Page 64 of The Heavier the Guilt…

Chapter 23

The finality that feels real.

Edie~

Talon and Kenzlee had decided to stay through Sunday, and I’d been more grateful than they could ever know. It’d felt good to be able to share boyfriend stories with Kenzlee, and Mom had really been happy to have Talon home. Even though I knew that she loved us, I could only hope that she finally got a life once I went to college.

At any rate, it’d been a good weekend. While Lars had texted often to check up on me, he had stayed away, giving me and Mom some much-needed time with my brother. Even Kenzlee had stayed out of the way, spending a lot of her time with her aunt and uncle. Yeah, Talon hadn’t liked it, but he’d understood the priority these past couple of days.

Now it was Monday morning, and I was waiting for Lars to pick me up for school. My heart felt like it was racing with both excitement and anxiousness. Lars and I no longer had to hide our relationship, and I wondered what dating Lars Finley would be like. With neither of us having ever been in a serious relationship before, I wondered how badly we were going to screw this up. I had no idea what to do with a boyfriend, and Lars definitely didn’t know what to do with a girlfriend.

With my backpack and purse in hand, I walked outside to wait for him like I always did. I had a thing for being late, and it would throw my entire day off if I showed up late to school. It was stupid, but it was a quirk that I couldn’t deny. Granted, it wasn’t the only quirk that I had, but it was the one that bothered me the most.

I couldn’t stop the smile on my face as Lars came into view, and he really did drive my car like it was his own. He looked comfortable and confident, and he was my boyfriend. Lars flippin’ Finley was my boyfriend, and I never would have guessed it in a million years.

Walking towards the car, I watched as Lars got out, and he looked pissed.

What now?

“What can possibly have you pissed off this early in the morning?” I asked as he came to stand in front of me.

“Things are different now, Edie,” he said, leaving me to wonder what in the hell he was talking about. “In fact,everythingis different now.”

My brows shot upward. “Such as?”

“Well, for starters, you wait until I come to the door to fetch you.”

Surprise erupted all over my face. “Fetch me?”

“You know what I mean,” he drawled out.

I just stared at him.

I mean, seriously.

“Are you telling me that you’re going to be worse than you were when we were just friends?”

“I don’t consider being a gentleman a bad thing, Edie.”

“Lars, this isn’t the sixteen-hundreds,” I replied carefully, trying not to hit his crazy button. I really didn’t want to be late for school. “Do you see me wearing a petticoat?”

“Do you see me giving a fuck?” he retorted.

I shot him a look. “I’m not going to be late for arguing with you about stupid stuff, Lars.”

“I don’t consider the way you deserve to be treated as stupid stuff,” he huffed, eyeing me, daring me to argue his point.

“Can we agree to disagree right now?” I asked. “I don’t want to be late to school.”

Lars reached out, grabbed my hand, then walked me to the car. I didn’t say another word as he opened the door for me, then helped me inside. My eyes tracked the crazy guy as I put my seatbelt on, and I couldn’t help but finally understand why girls tripped over themselves to be with him. While a part of me could admit to feeling a little jealous over his past, I quickly reminded myself that I was his first girlfriend ever.

When he got in the car, he looked over to make sure that my seatbelt was on-something he’d always done pre-boyfriend status-then turned the ignition to get us on our way. As soon as we pulled onto the street, Lars did that thing that all girls thought was so sexy and sweet at the same time. He reached over, then grabbed my thigh with his hand.

Swoon.

“So, how are we going to do this?” I asked.

“Do what?”

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