Page 21 of Beautiful Beginning

“Yes,” I wiped a delinquent tear from my cheek. “Go.” My hands covered my mouth as the two of them made their way to the stage. A week before, nobody would have known who it was standing up there. But that night, the crowd chanted his name. Like Chaz and Amya were celebrities. “They did it,” was all I could say repeatedly. “They fucking did it.”

A hand rested on my shoulder, and Nia’s head leaned closer. “You pulled it off. You made the shyest guy on campus popular. You drug him from his shell and got him out here for everyone to know. Damn good job, Journey.”

I wiped a few more tears and turned to her. “And thanks to you all for helping me. This wasn’t easy in the slightest way.”

On the other side of me, Lauren broke down the side effects of my good deed. “Are you ready for girls to be all over your man?”

I frowned and asked, “What?”

She nudged her head toward the stage. “He’s intelligent, sexy, and now out in these streets.” Her eyes stretched. “Before Chaz was your little hidden gem, and now everyone on campus knows him. He’s about to be on every woman’s radar.”

Nia smacked her lips. “And you know these chicks don’t give a damn whether a man is in a relationship or not…”

“You’re right,” I admitted. “But we aren’t in a relationship.”

Lauren rubbed her hand down my arm. “That’s worse.”

I tuned out Nia, and Lauren, going back and forth about the scandalous ways of some of the people on campus. I focused on Chaz, and Amya, speaking on stage. I only remembered being that proud about one other election in life. It happened when I was young, but the energy from it was as palpable as it was that night in Hillside’s courtyard.

When they left the stage, and the crowd cleared, I found Chaz again. “Do they whisk you off to a confidential meeting? Prep you on all the Presidential business or do you have one night to celebrate?”

He looked over his shoulder. “If that celebration looks like me and you, by ourselves, somewhere quiet I can ditch whatever anyone else planned for me.”

“Your place or mine?”

He intertwined our fingers and said, “Let’s go to mine.”

“You know…” Once we were on our way I said, “My roommates think you are about to have panties thrown at you left and right. Every chick on campus knows your name now and will recognize what you’ve been trying to hide for four years.”

He tapped his hand against the steering wheel before turning his head toward me. There was a blank look on his face when he said, “Nothing changes with me. I don’t want all that attention.”

That was both good and bad. He didn’t mention that the other girls didn’t matter because there wasme.The obvious choice in his passenger seat. The woman who was ready to be his first lady, hit the campaign trail, and support him in all his endeavors.

That boulder that rolled away when they announced him the winner, it was back. A little heavier too. The joy in my face drained and I stared at my fingers in my lap.

“Hey.” He placed his hand on top of mine. “No matter what. How many pairs of dirty draws get thrown at me. How many chicks think they want to know me. It doesn’t matter. I hope I have my first lady already.”

That next breath exhaled easy. The inhale that followed was like fresh air floated through his car. I turned sideways and asked, “Is that an official statement from the office of the president, or…”

His fresh shave, and haircut started to grow back. There was weariness in his eyes, and his mouth held a little smirk. But still, he brought a smile to my face when he said, “If you want to know if I want to change everything up, and make this,” he tightened his grip around my fingers, “official. Then, yeah.”

If we weren’t in the car I would have crawled into his lap. Kissed down his face and ripped open his shirt to continue downward. But we were. “Are we almost at your place?” I asked with a heavy voice.

“Oh,” he growled as he dropped my hand, “is someone a little anxious?” He rubbed a circle around my thigh, and I should have clamped them close.

“A little?” I told him, “The way you’ve been kissing me. Staring at me like you could eat me for breakfast. I’m more than a little anxious.”

“For what?”

His question caught me off guard. I thought my want was obvious. Very apparent by the way I stared at him. Rubbed my body against his when he hugged me. Damn near melted when his hand grazed my ass. “For us to make love.”

“Ehm…” he pulled his car into the parking lot and slung his door open. He ran to the other side and whipped mine open. He didn’t wait for me to unbuckle. He did that for me. Lifted me into his arms and carried me to the stairs where I thought he would let me walk up them myself.

He didn’t though. My legs wrapped around his waist, and he warned, “Hold on tight,” as he jogged up the stairs like he was carrying a bag of groceries.

He fumbled for his keys with one hand and gripped my ass with the other. He kicked the door open with his foot and walked the few steps to his bedroom. His roommate could have been sitting on the couch as we passed but neither of us would have known.

Inside his bedroom, he let me down onto his bed. “Did you say you wanted to make love?”

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