And for the first time, Kylie understood why everyone was a little frightened of him.

"You didn't do it because of me?" Miranda asked, obviously not picking up on the fury he wore like an outer skin. "Because you were jealous?"

Perry didn't answer Miranda. He just stared at her and asked his own question. "So it's true?"

"What's true?" Miranda said.

"You kissed him," Perry said. "I didn't believe him when he told me. I thought he was just trying to piss me off, but he wasn't making it up, was he? You really did it. You kissed him."

Miranda's eyes grew a tad larger. "Yes."

Silence hung in the hot morning air.

"No," she blurted out, and shook her head, sending the streaks of pink, black, and green in her hair intermingling with each movement. "I didn't kiss him. He kissed me."

"But you kissed him back," he accused.

Kylie held her breath. Della came to stand beside Kylie and extended her hand. Kylie accepted Della's help and, once upright, she reached back and gave her rear end another rub.

"Answer me," Perry demanded.

Kylie's gaze shot back to Miranda and Perry. The tension radiating from the couple seemed to suck all the oxygen from the air and made it hard to look away.

"This could get nasty," Della said.

Chapter Seven

Kylie crossed her fingers that this whole mess could somehow have a good ending to it-that the only thing nasty to come out of it would be her sore ass.

"Be honest," Perry demanded.

Miranda hesitated before answering. "I ... I didn't kiss him back."

Della shifted her head closer to Kylie's ear and whispered, "She's lying."

Perry took a step closer to Miranda and studied her as if trying to figure out if he believed her. "Why don't I believe you?" He paused. "And even if you didn't kiss him back, you didn't stop him."

Miranda hesitated and then her shoulders dropped as if in defeat, and Kylie knew Miranda had decided to come clean.

"No. I didn't stop him. And yeah, maybe I did kiss him back just a little. But-"

"That's all I need to know." Raw and bitter pain filled Perry's colorchanging eyes and for a second all Kylie could think about was feeling that same hurt when she'd seen Trey with his new girlfriend plastered at his side. Then there was the pain of seeing Mandy kiss Derek. And don't forget when she learned that Lucas had run off with Fredericka.

"That's not fair," Miranda said.

"Oh, it's not fair, but that's just too bad," Perry said. "It could have been good between us." He turned around and walked away.

He got about ten feet down the path when Miranda called out to him.

"Aren't you curious about why I didn't stop him?"

Perry turned around and faced her. "I'm more curious as to why you think I should care."

Miranda's breath seemed to catch at Perry's words. She took several steps closer to him. "I didn't stop Kevin because ... because I was tired of waiting for you to kiss me."

"Really?" Perry's feet ate up the few feet between him and Miranda.

His right arm swept around her and pulled her against him. He didn't pause or even hesitate. He kissed her-not just a light peck, either. It looked to Kylie like the good kind of kiss, the kind Derek had given her last night. The kind of kiss a girl could feel all the way to her toes. And from the way Miranda leaned into Perry, Kylie could guess that Miranda's toes were feeling it all.

"Wow," Kylie muttered, and grinned.

"Yeah, wow." Della leaned in closer. "I think Perry just grew a pair."

Kylie bit down on her lip to keep from laughing. "If this was a movie, there would be some music playing in the background."

"I could sing," Della chuckled.

"And ruin it," Kylie teased back. "I've heard you singing in the shower." Both grinning, they looked back at the kissing couple.

Perry dropped his arms and stepped back. The abruptness with which the kiss ended seemed wrong. And it wasn't just Kylie who thought so. Miranda barely managed to catch herself.

Perry stared at Miranda, his expression not exactly one a person expected to see on a guy's face who'd just kissed a girl silly. The anger and hurt Kylie had noted earlier in Perry's eyes hadn't been wiped away with the kiss. If anything, he looked even angrier now.

"That," Perry said, his tone mirroring the emotion in his eyes. "That was just to show you that I would have been worth waiting for."

"Would have?" Miranda asked, her voice shaky.

"Yeah, would have." Perry turned and started walking away. But he stuck his right hand back and shot her the bird.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Figure it out," he said, but didn't look back.

Miranda swung back toward Kylie and Della. She put a hand to her lips and her eyes grew bright with moisture.

"Oh, crap." Kylie's heart clutched for her friend.

"Jerk," Della called out at Perry.

Holiday came running around the trail. She stopped and looked at the three of them and the departing Perry. "What just happened?" Holiday asked.

"Nothing," Della said.

Holiday glanced from Della to a teary-eyed Miranda who stood frozen watching Perry leave. Then the camp leader looked back at Della. "I heard it."