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About Other People’s Butterflies by Cora Ruskin
Title: Other People’s Butterflies
Author: Cora Ruskin
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Fiction
Gwen Foster has never been kissed. But when she gets the chance to finally see what all the hype is about, it’s with her best friend’s crush. Embroiled in relationship drama she doesn’t understand, and ostracized from her friend group, Gwen escapes the angst by using her favorite femme fatale as a role model… and makes snooping on her classmates her new pastime.
Gwen’s detective work appears to be going well, until an unknown social media account starts spilling all the scandalous personal details she’s uncovered. Now this wannabe spy must stop whoever is behind it before everyone’s dirty laundry is aired, and Gwen is forced to finish high school without any friends.
Other People’s Butterflies is a coming-of-age contemporary mystery about not needing to find your first love – but yourself – and how to mend the relationships that matter to you.
Excerpt from Other People’s Butterflies
© 2021
Cora Ruskin
Now it’s just me and Big Jimmy in the den, and I realize with mounting discomfort that his arm is resting behind me on the back of the sofa. Is that a move? Maybe his arm’s just tired. I turn to look at him, hoping I can read his intentions on his face. As I turn, a straggly bit of hair falls across my face. Big Jimmy reaches out and tucks it behind my ear.
Okay, that was definitely a move. I shake my head so that the lock of hair falls again, to show him that I don’t appreciate him tidying me up. I’d probably be more convincing if I weren’t grinning, but I can’t help it – it’s some kind of nervous reaction. He grins back and tucks the hair behind my ear again, and I shake it free again. Now I’m grinning because I’m actually kind of enjoying this. It feels like a game, and it feels like I’m winning somehow.
We carry on. Tuck and shake, tuck and shake. I think he’s going to kiss me. If he does, I’m going to kiss him back. I don’t particularly want to, but I have to kiss somebody sometime and I may as well get it over with. I’m assuming the desire to kiss will kick in once I’m actually doing it. Like in a romantic comedy, when one character kisses another out of the blue. Maybe they’re arguing, or waiting for a train, and the mood isn’t noticeably romantic but then the guy kisses the girl and there’s a little bit of music. Sparkly sounding, with the notes rising upwards, and you can almost feel it in your stomach. Tingly.
His hand cups the side of my face, I close my eyes automatically, and then it’s happening. Our mouths slide slickly over each other, like our lips are coated in oil or something. Romantic comedies have lied to me – kissing does not feel like the music sounds. Maybe the music is only there to cover up the embarrassing squishing noises coming from between two faces.
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About Cora Ruskin
Cora Ruskin is a part-time MSc student of Science Communication, and works for a charity that helps victims of crime. Writing gets squeezed in between the two. She lives in Bristol, England, with five housemates and a very messy kitchen. “Other People’s Butterflies” is her debut novel.
