Page 76 of Make You Love Me

Glad that shit show's over.

Checking my phone before I bust into the girl’s bathroom to make sure Lottie is good, I see a text from her.

Stacks:Made it to class… I’m okay, promise. You just focus on winning tonight and then I'll take you up on that heating pad and back rub later. Maybe some chocolate too=]

She must have gone to a bathroom closer to her classroom. I head to the vending machine knowing exactly what she needs.

Rushing to her classroom right as the bell rings, I walk past her teacher, not caring.

“Hey pretty girl,” I say, and she looks up, stunned by my voice.

“Greyson, what are you doing here?”

Holding up my full hands to show a few of her favorite treats,“I brought the goods.”

Sitting down the pack of peanut M&M’s and a bottle of coke before I lean down and kiss her, I add, “Sorry, there’s no popcorn to mix in with the M&M’s but I thought this might make you feel a little better.”

Her smile reaches her beautiful hazel eyes as she says, “Aw, Thanks babe! You know me so well. This is exactly what I needed. You’re the—”

“Mr. Rexwood. I suggest you get to your next class.”

“Okay, that’s my cue to get my ass outta here. Love you Babygirl.”

She reaches out to grab my hand. One last touch before I go. I give her a wink and head out.

Thinking how much I can’t wait to cuddle with her tonight.

Who the fuck am I?

I’m the guy so madly in love with Lottie Richmond, he can’t see anything else. Not even the destruction around the corner.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“Tryonemoreon,please Tig! I saved the best for last.”

I hear Ashley pleading to Lottie as they try on dresses for the Gala tomorrow night.

“Well, why the hell didn’t we start there… five dresses ago,” Lottie responds.

Smiling to myself because Lottie only gives her sassy side to me and Ashley. I secretly love it.

Since it's my bye week for football, the coach gave us a three-day weekend to rest up. With no practice, I convinced Lottie that we should skip school and spend Friday at the beach with Ash and Trent. They flew into North Carolina last night, and we all met at Lottie’s beach house.

Ashley had several dresses for Lottie to try on for the big Gala tomorrow evening. I know Lottie is a little nervous about the event because this is the first one she’s attended. Even though she says this is the one good thing Ethel does, she still feels uneasy because you never know what Ethel’s ulterior motives are. On top of that, I’m sure the event will bring up some of the pain from her loss. Thankfully, she’ll be surrounded by her big support team, including my dad, who apparently has been coming to these things for years, even though Ethel hates it.

According to him, she will always see him as the no-good riff-raff from the wrong side of town. He and Gunnar, along with several other small business owners, have sponsored a table and donated to the auction ever since he discovered what the cause was for. Ethel will really hate it this year when she sees more of our crew at the event. I don’t really give a fuck. We bought an expensive ticket just like everyone else did, so we have every right to be there. Honestly, I'll enjoy the look of disgust on her face when she sees us. Just like I'm enjoying this beach house without Ethel anywhere near it.

All of us being back together in Nori Beach just feels right. It has me even more ready for next summer. Not quite sure how I feel about Lottie’s inheritance, but I know who she is as a person and her money doesn’t change that. She knows me well enough to know I would never feel right living off of her. I still have a lot I want to accomplish in life. Lottie still wants to pursue her dreams, which just shows the type of person she is. Mostalmost-eighteen-year-olds would take a gap year for the rest of their lives with those assets.

The house may have fewer items inside it than it did last summer, but it feels more like home already. All of Ethel’s things have been removed, and the evil left the building with it. Some of the furniture, including Lottie’s bedroom, was purchased by her great grandparents, so she wasn’t given a completely empty house.

Trent’s snores pull my attention across the room to his long legs hanging off the beige couch and the drool on his chin. We all made it here with enough time to go to the boardwalk last night and eat at The Shack. Even for a Thursday in November it was busy enough that when we saw the manager running around, she jokingly asked if I wanted to take some tables.

When we got home the girls had the bright idea to make Jell-O shots for day drinking by the pool today. Apparently, Trent went a little harder than the rest of us.

We plan to have a bonfire on the beach tonight. I did threaten to tear down the gazebo and throw it in the burn pile after a flashback of Jacob touching Lottie crossed my mind. But Lottie told me that was “absolutely ridiculous” and basically that she didn’t light my dick on fire so we can call it even and move on.

Tou-fucking-che.

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