Page 145 of Steeling Her
Once we come up to a tree, he turns back and faces me with a beaming grin which gives the moonlight a run for its money. “Okay, so, I know it’s not the best place to ask you this, and to be honest, I thought it would be a little more romantic but it’s fine.” He reads my mind. Brushing off the situation right now, he focuses back on his task. He takes both of my hands in his and stares down at them. Flicking his eyes back up to me, I nearly melt into a pile of goo under the tree.
“Carter, I know we’ve only been on a few dates, and I know you are probably a little unsure after what happened in there—”
“I thought we went back ten minutes? It didn’t happen, right?” I grin and so does he.
“Right! It didn’t happen.” He shakes his head, ridding the memory. I can hear the something splashing in the pool from afar. People are laughing and screaming out of enjoyment. The music booms to a rhythmic beat that I’m trying not to tap along to. “So . . . I would like to continue this into something a little more than just dating . . . Will you be my girlfriend?” he asks with a tiny quiver in his voice.
I almost whimper at how cute that was. He can be so freaking adorable sometimes.
“Yes, I would like to be your girlfriend.” My cheeks are beginning to hurt, I’m smiling so much. I would never have thought he’d ask me to be his girlfriend. Not in a million light years. Not for another while, anyway.
“Phew. For a second, I thought you were going to say no.” He laughs before capturing our lips into a heated kiss, both of us grabbing at one another like girls in a sale. Passionate and longing for this, this make out is what we wanted. It’s the butterfly feeling that you get, that foot popping feeling that you get, the grinning like an idiot feeling that you get. That is what this guy does to me. He sends me and my body into a frenzy.
“It was no question,” I mumble back on his lips. Cupping my face in his hands once again, he draws me closer and kisses my forehead.
“My first girlfriend,” he mumbles. I think he meant to say that in his head but he likes to blurt things out to himself. I think it’s cute but he hates when he does that. I do it too, so I know how embarrassing it feels. That’s why I don’t draw any attention to it.
He’s my first boyfriend too,I think to myself, making sure to keep it in. We’re each other’s first relationship, and I have this foolish smile on my face. The echo of the crickets surround us. My ankles are wet from the grass. The trees hiss from the light breeze, which makes my hair blow across my face.
My dad is going to love this. That was sarcasm.
I push myself up on my toes and peck him one last time before we decide to join the party. Hand in hand, we walk to where TJ and Haley are. Danielle is talking with Cas. We sit down, and Nick starts chatting to the guys about their win.
I stand up and whisper in his ear, “Hey, I’m going to get a drink. Do you want one?” I ask him and he asks for a beer. Before I leave, his hand wraps around my wrist to draw me back in. I see that cheeky smile on his face along with multiple pairs of eyes watching.
“Give me a kiss,” he requests. I don’t protest; I kiss him, giggling as I do it.
Then I make my way into the kitchen. There aren’t many people at all in here, which I’m grateful for. I can’t deal with a bunch of drunken people right now. I’m also just praying that neither of the girls come and insult me for what Nick said. I don’t want to fight with anyone over him again. They’re like broken records. It’s too draining to deal with them. They need to get over him and move on so they can be happy in their own lives. It’s getting to a point where I actually am starting to feel sorry for them; Maya in particular, despite the ongoing case with her that is weighing more on my side than hers.
When I start pouring some water into a cup for myself and take the cap off a beer for Nick, I see a somebody lean against the counter I’m working on. I look up to see either Rob or Ryan. I can’t tell which one.
“So, you’re his girlfriend now? Huh?” With that question, I knew it was Ryan. He didn’t look too upset, which I was glad for. I nod, taking a sip of the drink in my hand. There’s nothing but silence between us for a little while. “Ryan won’t be happy.” I almost spit the drink out, coughing it up to clear it after it almost goes down the wrong way.
“I thought you were Ryan.” I clear my mouth up. Rob then starts to laugh raucously then shakes his head no.
“No, I’m not Ryan. I would be a lot more animated if I was.” He laughs and I smile back at him.
“I’m sorry, I just can’t tell the difference between you both,” I joke with him as I wipe down the counter I coughed all over.
“It’s fine. Good to know you don’t know which one of us you dated.” He chuckles beside me as he helps me clean up. “I just came over here to thank you.” I stare at him, puzzled as to why he’s thanking me. He reads my expression and continues, “With the whole restaurant fiasco?” It then clicks, but I still don’t really get why he’s thanking me? All I did was listen to her when she needed to rant. “Without you talking to her, I wouldn’t have a chance in hell in getting her back as my best friend, and now, something more. So, thank you. I really appreciate it. It’s all I’ve wanted for the past few months. Well, that’s a lie. It’s all I’ve wanted since I first met her. It was hell without her,” he spoke softly when he talks about her. His large self softens when he talks about her, as if she was his weakness.
“I’m glad she gave you a chance, but she came up with that choice on her own. I didn’t do anything other than listen to her. That’s all she needed.” I shrug because she cared enough about him to become friends with him. I have nothing to do with it. It was all her and him. They needed to talk it out, without a third party.
“If you hadn’t let her rant, she wouldn’t have spoken to me. You’re too nice, you know that?” He chuckles, sipping on the beer in his hand. “You’re way too nice, you helped a lot more than you think you did. Seriously, thank you. She told me to thank you too.” I smile and nod at him. I still, to this day, believe I had nothing to do with them reuniting.
“Is she here tonight?” I ask him but he shakes his head.
“Sadly, no. She’s working tonight. I’m going to get her after her shift and stay with her for the night.” He smiles at the thought of the time he’ll have with her.
“Tell her I said hey and to come out to the next party! We’d love to see her,” I tell him. He lifts his beer up and toasts it with my red cup.
“Definitely, she would love that. I better leave you now, I know how impatient Jackson gets.” He rolls his eyes playfully at me. I agree with him, laughing into my water. He gives me a hug as a thank you and reconnects with the rest of the guys outside. I refill my water in the sink before I join back in on the conversation with everyone.
I step out of the house with both drinks in my hands and walk around the pool. I see Nick grinning at me, then it’s soon wiped off his face. I frown a little, wondering why he’s looking at me like that. I watch him stand up from the chair and so do some of the other guys beside him.
Next thing I know, I feel a bone crushing hug from a 200 pound football player from behind along with a sharp pain in my back shooting itself up my spine. Then I’m completely submerged in the pool with him on top of me. I scream in pain underwater as he weighs down on me. I can feel my body start to panic as I scramble to push him off of me. Then I’m saved by another arm yanking me out from under him.
Once I’ve broken the surface of the water, I inhale as much air as I can. I can hear that the party has gone quiet, and some people are giggling. I splash at the water and kick my legs to stay afloat, still frightened by what just happened to me. My breaths are coming out in gasping pants, trying to fill my lungs with the oxygen I was lacking for a moment.
