Page 16 of When October Starts

“You have no idea.”

Chapter Fifteen

Ezra

“Where do your moms think you are tonight?” I asked. I was standing by the dishwasher while Juno got comfortable on the couch.

“I told them I’ll be staying at Pixie’s,” she called out.

“Staying? Juno, we haven’t talked about you staying here overnight.” I turned to look at her. She was pulling the blanket over her legs. The big, cozy sweater she was wearing looked like she had bought it at a garage sale of two elderly people. That sweater had seen better days, but she looked adorable in it.

“We can talk about it right now,” she shrugged.

“Juno.” I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “You’ve pretty much decided to stay here on your own without asking me for permission.”

Her brows raised, and she gave me a look that said “are you fucking kidding me?”

But quickly after realizing I wasn’t joking; her face fell and a heavy sigh escaped her. “I’m sorry. I should’ve asked you first. I just…thought you wanted me to stay.”

I walked over to the couch and sat down next to her. “Of course, I want you to stay. But you know our situation is a little complicated. What if your parents find out that you didn’t spend the night at Pixie’s?”

She studied my face and tried to come up with an excuse, but she was struggling to do so. Her gaze fell to her hands which were tugging at the blanket covering her lap.

I let her think a little while longer, then reached for her hands and squeezed them. “Maybe it’s best if you go home later. I’m not saying you have to leave in the next hour, but maybe it’s best if you’re home before midnight.”

“And what do I tell them when they asked why I changed my mind about sleeping over at Pixie’s?” She sounded upset, but as much as I wanted her to stay here with me for the night, we couldn’t take that step just yet.

“Tell them you changed your mind and wanted to come home. You don’t have to make up a whole lie about why you didn’t feel like sleeping at Pixie’s. You do understand what I’m saying, don’t you?” I asked carefully.

“Yes, Ezra, I understand,” she muttered.

I smiled at her, grabbing her head in both hands and kissing the spot between her eyebrows. “You’re frowning again,” I whispered against her skin.

“Ever thought about you being the reason why I do that so often?”

I chuckled, then looked back into her eyes. “Crossed my mind a few times, yes,” I admitted.

“Come here.” I pulled her into my arms, and she leaned into me with her head on my chest and her arms wrapped around my waist. I planted another kiss to the top of her head, then looked at the tv.

“You’ll be graduating next June, right?”

Juno nodded and turned her head to look up at me. “Why are you asking?”

“Any plans for college yet?”

“I’d wanna go to Lakewood College. It’s just twenty minutes away by bus. If I get in, I can keep living at home. Mom and Aggie don’t want me to leave anyway, and Lakewood has great programs.”

“I know Lakewood. It’s a great college. I think I’ve heard Pixie also talk about it before.” I brushed her hair back and studied her face while she talked again.

“She wants to go there, too. But her parents want her to venture out. Go to a bigger city and have greater experiences than staying here. I think they want her to attend some Ivy League college,” she said.

“I might have to talk to her and her parents. I don’t like when parents tell their kids what college to go to.”

I took a mental note to remind myself to plan a little get-together with Pixie and her parents. College was an important step, especially after attending a progressive school like Memphis. The kids in there never really learned what it’s like to have a schedule. College would be a whole new world for them, and us teachers needed to prepare them for that. But wanting them to attend a damn Ivy League college was not really what any of these students had in mind.

“So you’ll be staying around town,” I said, keeping my eyes on hers. “That means…if this between us works out, and we can keep it secret until you turn eighteen at the end of September,” I stopped, my smile growing just like Juno’s. “Then we can finally stop hiding.”

“You think we will last that long?” She was skeptical, but I quickly eased her mind. “I want us to last. I know our situation is difficult…but I don’t think I can stay away from you, no matter what the laws of dating are.”

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