“You feel like home.” I whisper.
He sips at my lips, and again I lose all strength. He is my forever.
“Come on. We should probably get back. I’m sure they’re wondering where we are.”
Leaning into him, we slowly make our way back to the house. My arms wrapped tightly around his, and my head rests on his shoulders. I can feel his smile against my skin each time he attempts to kiss my forehead.
“So, are you really still a virgin?” A perfect moment ruined once again by my mother.
I let go of Robert and quicken my pace. He chuckles behind me, his walk turning into a jog.
“Woman, will you quit running away from me.” I feel his sturdy hand wrap around my wrist as he spins me around towards him. I can't hold his gaze out of embarrassment. Finding a spot in the snow, I fixate on it. “Pres, it’s not a bad thing. I just want to know what I’m getting into with you.”
“Getting into? Geeze you make it sound as if I have some kind of disease, Robert. I’m a virgin, not a leopard. You know not every girl has the need or the desire to give it up to any guy who pays her a compliment and makes her feel special.” I roll my eyes at him while crossing my arms against my chest. Forget the openness I felt with him.
“Pres, you know that’s not what I meant. I want to make sure I do this right. That we do this right. Knowing you saved that part of yourself is actually a huge turn on, but also a little intimidating. It’s a lot of pressure for a guy. I want to be the one making you feel things you’ve never felt before. I want to be the one curling your toes and leaving you panting for air. Not just some guy you slept with once. I don’t want your first time to be forgettable.”
Oh, my heart. My ovaries. He’s thought about this moment between us and what it means to me, and I suddenly feel incredibly self-conscious. “I’m sorry I won't be as experienced as the others you’ve had.”
“Others?”
“It’s fine, Robert. I don’t want to know about them or your number. I mean, you’re the captain of a championship baseball team. I’m sure you’ve had plenty of girls throwing themselves at you over the years.”
He takes a deep breath and holds my attention. “Yes, they have, but I haven’t slept with any of them. Just like you, I was waiting for something more.” I’m slightly shocked. “We’ll do this thing together when the time is right for us both.”
Placing the tiniest kiss on my nose, I trust him. There may have been other girls, and other things may have happened between them, but I believe him.
Chapter Seventeen
School started back up, and Senioritis is in full force. Everyone has a countdown of some kind going. For some, it’s spring break, for others, it’s graduation. For Robert, it’s the first game of the season and for Liv, it’s prom and coordinating outfits.
I’d been smart my entire high school career, pushing myself hard for the first seven semesters, so in my final semester, I could relax and take it easy. Baseball season is about to start in a couple of weeks, which means Robert usually has practice after school. I take the bus home most afternoons, occasionally, Liv will give me a ride.
“So double date on Friday night? Trey and I have yet to do anything. The big goof asked me out but has yet to actually take me out.”
“Yea. Sounds fun. Where do you want to go?”
“Who knows. Anywhere would be fun, but I actually want Trey to plan something. You know, put a little effort into this relationship. Are you and Brice going to winter formal?”
“He hasn’t mentioned anything to me about it.”
She laughs at me, and I’m baffled. “Girl you ask him to formal. It’s a Sadie Hawkins dance. And you better do it soon. It’s in two weeks. Haven’t you seen all the proposals going around?”
“I guess I haven’t paid attention to them. How did you ask Trey? I’m assuming you did ask him.”
She grinned and became all sorts of giddy. “I filled his car with balloons and then wrote it out on his front window, ‘Trey, will you go to formal with me?’” her arm arcs across a make-believe windshield. “Then, I only gave him one option. I put a large check here box with the word yes next to it. I wasn’t giving him the option of saying no.” She laughed. It was perfect Olivia. “Any ideas on how you’re gonna ask Brice?”
“Well, since you told me about it two seconds ago, I haven’t had time to think of something elaborate, but I have an idea I think he’ll love.”
“Okay, well, let me know if you want any help. Gotta get to class. See you in choir.” She waves goodbye and heads off down the hall.
I quickly send Robert a text to find out if he has practice tonight, asking if it would be okay to stay and watch him. He sends back a smiley face emoji and says he’ll drive me home afterward and lets me know how much he misses me. We spent every day together over break and now we only get a chance to see each other during lunch. It’s been an adjustment not getting to see him as often. “I miss you too. See you soon.” Step one of my plan is in motion.
I finish out my classes and then make my way down to the baseball fields, picking a spot in the bleachers to sit and watch him practice pitching. I don’t know much about baseball, but it’s easy to tell he’s terrific.
After practice is over, he puts his stuff away, and we walk to his truck together.
“You looked really good out there.”
“You’re being sweet cause you think I’m hot.” He laughs as he bumps into my shoulder. I can't believe how self-assured he is.
“Get over yourself!” I push away from him, but he holds me firmly against his side.
“Coach seems to think we should do really well this season.”
He opens my door, and I climb inside the truck, lifting the center console and sliding into the middle seat while he gets in on the driver’s side. It’s these little moments where I realize just how much I miss him, his touch, his smell, and I find myself thinking about him way more than I probably should. He hasn’t been by the house since school started back up, except on the weekends, but I need him to come inside if my plan’s gonna work.
“You know I’m not the only one who misses you. Kringle misses you too. Do you have time to come in and play with him?”
He sighs and puts the truck in drive. “Just for a little bit. I’ve got a history test tomorrow I need to study for.”
“You know if you need help, I could always tutor you.”
“I might just take you up on your offer; however I’m not sure how much studying would actually get done.” He waggles his eyebrows, and I can't even be serious with this man as he shoots me a mischievous grin.
“God! Do you ever stop thinking about sex?”
Laughing, he replies, “What! I’m a horny teenage guy with a hot ass girlfriend. If I didn’t think about it, I would think something was wrong with me. So yes, I think about sex and baseball, of course.”
“Oh, of course.” I roll my eyes but can't quite stop blushing at his response.
“You know I love it when you blush.” A smile creeps across my face, and the heat in my cheeks only intensifies as I snuggle in against him for the rest of the drive.