Kill Switch by Penelope Douglas

“I did not.”
God, I’m so embarrassed.
I glance back at him, trying to see if he’s mad, but he looks
just as embarrassed as me.
I didn’t kiss him, did I? It was him.
Or both of us. Ughhhh…
He nudges me. “Hurry. Come on.”
And although I’m still mortified, I breathe easier knowing
he still wants to go up in the tree.
Cool. Let’s just forget about it then.
I climb to the top and stop, waiting for him to catch up
behind me and push open the door. He does, and it flies up and
tips over, hitting the floor.
I smile, relieved. I scurry the rest of the way and crawl up
onto the floor of the treehouse, pulling myself to a standing
position.
I rise, the wind blowing against me and the leaves of the
tree rustling all around.
“Whoa,” I breathe out.
It’s like another world.
I turn in a circle, the space kind of an odd-shaped circle
but so big, and I can see out over some of the trees, finding the
clock tower in town and the roofs of some of the estates in the
area.
I point, smiling. “I see the ocean!”
Through the branches, out beyond the forest, lays the silver
water spanning all the way to the horizon, and I tip my head
back, looking up into the clutter of leaves over our heads and
the branches within reach in case we want to climb farther.
He’s so lucky. This is the best. I wish I had this at my
house. I’d never leave.
He lets me take it all in as he puts his hands in his pockets
and walks around me. I scan the treehouse floor, seeing a