Sophie Jordan - Kissing Lessons

Copyright 2020 by Sharie Kohler

All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

hmhbooks.com

Title hand-lettering by Mary Claire Cruz

Cover art and design by Mary Claire Cruz based on a photo by Ellie Baygulov/Stocksy

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Jordan, Sophie, author.

Title: Kissing lessons / Sophie Jordan.

Description: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [2020] | Audience: Ages 14 and up. | Audience: Grades 1012. | Summary: Hayden Vargas is a girl with a bad reputation who really just wants to finish high school and get away from her alcoholic mother and the whole boring high school dating scene, so when Emmaline Martin offers to pay her for lessons in attracting and managing boys it seems like a way to pick up some easy money for her post-high school lifebut she did not count on the attraction she feels for her clients brother, Nolan, who is not only gorgeous, but actually interesting.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019029208 (print) | LCCN 2019029209 (ebook) | ISBN 9781328977076 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780358067412 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: High school studentsJuvenile fiction. | Interpersonal relationsJuvenile fiction. | Dating (Social customs)Juvenile fiction. | ReputationJuvenile fiction. | Children of alcoholicsJuvenile fiction. | Mothers and daughtersJuvenile fiction. | Young adult fiction. | Romance fiction. | CYAC: High schoolsFiction. | SchoolsFiction. | Interpersonal relationsFiction. | Dating (Social customs)Fiction. | LoveFiction. | AlcoholismFiction. | Mothers and daughtersFiction. | LCGFT: Romance fiction.

Classification: LCC PZ7.J76845 Ki 2020 (print) | LCC PZ7.J76845 (ebook) | DDC 813.6 [Fic]dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019029208

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019029209

v1.0520

For Lily, my treasured compass throughout this book...

Hayden was having serious doubts about this party.

It was a big gathering, spilling out onto the front yard and into the cul-de-sac. The number of people on the lawn wouldnt even fit crammed inside her small house. Big parties likes this usually got shut down because someone called the police. It would be a shame if that happened. Her hair and makeup were on point tonight. If she went home early, it was a lot of effort for nothing.

Hayden stood on the sidewalk contemplating whether it was worth going inside, watching as girls stood shivering in their skirts and strappy tops. It was January and forty-five degrees, but hypothermia clearly didnt worry them.

High school parties (and parties in general) werent usually her thing, but Dorian had begged her to come.

Dorian was a guy in her health class. Coach Alvarez teamed up students for a lot of the assignments and Dorian had appointed himself her partner in all things.

Theyd made out a couple times in the east stairwell. He was cute and linebacker big, even though he played tennis. Good hair. Long on the top. High and tight on the sides. He smelled nice. Hayden appreciated a well-groomed guy who smelled of deodorant and mint toothpaste.

This week he had brought her a brownie. A brownie wrapped in foil. His mom made them. Dorian had a mom who baked brownies. God. As if that didnt scream they were from two different worlds. But Dorian was cute and into her, so hooking up was pretty inevitable. Dating, however, was not. Not even all the homemade brownies in the world could change that.

Hed been bugging her to hang out more outside of school. He asked her out on dates. Never mind that she didnt date. He even hinted about the winter formal in February. A dance. As if she would go to one of those.

She knew what it all meant. He was interested in taking their stairwell make-out sessions to the next level. And while there would never be anything serious between them, shed caved and agreed to meet him at this party.

Her gaze swept over the scene spread out before her. The beautiful, popular people were in attendance. The people who had their own lunch tables and moms that made brownies. She didnt belong here. And she didnt think that with any amount of bitterness. She didnt want to belong here. High school was just this thing she had to get through to arrive at the next stage in life.

Hopefully, a better stage.

There had to be a better stage.

She only had to make it until June and shed be out. Away. Free.

As Hayden turned off the sidewalk onto the front walkway, a gorilla of a guy ran out the front door chasing a girl with a pitcher of water. The girl shrieked delightedly and let herself get caught. One of his gorilla arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her off her feet. She squealed as he dumped the water down the front of her white shirt, soaking her. She laughed, spreading her arms wide and showcasing her boobs now on full display through her transparent tee. With a Tarzan shout, he tossed her over his shoulder and marched back into the house with her.

Hayden expelled a heavy breath. Punch me. Hard.

This was not her scene. She didnt get a lot of nights off from work, and this wasnt how she preferred to spend them. She should have agreed to meet Dorian somewhere else.

She should have known better. Boredom propelled her, she guessed. And avoidance. She really didnt want to deal with Mom, who apparently had no plans for the night and was staying in. So here she was.

Stepping inside the loud and crowded party, Hayden scanned faces for Dorian.

She spotted the majority of the football team along with its cheerleaders milling about. There were also the basketball players, baseball players, and soccer players. All the athletes. Funny how they mattered so much in high school. As though they would all grow up to compete in the Olympics instead of being ordinary people living ordinary lives. Less than ordinary, if her mother was any indication of a Travis High School star athlete.

Mom still held the district record for the eight hundred meters, and last week Hayden found her passed out in the driveway, still sitting in the drivers seat with the car running. Her snores could be heard through the glass. Hayden almost had to break the window to rouse her.

Hey! Hayden!

She turned sharply, the sound of her name startling over the din of music and voices. She didnt expect to know many people here. That was the benefit of attending a large school. You could be a stranger among your own classmates. A ghost in the halls. Faces were familiar but names unknown.

Her gaze landed on a skinny kid. She didnt know his name, but shed seen him with Dorian before.

You looking for Dorian? he called. Apparently he knew more about her than her name if he knew she was here for Dorian.

She nodded and he jerked a thumb behind him, toward a hallway. That way. Through the mudroom and into the garage.

Thanks. She passed him, heading in the direction hed motioned, ignoring a drunken guy stumbling across her path. Beer sloshed over the rim of his cup, soaking the front of his sweater, but he didnt care.

He stopped hard at the sight of her. Hey, girl. His chest puffed out, drawing attention to the dark beer stain that resembled the shape of Florida. You looking for me? You must be. He belched and gave a smile she knew he thought was seductive and not total ridiculousness.

Sidestepping him, she debated whether to continue on to the mudroom. The night wasnt off to a great start. Except shed come all this way, so she might as well let Dorian know shed made the effort.