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  * * *

  When their parents had gone to sleep, Nate sneaked into Shawna’s room. She was lying awake, staring up at the ceiling. She rolled over the moment he entered, and he smiled over at her.

  “You know they might be able to hear you,” she said.

  “I doubt it.” He tiptoed across the floor and climbed into bed beside her.

  Even though it was dark, he could make out her face, and the smile on her lips. She really was a beautiful woman. “That didn’t go as bad as I thought it would,” she said.

  “They’re worried about us, though. It’s not hard to see.”

  “No, it’s not. Do you think about the future?” she asked.

  “All the time. It’s important for us to know what is going on, and what our plans are.” He held her hand where it lay between them on the bed. “Shawna, I don’t want us to end. Not when school finishes either.”

  “What if you find someone else?” she asked.

  “I’m not going to, and I don’t have any plans to do that either. I know where I belong, and it’s with you.”

  He saw tears were shining in her eyes. “This wasn’t supposed to get complicated.”

  “The best things in life always are.”

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, Nate. I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  They were sweet words to his ears.

  “You’re not running away screaming,” she said.

  “Why would I be screaming? That is the best thing I’ve heard in years, especially because I think for the first time in my life, I’m falling in love with you too.”

  “Really? You’re not just saying that?”

  “Of course I’m not just saying that. What kind of guy do you think I am?” he asked, taking possession of her lips. He moved over her so that he was close enough to make out her eyes. “I don’t know how you did it, Shawna, but you’ve bewitched me.”

  “You had to have gotten that line off a movie or something.”

  “I don’t know. I know what you make me feel, and how much I love being around you. There is no one else like you, Shawna.”

  “I bewitched you with my nerdy talents.”

  “You must have. How else could I feel this way?” he asked, stroking across her cheek.

  “I give good head?” she asked, chuckling.

  “You do, and I think I give good oral as well. This goes beyond our other talents, Shawna. I love you.” The moment he said it, he felt like something had finally gone right.

  He was in love with Shawna Prescott, and he couldn’t wait to tell the world who she belonged to.

  “We’re going to do this, aren’t we?” she asked.

  “Hell yeah.” He slammed his lips against hers. At the same time, he ran his hands down her body, and lifted up her dress. He was in love, and he was going to show Shawna exactly how damn much he loved her.

  Chapter Ten

  “This is crazy. I can’t believe we’re going to do this,” Shawna said the following day as he drove them both to school. Nate took her hand, and he had started to notice that not only did it help to calm her down, he also found a great deal of comfort when they touched.

  “We’re going to do this. I’m going to introduce you to my friends, and you’re going to do the same with yours.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, we can do this. We can do this. Totally, a piece of cake right.”

  “Yes, a piece of cake. You and I, together, forever.”

  Driving into the school, he spotted Buster and his crew quickly. Parking in his usual spot, Nate looked toward her.

  “I will understand if you want to pretend that my car has broken down, and you’re just being the nice guy.”

  Nate cupped her cheeks, and pressed his lips against hers, silencing her. He didn’t give a shit what his friends thought, or what hers thought. The only thing he cared about was having her by his side, and never being secret. Plunging his tongue into her mouth, he claimed her as his own. Pulling away, he saw her cheeks were flushed and her lips plump. “Are you ready?”

  “Yeah, I am.”

  He climbed out of the car and closed his door. He walked toward her, and when Shawna had closed her door, he locked his car and placed his arm over her shoulders, pulling her close.

  “I’m so nervous.”

  “I know.” He glanced around the school and saw a lot of people were watching them. “Wow, I feel like a celebrity right now. They’re all watching us.”

  “They’re watching you.” She chuckled. “Anyone would think we’ve been in a movie or something.”

  “Hey, we could make our own movie. The jock falls in love with the nerd.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. Looking at Buster, he saw his friend had a smirk on his face, and several of the guys looked pretty shocked. “Let’s do this.” Amanda looked ready to spit in Shawna’s face. He kept Shawna close to him as he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.

  “Hey, man, this is a little new,” Buster said, pointing at him and Shawna.

  “It is. Hey, guys, I want you to meet my girl, Shawna.”

  “We’ve been to school with her since kindergarten,” one of the guys said.

  “Isn’t she your sister?” Amanda asked. “Isn’t that like…illegal?”

  “We’re not related at all, and all we’re doing is sharing a house, Amanda.”

  Amanda folded her arms. “What about me, Nate? What about us?”

  “There is no us, and besides, there are plenty of guys to keep you occupied. I’m with Shawna, and that is not going to change, not ever.” He gripped Shawna’s shoulder. Silence fell on everyone, and Nate looked at his friend. Buster seemed a little shocked, and then he snapped out of it.

  “Well, Shawna, I can say that you’re in for a fucking treat with my boy here. He’s fucking crazy.”

  She chuckled.

  Nate looked toward his friend and mouthed the words “thank you.”

  Buster nodded.

  “Do you want to go and see mine?” Shawna asked.

  “Let’s go.” Nate released her shoulders and took her hand instead.

