Second Chance Vow

“Did you hear what I said, Christian?” she questioned, bringing me back to the present. When she’d just told me she loved another guy.

Fucking Jax.

“I heard you.”

“Do you believe me?”

“You haven’t given me a reason not to. I don’t want to talk about Jax anymore.”

“Good.” She smiled, and it lit up her entire face. “I’m starving.”

For the next hour, we ate dinner on the bow and talked about nothing in particular.

I watched the way her lips moved.

The way her hair blew in the wind, framing her face.

The way she laughed with her whole body, feeling it deep in my bones.

I especially watched the way she looked at me as I swept her hair away from her face. She didn’t say a word, but her eyes spoke for her. The way she affected my mind and heart was terrifying, but it was so real.

So consuming.

She felt it too. That much I knew.

Breaking our strong connection that held both of us captive, I cleared my throat and stood up, bringing her right along with me. Something came over my senses, and I reached for my phone in my pocket to hit my playlist. Once I found the song I wanted, I set it down on the ground next to our makeshift picnic, which I’d made just for her.

With the music, the boat rocking softly, and the bright moon shining above our heads, I spun her into my arms before holding her close to my chest. Taking one of her hands, I placed it on my shoulder then intertwined the other with mine, placing it near my heart.

Her face conveyed so many emotions in a matter of seconds, and I paid attention to each and every one. She placed the side of her face on my chest, and I knew what she was trying to do, but it didn’t matter because I already felt everything she was trying to hide.

“Tell me something you’ve never told anyone,” she uttered out of nowhere.

I thought about it for a second. “I want to be a doctor.”

“What?” She gazed up at me. “Really?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Wow. You’re just full of surprises, huh?”

I peered deep into her eyes. “Sweetness, you have no idea.”

—Kinley—

After we cleaned up the boat which I learned was actually his parents’, Christian grabbed my hand and led us back to the fair where it felt as though all our classmates were in attendance. Girls were looking at us, more like glaring everywhere we went. I was at the fair with Christian Troy, and it was a big deal in and of itself.

There we were, holding hands throughout the carnival, and he didn’t do this. He wasn’t this guy who was winning stuffed animals and kissing my lips every chance he had.

It was as much of a shock to me as it was to our classmates, the open affection he was showing me. He wasn’t trying to hide the fact that we were hanging out.

When my eyes shifted to the photo booth by the trees, Christian didn’t hesitate to take me over there.

I smiled, knowing he was doing this for me.

“Come here,” he ordered, sitting me on his lap once the curtain was closed and no one could see us. We were both facing the camera in front of us.

“You feel good on top of me, sweetness.”

My heart sped up. This was the first time we were this close, and I felt his dick through his jeans on my ass. I mean we’d kissed, but that was it. Which was another thing that was confusing to me. Christian didn’t just kiss. He was a home run kind of guy and didn’t wait around to have sex with chicks.

They threw themselves at him. He didn’t have to try, but with me, he never pushed for anything other than kissing. As if just spending time with me was enough for him.

“I thought you didn’t like taking pictures?” I asked, trying to calm my racing heart.

“I don’t,” he whispered in my ear from behind me. “I’m doing this for you.”

I smiled wide, my stomach fluttering.

We took five pictures in different positions. The first was with us facing the camera. His arms were around my waist, and his face was nuzzled in my neck. I could feel his breath on my skin, igniting tingles to stir down my spine.

The next one he started tickling me, both of us laughing like fools as the camera clicked for another photo. The third picture was a funny one, where we were both sticking out our tongues. The fourth photo caught me by surprise, as Christian spun me around so that we were now facing each other.

I gasped when I realized I was straddling his waist, making him grin. Pulling back my hair, he kissed my lips, and the next two images were just of us kissing.