Just Don't Fall (Sweater Weather, #1; Appies, #1)

by Emma St. Clair

It’s not like I intended to be one of the last living kiss holdouts in the Western Hemisphere. Not kissing anyone wasn’t a purposeful choice. At first, anyway. I was a late bloomer and on top of that, consumed with figure skating for most of my teenage years. While every other girl I know (Mia included) was kissing boys at parties and going to school dances, I was at the rink, practicing. Competing. Traveling. When I finally gave up on the dream that was never really mine, everyone had left me behind. Not having kissed anyone felt horribly embarrassing as a senior in high school. Like the worst kind of secret. I had several almost kisses—and the experiences were so laughably bad, it almost turned me off on the whole idea. When someone trying to kiss you suddenly projectile vomits, barely missing your face, it will do that to you. And that’s just one bad story. That ushered me into my anxiety era. I couldn’t go on a date or even look at a cute guy without being cripplingly self-conscious about my lack of experience. Stupid, I know. But no amount of looking back and telling yourself not to care about something can change the fact that you did care at the time. It ruined any date or relationship I tried to have through college. I couldn’t enjoy a simple dinner with a guy or carry on casual conversation when worried about kissing. I did the babbling thing times a trillion. I scared off guys in droves. It took time, but I dealt with my anxiety—thanks to some online therapy sess...