perfectly in my mouth.
    “Do you remember me?” My dress started falling off my shoulders again, revealing a white bra strap. It had never occurred to me to wear pretty bras, and I was clearly going to have to get with the Victoria’s Secret set or suffer the continuous hell of ugly lingerie. Christian kept his eyes on mine.
    “I do. You’re a great dancer.”
    I wondered if my crimson cheeks went with my yellow dress, because my face was burning up a new one.
    “Thanks. So are you.”
    Christian looked over at Hillman and his posse, who eyed me with suspicion like I was an alien from Planet Wrong who’d landed on their turf. In particular, Hillman had a kind of Sean Penn snarl on his face, hands in his pockets as he watched us.
    “Come over with me for a minute,” he said.
    Hillman didn’t change position as I approached the wall with Christian, who took out a sheet of paper and a pen. It felt like everyone wanted to talk about me, and not in a nice way.
    “What’s your name and phone number?” It was funny that he didn’t know my name, given that his dad’s hands had been in my mouth since before puberty, and that I’d painted the tooth mural on the office wall, and even been introduced to him.
    “Rebecca,” I stuttered.
    “Most people have two or three names.” He paused to smile at me, pen in mid-air.
    “Uh, yeah. Right. Ionesco.”
    “Is that Italian?” People always asked me that. They figured that with my dark hair and eyes that I knew all about spaghetti and John Gotti.
    “Romanian” I hoped to God he didn’t think I was a vampire or that my dad’s name was Vlad.
    “I’m Christian Rusch.” He put out his hand to shake mine. It seemed so goofy. Of course I knew his name .
    “I thought so,” I replied, releasing his warm hand and long fingers.
    /////
    I had dreamed about my first kiss, and although I never practiced on pillows, I’d spent time with my forearm, sucking the daylights out of the skin. Sometimes I left a little hickey and would tell my mom it was a bruise.
    As for the reality of that kiss, it was