Page 25 of Falling for You

“I’m a lot flawed, Ronnie, not a little bit. I would tell you more now, but I’m selfish enough to want you to still like me.” I could tell her about incidents that would make her hate me. I could tell her about all of the times I bedded girls just to scratch an itch. But I like how she’s looking at me right now. She’s gazing at me like I matter, and I can’t remember the last time I had someone look at me like that.

“We’re all a little messed up. But I happen to think you’re pretty great.” I can tell her eyes are starting to get heavy. Her voice has taken on a sleepy tone that tells me she needs to rest.

“I think you’re great too, Veronica Hester.”

“Can you hold me while I sleep?” She shifts and I pull her into me. She feels good up next to me. I kiss the top of her head.

“It would be my honor. All night, Ronnie,” I whisper as I feel her body go slack. “I’ll hold you all night.” As I drift off to sleep, I think that I could be content for the rest of my life holding this girl.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Morning breath is the most unromantic thing in the world. Get up, gargle, and brush before his ass has even had a chance to get a whiff of it. -Sam

Ronnie

I’m fighting to breathe. God, there’s hands around my neck. Please let me go. Please let me breathe. I fight and feel the hold loosen. I have to scream. I have to get away. I feel like I don’t have a voice. I gasp and try to scream, but nothing comes out.

“Ronnie, Ronnie, wake up. You’re okay.” Sawyer’s voice is soothing as he gently tries to shake me awake.

I open my eyes tentatively and see my hand extended. I have a feeling I fought him in my sleep. The room is dark and very little light filters through the windows. It must still be night.

“I’m so sorry, Sawyer. I didn’t mean to wake you up hitting you. I just…I just had a nightmare.” My voice shakes and a cold sweat covers my body.

“It’s okay. Do you need me to move to the floor? Do you need me to let you go?”

I scoot closer because in the midst of my nightmare, I’ve pushed myself away from him. “No Sawyer, I feel safe with you. It was just a nightmare. I could never be afraid of you.” And I’m not.

He pulls me close again and I sigh. He kisses the side of my cheek and I close my eyes. It takes a few minutes to drift off. This time, the nightmares manage to stay away.

When I wake up again, it’s with a smile on my face. Sawyer is spooning me, and I can’t help but grin as I push my butt up against his obvious erection. I’ve read enough to know that most guys wake up this way, but it makes me feel giddy and turned on to feel his hard length against me.

Sawyer’s arms tighten around me. “Sweet girl, you’re killing me.” He nuzzles my neck and I giggle.

I turn over and gaze into his deep brown eyes. I start to open my mouth to say something, but I quickly cover it. “I really want to kiss you right now, but I know my breath is kickin’.”

“I don’t mind it, but I’ll race you to the bathroom and share my toothpaste with you.” He grins and I can’t help but grin back. I bounce up off the bed and run into the bathroom.

“Beat ya!” He picks me up and spins me around by the waist.

“You little cheater!” He laughs and we both pause for a moment, looking in the bathroom mirror at each other. His hair is rumpled and his boxers don’t do a very good job of hiding his erection. He is pure perfection.

After we brush our teeth and get dressed, the mood changes from teasing to somber. I know we’re both thinking about how we’ll tell my dad everything. I can’t even face the difficulty of going to the police. I can’t help but wonder if they’ll actually do anything. I mean, I know we should have gone yesterday, and knowing Brad’s parents, I feel like everything will get brushed under the rug. After all, he comes from a family of lawyers. They’ll obviously put up a fight, and I don’t know if I’m ready for it. All I know is that I can’t let Brad do to anyone else what he did to me.

We get into Sawyer’s truck and he turns to me. He takes my hand and squeezes it. “I promise you I’ll be there every step of the way. I will always make sure you’re okay. I know this is going to be hard, but I promise I will stick right next to you.”

My eyes fill with tears. He’s so good. So impossibly good.

I squeeze his hand back. “Thanks. I know it’ll all be okay. Having you here makes it so much easier.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Raising a girl alone is not for the faint of heart. I was once a horny teenage boy. Is there a southern Baptist equivalent of a convent? I really need to speak with our preacher about establishing one… -Ronnie’s dad

Ronnie

The ride to my house is quiet. The plan is to talk to my dad first. My poor, unsuspecting dad who thinks I was on a girls’ trip. My poor dad who was so proud I was bonding with other girls. I sigh. He’s going to be so upset, but this is what we need to do.

I lead Sawyer to the front door with me. He holds my hand tightly and I can’t help but be glad he’s here. I tried to convince him I could talk to dad on my own, but he insisted on supporting me. I’m so grateful.

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