Page 38 of Forever Golden

She lets out a silent squeal and pushes me deeper into the kitchen after making sure no one else had come in.

“This is the first time I’ve been around you two since you made things official, and OH MY GOD!”

She whispers that last part, fanning herself like she’s going to die of a heat stroke.

“Shut up,” I say with a laugh.

“You two are so hot together! And it’s only been like five minutes! Has he said the ‘L’ word yet?”

I pause simply because I know the wait will drive her crazy.

“Blue!”

“He said it a little over a week ago,” I admit.

“Ah! I bet it was perfect! Tell me all about it!”

“Later.”

“And I wantallthe details,” she insists. “Gah! I wish I could’ve convinced my parents to let me go down south with you guys. Just so I can drool over you two drooling over eachother.”

But before I can say I wish she’d gotten a ‘yes’from her parents too, a tall messy-haired guy darkens the doorway—both hands tucked in the pockets of faded jeans. West slinks into the room like he knows we were talking about him. Chances are he heard Jules’s big mouth.

“Need some help?” he offers.

Jules shoots me a look and quickly speaks up. “Actually, you two can cover this. I’ll go join the party.”

Her brows bounce at me before she exits, leaving West and I alone.

“I’ll pour. Mind opening the pack of plates and napkins?”

“Whatever you need,” he answers.

My teeth sink into my lip when I can’t help but check him out. The mere thought of him sends my temp soaring.

In my peripheral, I watch as he does what I asked. Then, when he’s finished, his massive body emits heat like a furnace as he approaches from behind. Still pouring, my eyes flit to where both his hands come to rest at either side of me now, sandwiching me between his body and the counter. I feel his breath on my neck and, right away, I’m flashing back to the quickie we snuck in the other night.

“So, I was thinking. We’ve hung out, you’ve been to my games… we’ve fucked,” he adds with an amused rasp, “but we’ve never been on an actual date. What do you say we change that?”

I feel flush all of a sudden, which is strange considering how much less intimate a date is in comparison to the other things we’ve done.

“Blue Riley, more affectionately known as Southside,” he teases, “would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the Snow Ball next weekend?”

I was with him right up until he mentioned the dance—all the hoopla, all the people.

“She accepts,” Scar beams.

Apparently, she’d been spying from the doorway. I could only hope she missedsomeof the conversation, but…

“I know everyone looks at me like I’m some toddler or whatever, but I’m putting my foot down,” she asserts. “Bluewillbe going to that dance if I have to chloroform her and send her out the door in a bathrobe.”

Despite still being on the fence about this, I smile, remembering something she said. About needing me to be okay soshecan be okay. Maybe this—seeing me behave like a normal eighteen year-old for once—is part of that.

Glancing back over my shoulder and into West’s eyes, I respond to his request. “I accept.”

He lays a very PG-rated kiss on me and leans away.

“Good. Otherwise, I was gonna take Scar up on her offer,” he teases.

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