  Nigel was surrounded by a couple of guys and girls. There wasn’t much in the way of tension when he met her friends as he went to class with plenty of them. If anything, everyone was more surprised that Shawna had a boyfriend. Once the introductions had been done, they headed into the school.

  “That wasn’t so bad,” he said, leaning against her locker as she placed her books inside.

  “It wasn’t bad, but I can guarantee there is a bet being placed about how long we’re going to last,” she said. She pointed at his chest, and grabbed a couple of books before closing her locker. They walked toward his.

  “A bet?”

  “Yeah. It will last either a week, a couple of days. There will be one placed on our asses.”

  This time she leaned against the locker while he grabbed his books. They were not alone as all students were walking up and down the corridors lurking.

  “I wonder how long we’ll last,” he said.

  “I don’t know, but once I know, I’ll tell you.” She went on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Catch you later?”

  “Count on it.”

  He made his way to homeroom and took a seat, waiting for Buster. He didn’t have to wait long as his friend dropped down into the seat next to him. “Holy shit, did you see Amanda’s face? Calling her out on her crap like that was totally fucking class.” Buster laughed.

  “I’m glad you approve. Question, do you approve of me and Shawna?”

  “Man, I couldn’t give two shits. Our reputation, and crap, we’re buddies to the end. Is it serious, though?” Buster asked. “I want to know if I can make some quick cash before college.”

  “There’s a bet?”

  “Fuck yeah. Come on, Nate, it’s not every day a jock and nerd get it on. You and Shawna have an advantage of living together already. Come on, give a guy a break. I’ll tell you who bets and everything.”

  Nat
e was chuckling. “Fine. This is the real deal, Buster. I love her, okay? To me this is all real, and I’m fucking crazy that in a few months I’m going away to college, and it could all be over.” In fact, he lay awake at night thinking about it. What was he going to do? He didn’t want to live without her, even though he also didn’t want to ruin her dreams.

  “Wow, it is love for you, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, it is.” He was going to do everything to save it. “So, what are we talking here? A couple of months? What?”

  “Some think it’s a couple of weeks, others a few days. Me, I’m going to go for the rest of the term, at least.”

  “That’s my man.”

  * * *

  It didn’t take long for the high school to get bored with them. Days turned into weeks, and before long it was Christmas break, and she could forget about worrying what people at school were thinking. Nigel didn’t quite believe that she was dating Nate. She had told him straight out that she was in love with Nate.

  In between classes, she and Nate spent every available second together, and for her it was a relief to no longer be sneaking around. He still sneaked into her bedroom, but she truly believed her mother knew he came to her room.

  She had finally introduced him to her father three days before Christmas when she had dinner with him and Sandy. Watching her father be very…strict was new for her. All of the years she had lived with Dillon Prescott, he had been a fun-loving kind of guy, and now he was very judgmental.

  “You two are living together?” Dillon asked.

  “Yeah, we are, sir,” Nate said.

  “Your mother has allowed this?”

  “Dad, stop.”

  “No, I’m sure it’s fine to allow my very beautiful daughter to be with anyone. You know? Why don’t we just encourage pregnancy?”

  “With all due respect, sir, I care about your daughter, and I will never do something that stupid.”

  “So you’re telling me that you keep it in your pants? Neither of you have had sex?”

  “Dad, seriously, shut up,” Shawna said.

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying, but we’re careful, and even if I did get her pregnant, I would do right by her. I would never hurt her.” Nate grabbed her hand and squeezed. “We’re in this together.”

  Of course Nate had won her father over, and even though he still wasn’t happy about them living together, there wasn’t anything he could do because she was eighteen. Shawna had reminded him that she chose to live with her mother, and right now, she wasn’t going to leave her.

  Come the summer, she was going to be away to college, far away from Nate, and her mother, and everyone. Every time she thought about it, she felt sick to her stomach. For the first time in her life she understood what love was, and how it felt to experience it. She felt tears start to fill up, and her heart broke every time she thought about leaving him.

  This was hurting so much, and she didn’t understand it.

  “Are you awake yet?” Nate asked.

  It was Christmas morning, and she glanced over to see him at her door.

  “I’m awake.”

  “Good. I wanted to give you something.” He entered her room, and she saw he was carrying a small wrapped gift. “I wanted you to open this for me.”

  “Oh, do you want us to wake our parents?”

  “No. This is something special between you and me. I want you to have this.”

  She licked her lips, and took the wrapped present from him. Tearing off the paper, she stared at the picture she had seen him paint in his room. It was of the landscape outside of his bedroom, and he’d even added the point of his window.

  “Wow,” she said.

  “I’ve never given anyone one of my paintings, and I really hope you like it.”

  “Nate, I love this. It’s amazing.” She leaned forward, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close. “I love you, Nate.”

  “I love you too, Shawna.” He kissed the top of her neck.

  She closed her eyes, and finally released him. “Do you think we should wake them up?”

  “Yeah, why not?”

