Page 80 of Mine Forever
“Yeah, I really do.”
We stare at each other until I feel the sting of tears behind my eyes. I roll my lips inward to try and hold them back.
When I know I’m not going to cry, I say, “I tried not to think of you, but I always did.”
He brushes a lock of hair away from my face, a smile spreading on his lips. “You know what we should watch?”
I exhale quietly, half of me relieved he’s changing the subject, the other half of me wishing we would talk about things.
“What’s that?”
“The Shawshank Redemption.It brings back some unforgettable memories.”
“Yeah, it does.” I smile and pull a blanket off the back of the sofa, drawing it around me.
My heart beats a little faster looking at him in nothing but a pair of jeans. That sculpted chest and tousled hair drive me wild.
“Lots of studying everything but the books.”
“Do you remember where we were when we watchedShawshanktogether the first time?” I ask.
He smiles. “Hell, yeah, I do. In my dorm room. My roommates were gone that night, and we had the whole place to ourselves.”
My smile matches his. “It was our first time.”
He chuckles, and his eyes take on a hazy quality as though he’s plucking the memories from his brain. “There were a lot of firsts that night. First time I’d had sex in my dorm room.”
I sit up straighter. “What? Now I know you’re lying.”
He shakes his head. “No, I’m serious. Before you, any girl I met, I went back to her place.”
“Why?” I can’t hide the bewilderment in my voice.
He shrugs. “It was easier to leave in the morning. Besides, for a guy, the walk of shame in the morning is more like the walk of fame, depending on the girl. And I didn’t like the thought of kicking the girl out in the morning.”
It dawns on me what he was saying. “Then why did… Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh.”
My throat grows thick. Holy shit. How did I miss that back then?
I look away and clear my throat. “So, uh. What were the other firsts?”
“Well, let’s see. First in my dorm, first time I’d cooked breakfast for a girl.” He looks back over at me. “First time I’d ever wanted to please the girl more than I wanted to please myself.”
I bite my lip, my heartbeat quickening, unsure of what to say. “I didn’t know all that.”
He laughs. “Well, you weren’t supposed to. We’d known each other all of what, a week? We’d had two dates.”
“That wasn’t even a date that night.”
“No, we were studying lit, right?”
“It is why we were watchingShawshankafter all.”
“Well, we didn’t watch much, did we? I had to watch the movie again later to know what was going on.”
“If it makes you feel better, so did I.”
