I didn’t need to hurry.
She’d be mine forever. I knew that now. One day, we’d marry and have children, but that didn’t have to be today. It could be years from now, after we knew each other better, after she’d finished her education.
I’d wait however long I needed to.
I’d wait forever.
I lowered my head and pressed my lips to hers. It was a soft kiss, a kiss of meaning. A kiss of love. A kiss full of promises of a future to come.
This was what I wanted more than anything.
Which meant damage control—things I needed to deal with before I could make a life for Daphne and me on the ranch. I’d already set things in motion with Wendy, but other baggage remained.
At least I had all the time in the world. Daphne was young. We could wait years to begin our life together. Yeah, we had time.
I’d need it to find a way to put some things in their graves.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Daphne
I grasped my campus map in my hand as I trudged to my first college class. We’d had several tours during orientation, but how was I supposed to remember where each building was? I was determined that after today, I’d no longer need the map. My first class was in Majors Hall, and of course it was the farthest classroom building from my dorm.
Not a problem. It was a beautiful day. Patty and I had gotten up early to hit the cafeteria for a light breakfast and some coffee. Her first class wasn’t for another hour and a half, so she was sitting in the student center gossiping with Flo and some other girls I didn’t know. I was on my own now, and I was okay with that. After the debacle last night, I needed some space from the girls.
I finally made it to my classroom with five minutes to spare. I took a seat in the middle of the classroom.
A few minutes later, Ennis strolled in. “Hey, Daphne.” He sat down next to me.
Never had I been so thrilled to see a familiar face. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Sorry I wasn’t in last night to…uh…help you out.”
“Crap. Did Dirk tell you?”
“Yeah, but he swore me to secrecy.”
“He’d better not tell anyone else. Brad will kick the tar out of him.”
“Oh?” Ennis wrinkled his forehead. “You don’t say?”
I recognized sarcasm when I heard it. Ennis’s jaw was still slightly bruised from Brad’s punch the first night of orientation.
“How serious are you two anyway?” he asked.
“We just met,” I said.
We were serious. We loved each other. It sounded ridiculous to say it, but it was fate. And it was right. I had the same feeling I’d had during the game last night. I didn’t want to talk about it. It was too personal.
“A guy doesn’t go around threatening other guys over a girl he’s not serious about.”
“I wouldn’t know,” I said truthfully. Brad was my first boyfriend.
Wow. Brad was my first boyfriend. I replayed the words in my mind like a broken record.
What did I know about love? For that matter, what did Brad know about love? Sure, he was more experienced than I was, but he was still pretty darned young.
The class began to fill up, so I was spared talking about it anymore.
Thank goodness.
I knew in my head and my heart that I was meant to be with Brad.
But I had no way to explain that knowledge to others. They’d all think I was wacked.
I’d been sure before, but now I was even more sure, if that was possible. Brad hadn’t run away screaming when I told him about my hospitalization and my lack of memory of that time. In fact, he’d shared his mother’s issues with me. He understood.
He was definitely the one.
Classes went by in a flash the first week. I saw Brad about every other evening. We didn’t sleep together again, as we were both busy with studies. Neither one of us was interested in a quickie. Besides, we had all the time in the world, and I was determined to focus on my classes. The vast amount of material we were expected to learn on our own nearly overwhelmed me, but I took the time I needed to study and read.
I actually kind of enjoyed it. English was my favorite class, and I began seriously considering a career in creative writing.
Before I knew it, three weeks had flown by.
“Have you taken care of things yet?” Patty asked me one day during lunch.
“Taken care of what?”
“The health center. You need to get on the pill.”
“Oh.” I warmed. “Brad and I… We haven’t…”
She widened her eyes. Was that shocking?
“We’ve both been really busy,” I said.
“Daph, you’re never too busy for good sex.”
I couldn’t help a smile. The sex with Brad had been amazing, but what did I know of good sex? It hadn’t hurt, and I hadn’t bled. Did that make it good? Brad and I had an amazing connection. Did that make it good? Our physical chemistry was also off the charts. Did that make it good?