The Junior (College Years 3)

“Yeah. I thought so too.” He grabs my hand before I can shift it away, bringing it to his mouth and dropping a kiss on the back of it before he releases his hold on me. “But I don’t want to act like it never happened once we get back home.”

I absorb what he’s saying, trying to decipher it. “You want our friends to know about us?”

“They already know, Gracie. You’re the one who’s been in denial the last few months. I’ve been denying it too.”

“Denying what?”

“That we’re together—and that we’re good together, too.”

He’s right. We are good together. It’s been fun.

Wait. It’s more than that. It’s not just fun with Caleb, it feels…

Right.

So right.

“What are you saying, Caleb? Are you wanting a commitment from me?”

“Only if you’re willing to give it.” His jaw is tight and I can tell he’s nervous. Afraid I’m going to take a pass. Or run away. Find someone else to fixate on for a while, which is what I usually do.

But my mind is one hundred percent focused on him. He’s what I want. No one else.

Just Caleb.

“I have a question for you,” I say and he gives me a quick, startled glance.

“What is it?” he asks warily.

“Um, Caleb Richard Burke?” Oh God. I sound vaguely terrified. “Will you be my boyfriend?” My voice, my expression, my everything is sincere though.

Now I’m the one shaking. Scared. Nervous.

He sends me another look, one I can’t figure out, and the next thing I know, he’s pulling over to the side of the road, kicking up a cloud of swirling dust with the truck tires before he puts the vehicle in park and turns to fully face me.

“Fuck yes,” he says, just before he reaches for me.

I go to him willingly, quickly undoing the seatbelt so I can climb into his lap, the steering wheel digging into my back, but I don’t care. I kiss and kiss him, all over his face, his nose, his chin before returning to his seeking lips. He kisses me back with equal abandon.

“Yes,” he keeps murmuring. “Yes, yes, yes.”

Yes.

Twenty-Five

Caleb

September

“I hate you,” Eli says to me out on the field, right in the middle of practice.

Resting my hands on my hips,

I glare at him. “What the fuck did I do to you?”

“You’re getting some on the goddamn regular, and I’m jealous,” Eli practically spits at me, just before he does actually spit, right on the grass.

I can’t help but start laughing, which only infuriates him further. “Go ahead, Burke. Laugh all you want,” he says. “I’m tempted to kick your ass out here in front of everyone!”