A warm hand grasps my chin and turns it away from the window. I suck in a sharp breath at the contact, and I know Holden doesn’t miss the inhale. His thumb runs an inch across the edge of my jaw before dropping. Awareness trickles through my bloodstream from the one spot he was just touching.

“I mean it; I’m sorry. It’s just something I’ve wondered about for a while. That seemed like a good moment to ask. It wasn’t—obviously.”

My stupid heart latches onto something I’ve wondered about for a while. To the indication that Holden has given some thought to me since he all but ended our friendship.

“I overreacted.” I don’t elaborate on why and he doesn’t ask.

“I’ll move, if you want.”

“It’s fine.”

“Okay.” He leans back in the seat and then picks up my phone and starts scrolling through the music app I have open.

I’m flustered and frazzled. He’s too close. Too much.

“What are you doing?”

Holden doesn’t answer at first, continuing to scroll down the screen. Finally, he looks up. “You have good taste in music,” he tells me. “Guys, not so much.”

I take that comment to mean he saw Harrison talking to me before we boarded the buses. “What does that say about you?”

He blinks, like he can’t believe I said it. I can’t believe I did either.

“Maybe I’m talking about me.”

We remain locked in a stare-off until the bus’s loudspeaker crackles to life. “Last call, everyone! We’ll be departing in the next few minutes. Please make sure you have everything and that all bags are stowed properly. Mr. Harris will be distributing folders closer to our arrival to the city. Those will contain an updated itinerary for the weekend, along with your room assignments. Those are final. No room-swapping.”

There’s no grumbling. Switching rooms is a notorious part of this weekend. Nothing much the chaperones can do to prevent it, really, once keys are handed out. I’m apprehensive about sleeping in a strange place I’m sharing with a stranger, but, with the exception of Holden, virtually everyone in the senior class feels like a stranger.

There’s some saying about doing something every day that scares you. It sounds like a stressful way to live, but there’s probably some truth to it as well. Leaving your comfort zone is healthy, and this trip is definitely far beyond mine.

“Wake me up when we get there, okay?”

I glance over at Holden, who’s dropped my phone and is now reclining his seat as far back as it’ll go. His long legs get stretched under the row in front of us and he tugs the brim of his ball cap down, so it covers most of his eyes.

“Okay.”