Page 10 of My Vows Are Sealed

Yep, her dad would have had a coronary if he walked into this cafeteria right now. So would my parents, for that matter. And I would have paid good money to see it. Maybe the doctors could pull the sticks out of their asses at the hospital while they were at it. One thing I’d learned being at public school for the past couple of years was that the world wasn’t nearly as black and white as everyone we went to church with said it was.

“Got it,” I said. “It might take some getting used to, but I’ll do my best.”

“Wait. Another church person who’s not an asshole?” Ashton gasped.

“I mean, I like to think I’m not an asshole,” I chuckled. “Though Ethan might say differently after the next time I cross paths with him.”

Darla averted her eyes. “Don’t worry about it. He was just being a jerk. I can handle it.”

“I know youcanhandle it, but you don’t have to. It’ll mean more if a junior tells him to back off. He won’t want to get on an upperclassman’s bad side. It’s just how things work here.” I looked across the table. “Same goes for you two. He gives youanyproblems, tell me and I’ll make sure he gets the message loud and clear.”

“Okay, I like him. He can stay,” Kate giggled.

“Glad I passed the test,” I said with a smile. “I don’t like anyone being jerks to people I care about. And if Darla cares about you, then so do I.”

Darla looked back at me with a smile that could have lit up a concert hall. And, out of nowhere, the urge to kiss her came over me, so strong that it took every ounce of my willpower not to act on it.

Just like that, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I'd never wanted to date anyone at this school because I'd already met someone I cared enough about to date. Except that she was two years younger than me.

Now that I looked back on it, I realized that what I felt for Darla had always gone way deeper than friendship. The way my feelings had manifested themselves had changed over the years, but they’d only grown stronger over time. What used to be almost brotherly affection for a girl I’d grown up with had morphed into something else altogether.

And, for some reason I couldn’t explain, that scared the hell out of me.

* * *

Thank God this day was almost over. I’d always hated the first day of school, and this was no exception. The only bright point in my whole day had been lunch, because I’d gotten to see Darla for a few minutes and meet Kate and Ashton. I’d never met anyone quite like Ashton, and the more I talked to them, the more I liked them. They were kind and genuine, and they were unapologetically themself, which wasn’t easy in this school, where everyone tried to pressure everyone else to fit whatever moldtheythought that person should fit into.

“Hello, Mr. Carter,” I heard someone say as I walked into my final class of the day, Team Sports.

I turned around to find Mr. Lively, the teacher of this class and the varsity football coach – who also attended our church – walking toward me.

“Hi, Mr. Lively,” I said.

“Ready for football practice to start?” he asked me.

“Yep,” I chuckled. “Between training camp and wrangling Nate in my spare time, I got plenty of workouts in this summer.”

He smiled. “How old is he again? Four?”

“Yeah. He started pre-K this year.”

“He’s a cute little guy.”

“Yeah, he is,” I agreed. “I think we’ll keep him around.”

He chuckled. “Anyway, you coming or going?”

“Coming,” I said, opening the door and holding it for him. “After you.”

“Your mama’s teaching you well,” he chuckled as he walked in.

I started to follow him inside, but then I heard an unwelcome voice that made me pause.

“Suck-up,” Ethan sneered as he approached the door. “Think kissing the coach’s ass means he’ll put you in the starting lineup this year, Carter?”

I felt my heart rate pick up and I clenched my hand into a fist as I remembered what Darla and her friends had told me about how he acted toward them in homeroom this morning. And now he was trying to harass meanda teacher too? Nope. This little twerp needed to be taken down a peg or two.

I let go of the door handle and cleared the distance between me and Ethan in two strides, gripping his shoulders and backing him up against the wall.

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