  They ran out of her room and jumped on their parents’ bed, pretending to be kids.

  “Enough, enough,” Daniel said. “How old are you two?”

  “It’s what you’d be expecting when you have children of your own,” Nate said. “Jumping kids.”

  Shawna watched as Belle and Daniel shared a look. She glanced at Nate, and he had seen the look as well.

  “Is there something you two want to tell us?” Nate asked.

  “Erm, no, not really,” Daniel said.

  “Holy shit, you two are pregnant, aren’t you?” Nate was the first one to say it out loud, and from the looks of it, he was spot on.

  Shawna hugged her mother. “I’m so happy for you.”

  “It’s early days at the moment. We wanted to wait in case anything went wrong.”

  “Nothing is going to go wrong. This is all perfect.” She was so happy for her mother, and even for herself.

  They all made their way downstairs, and spent a good hour unwrapping gifts. Nate loved the art kit that she had bought for him. She loved her painting upstairs, and thought it was the sweetest gift in the world. When the presents were done, she got dressed, and headed into the kitchen to help her mother.

  “You’re not mad are you, sweetie?”

  “Mad? Why would I be mad?”

  “Because I’m pregnant, and I don’t want you to think that I’m replacing you or anything.”

  “Mom, seriously, I wouldn’t think that. Not now, not ever.” She hugged her mother close.

  “You seem sad, honey. Do you want to tell me about it?” Belle asked.

  She peeled the carrots that her mother had asked her to peel and chop, and thought about what to say. “I love Nate.”

  “I know, sweetie.”

  “I love him so much, and I don’t want to lose him.”

  “Is this about college next year?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. I probably sound like a weird ass stalker right? I don’t want to lose what I’ve got with Nate.”

  “Long distance relationships can work.”

  “But what if I don’t want to do long distance? What if I want to be with him?” she asked.

  “Have you talked to him about it?” Belle asked. “Daniel and I are happy for the two of you. We want you to be happy.”

  “No, I haven’t. I guess I will have to.”

  She continued with the preparations for dinner, loving every second of it. Later that night, she made her way into Nate’s room to find him using the gift she had gotten him. “I love these,” he said.

  “I’m so pleased you liked them.”

  He put them down, and moved toward her. The moment he was near, he pressed a kiss to her lips. “What’s the matter, babe?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You’ve got that face that tells me you do have a problem.”

  “It’s not really a problem, I was just wondering. Are you looking forward to going away to college?”

  “I am, but I’m also not.”

  “Why not?” she asked, wanting to grab hold of a reason why he would hate it. Was it the same reason as hers?

  “Have you thought about what we’re going to be doing next year?”

  “College?”

  “I don’t want to lose you. This, for me, wasn’t some end of high school fling.” He took her hand, and she squeezed it back as she settled on the bed. “We can do this long distance thing.”

  “You think so?” she asked.

  “I know so. I know what I feel for you, and I know that I don’t want this to end. I love you, Shawna. We’ll figure this out.”

  * * *

  The weeks passed by, and with it the impending college debate. Shawna saw that Nate wanted to go to a college that wasn’t so focused on football. He had the grades to be the teacher he wanted to be, and to also practice his art on the side. Shawna, it didn�
��t matter to her where she wanted to be, and as the weeks passed, and the months, she finally decided that the only way for them to be together was for her to make that final leap. So, she found out which college Nate was going to, and one night when their parents were out on a date, she sat down and waited for him.

  He was at football practice, and she was so nervous waiting for him to get home. The letter was on the table in front of her, and the moment she heard the door open, her heart started to pound.

  “Hey, baby,” he said, moving toward her, and kissing her head.

  “Hi, Nate.”

  He looked at the letters then back at her. “Am I about to have a talk?” The smile that was on his lips moments ago was gone.

  “It’s not bad, I promise you. Would you sit down so we can talk?” she asked.

  Nate sat down without a word.

  “I love you, Nate. I do, and I’ve been thinking. You don’t want this to end once we get to college, do you?” she asked.

  “Do you?”

  “No, I don’t.” She smiled. “I’m actually a little nervous right now. I’m not used to this.” She let out a breath. “Right, I’m just going to get down to it.” She handed him the two letters. “If you would like for us to be together, then I’ve gotten into the same college as you. If you really don’t, and you don’t want to hurt my feelings, I can get into this one.” She pointed at the letter. “It’s up to you.”

  Her stomach was twisting, and she hated that. That one weekend when she had been with Nate had changed her entire world, and she hadn’t even known how much it would have changed.

  “You’re willing to come to college with me?” he asked.

  “Yeah, if you want me.”

  Nate cupped her face, and slammed his lips down on hers, sliding his tongue into her mouth and pulling her close at the same time. “Fuck, baby, do you know how much I love you?”

  “So much,” she said, tears suddenly filling her eyes.

  “I don’t know what to say right now. I’m so fucking happy. We’re going to do this.”

  “Yeah, we are.”

  “We’re not going to a dorm. That’s a promise. We’re going to have to look for a place close to the campus.”