“Haven’t you heard of that game?” I asked.

“I didn’t have a normal childhood, remember? I’m assuming it’s a kissing game.”

“It is.”

“Why is it seven minutes? That seems like an arbitrary amount of time.”

What did that matter? “Because it rhymes with heaven? I don’t know. That’s not really important.”

“Right,” he agreed. “I’m just trying to make sure I’m understanding everything.”

“In that case you should know that it’s basically a couple being put into a closet or a room, and they’re supposed to kiss for seven minutes. The people outside keep track of the time and then they throw the door open when it’s over. They had me go in Anna-Marie’s bedroom.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to strengthen myself. This was the worst part. And it was the part I could not give him every detail of. “So I was waiting for Chris Quintana. He was the cutest boy in school—everyone had a crush on him.”

Noah’s eyes narrowed. “I already don’t like him.”

“It gets worse. So I’m in there waiting, feeling completely anxious and nervous because this was going to be my first-ever kiss, and Anna-Marie had this pillow. And the pillow had a picture of my celebrity crush on it.”

That celebrity had been Noah as Felix Morrison. Which I was never, ever going to tell him.

It was also part of the reason why I could never kiss him. I was worried it might be like reliving that moment again.

“And since I’d never been kissed, I thought I’d practice.” My whole face felt like it was on fire.

“And this Chris kid caught you?”

“Well, yes, but there was a problem. The face was like one of those puffy decal types and . . . my braces got caught on it. I was stuck. So he found me, my face pressed against a pillow, and he had to help me get free.”

“I mean, that’s embarrassing, but was that enough to put you off kissing forever?”

“That’s not all of it. Don’t get me wrong—that in and of itself was completely humiliating. I begged him not to tell anyone, and he was actually a pretty decent guy. He said he wouldn’t. And then . . .”

“And then?”

“Then he suggested that I should try kissing an actual boy, because it was a lot better. And I don’t know if it was just a mixture of embarrassment and adrenaline or what happened, as my brain wasn’t actually functioning in that moment, but I pretty much leaped on him with my teeth bared and smashed our faces together while attempting to ‘kiss’ him. I knocked him over and landed right on his face.”

His eyes widened in horror.