Page 98 of The Way We Are

Once Brax has her settled next to him, I drop my eyes to my feet to calm my nerves. The last thing I want to do is vomit on my shoes like I did my first day of school. That's how I met Brax and Chris. Chris helped clean my shoes while Brax threatened to beat up anyone who dared mention my embarrassing nervous trait. We’ve been brothers ever since.

Since I’m graduating top of my class—or as my fellow recruits like to call it “the golden boy of the force”—I’m heading up onto the stage to collect my graduation certificate before half of the butterflies in my stomach have settled.

“Ryan!” squeals a voice in the distance, the shouting accompanied by wolf-whistles and cat-calls.

I shake my head to clear the congestion in my ears, certain I’m hearing things. I heard that voice last night, but it was transported over a cell phone since its owner is hundreds of miles away.

I’m halfway across the stage when my name is called again. This time it's accompanied by the overzealous clapping of an extremely excited person.

My head snaps to the side so fast, my bones creak under pressure. My heart launches into a mad beat when I spot the smiling face of Savannah standing at the end of the aisle my mom walked only minutes ago. Her hands are braced against her chest, and the pride on her face is easily distinguishable even from a distance.

The crowd laughs when the lieutenant in charge of my division joins me in the middle of the stage instead of waiting for me to come to him. I’m so stunned at seeing Savannah, I can’t force my legs to move.

She's here. The girl of my dreams is here.I’d be a fool not to take advantage of the situation.

After accepting the certificate Lieutenant Smith is holding out for me and posing for a quick photo with the department-assigned photographer, I lock my eyes with Regina’s.

“Go on. You’ve earned it,” she permits, knowing she's breaking protocol, but confident enough in her position not to care.

I plant a sloppy kiss on Regina’s cheek then dart off the stage, ensuring she can’t retaliate to my gall. When Savannah spots me sprinting down the aisle, she also pushes off her feet. The brutal collision of our bodies is barely heard over the hollering surrounding us. From the crowd’s reaction, anyone would swear we are newlyweds dashing down the aisle after saying “I do.”

After kissing Savannah long enough I secure the oxygen I’ve been deprived of the past two months, I pull back to glance at her tear-stained face. She's just as beautiful if not more ravishing than I remember.

“What are you doing here?” I ask at the same time she says, “I’m so sorry we’re late. We got a flat, and the traffic in Orlando is ten times worse than I remember.”

Recognizing that she said “we,” I peer past her shoulder. Chris is standing at the exact spot Savannah pushed off from. His arms are crossed in front of his broad chest, and a grin on his face reveals he's only a little bit peeved by the delay. He likes drama—and this is about as dramatic as you can get.

Chris accepts my thanks with a dip of my chin before joining Brax and my mom at the front of the ceremony. I will join them... soon. I need a few more minutes surveying every inch of Savannah’s face first.

“How long are you here?”I ask Savannah as we walk toward Chris’s old beaten-up sedan parked next to Brax’s motorbike.

With Savannah’s arrival the highlight of my morning, the remainder of the festivities were as boring as they could be. I posed for the standard class photo and even managed to deliver my speech without vomiting on my shoes, but nothing could compare to the jubilation I felt when I saw her standing at the end on the aisle. There was only one thing that came close to topping it: it was when my mom told me she was proud of me. That was an unexpected, though highly craved praise.

“Just tonight,” Savannah answers with a pout before running her hand over the studded leather on Brax’s bike seat. “I can’t believe you own a Harley, Brax. Have you showed Justine yet?”

Brax’s head pops up from the saddlebags of his bike at the same time my eyes rocket to him.

“Justine?” I ask when he fails to answer Savannah’s question.

“They have a date scheduled for when she comes back from school,” Savannah informs me, her voice full of teasing.

“It’s not a date,” Brax denies, shaking his head. “We’re just going to the movies.”

“That’s a date, dipshit,” Chris pipes in, noogying Brax’s head to mess up his hair that’s grown a couple of inches longer the past six months.

Chris darts to the other side of his car when Brax stands to his full height. “It’s not a date if she buys her own ticket.”

While they continue arguing on what makes a date a date, I tug Savannah to the side of the parking lot for a bit of privacy. “You’re only here for one night?” I ask, my voice huskier than I’m anticipating.

I sound like a dirty old perv willing to do anything to spill his load in the next thirty seconds. It wasn’t the vibe I was going for. I don’t love Savannah only because she brings out a sexual hunger in me like no woman before her. I love her because of moments like this. She drove over fourteen hours to watch my ten-minute graduation service. If that ain’t love, I don’t know what is.

“Yeah. I used two personal days. Considering I only started a few months ago, I don’t have many up my sleeve.” The cheekiness on her face softens for pride. “But I really wanted to see you graduate. I’m so proud of you, Ryan.”

Just as quickly as her cheekiness was squashed, it returns stronger than ever. “And no amount of photos would do this uniform justice. Hot dayum, Ry. I guarantee half the population of Ravenshoe will start scheming ways to get arrested when they see you walking the beat.”

I laugh... until I spot a gleam in her eyes I haven’t seen in months. Savannah’s equally sexy jealous side has emerged from the darkness.

I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t one of her sexiest assets.

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