Page 5 of Breath By Breath

“Not my boyfriend,” Lena says once Gail has walked away. There’s humor dancing in her eyes.

“I’m working on it, Lena. I’m working on it.” Throwing my arm over her shoulder, we make our way outside. She points out her Jeep, and we head that way. “Want to come over for dinner?”

She laughs. “No, thank you.”

“How about we hang out after? Work on homework.” I’m reaching here, but I’m not ready to let her go just yet.

“It’s the first day of classes. We didn’t have any homework.”

“Never hurts to work ahead.” We both know that I’m full of shit, but that’s okay. She’s smiling, so I’m taking that as a win.

“How about I’ll see you tomorrow?” she suggests.

“That’s a long time from now.”

“You’re going to be just fine.” She surprises me when she raises up on her tiptoes and presses her lips to my cheek. “Thank you for today. You made it so much better than I thought it would be.”

“That’s how every day will be, Lena.”

“We’ll see.” She opens up her car door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Stanley Riggins.” She climbs into her Jeep and drives away. I stand here, like the lovesick fool that I am where she’s concerned, and watch until I can no longer see her vehicle.

“What’s up with you?” Roger asks.

“That’s the girl I’m going to marry.” I point to where Lena just disappeared down the road.

“What did you take?” he asks, concern lacing his voice.

“What?”

“You have to be on something. Come on, man, you’re better than that.”

I can’t help it. My head falls back in laughter. “I didn’t take anything. It’s all about the magic, my man.”

“Magic? Right?” he draws out. “Magic pussy, maybe,” he mutters.

“Don’t.” My tone is stern. “Not with her. Don’t go there.”

He raises his hands in the air. “You do you, Riggins. All I’m saying is we’re too young to be tied down. We need to taste all the flavors before we decide on our favorite.”

“I already know my favorite. I’ll catch you tomorrow,” I say to my best friend, tossing my hand in the air. I make my way to my truck and head home.

“Finally!” I exclaim when my dad walks through the door from work.

“Talk about a welcome home.” He chuckles. “What’s up, kid?”

“Magic.”

Dad tilts his head to the side and studies me. “What about it?”

“Not it. Her.”

A slow smile tugs at his lips. “Her, huh?”

“All these years I thought you and Gramps were pulling my leg.” I run my fingers through my hair. I didn’t think he’d ever get home. I glance at the clock and see it’s ten minutes after five. He’s usually home at five. That was the longest ten minutes of my life. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but I needed to talk to him.

“All your eighteen years, huh?” he jokes.

“I’m being serious here, old man. She’s… everything.”

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