Chasing Ella (Love Ever After 1)

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He holds his hand over his heart, pretending as if I offended him. “You don’t think I’m cute? Have any men ever told you that you are bad for their ego?”

“Nope, that would require me to talk to men.” As soon as the words leave my lips, I suddenly feel like an ass. Because I am comfortable around Shawn, I keep telling him things I would never admit to anyone.

“Yeah, right. I’m sure tons of guys follow you around campus.”

I shake my head. “No, I can’t say that they do. Well, if they do, then I don’t know about it, and that’s just a whole other level of weird and creepy.”

We both smile before we break out into full-blown laughter. Our conversation is so stupid. For the first time in years, I am laughing and happy. And it’s all because of Shawn.

“I like you, Ella,” he confesses. “I mean…I like being around you. I hope that doesn’t sound too cheesy or stupid.”

“Shawn, I told you before that you are not stupid. Stop using that word.”

“This right here,” he says, tipping up my chin with his index finger, “is why I like you.”

My ovaries just about burst into a thousand pieces from the devilish look he gives me.

Shawn Finch is one hot ass hunk of man. The electricity that pulses in the air between us is so palpable anyone around us could feel our energy. We have chemistry, something I never thought I’d have with one of the starting players from our football team. Whatever is happening between us is too strong for me to deny. For either of us to deny.

With his finger touching my chin, Shawn leans in to test the waters. I remain still in my seat, mostly because my brain shuts down and stops functioning once my sex drive kicks in. My breath catches in my throat, causing my lips to part in response.

Shawn inches forward, our faces now separated by only a few inches. The heat from his mouth brushes my lips, and my nipples harden in response to his proximity. This is so intimate, erotic, and yet we are in the back of a crowded bus, completely unfazed by the people surrounding us.

Then, it dawns on me that we cannot kiss. One kiss is all it will take for Shawn to know for sure that I am the masked girl from the party. Before I confess, I have to see if there is something more than the sexual chemistry between us. I need to know we have something real and worth exposing to the world.

He misses the hesitation in my demeanor. Shawn’s hand falls to the back of my head, and his fingers thread through my hair, pulling me closer to him. Our lips are almost touching by the time it hits me we have gone too far. I never know what to say in most scenarios. I am in uncharted water, making me even more unprepared than ever before.

His lips graze mine, and he’s about to take my bottom lip into his mouth when I blurt, “I’m a virgin!”

I knew I had to say something that would make me less attractive, but I want to kick my ass for saying something so personal about myself in public. People are now staring us because I was much louder than I had realized.

He pulls back from me, sinking further into his seat, and his hand lowers from my face in the process. “Huh.” That’s all he says for at least thirty seconds before I begin to panic.

“Say something,” I command because I have no idea what else there is to say after shouting that I’m a virgin in front of everyone.

“What’s there to say? You’re a virgin.” His deep voice lowers almost to a whisper. “Are you trying to scare me away? Because it’s not going to work.”

“I thought you should know, so you don’t have any expectations.”

“Up until a minute ago, the only expectation I had was that you would kiss me back. I meant it when I said that I like you. Considering we barely know each other, I like you a lot more than I should.”

“I know what you mean,” I mutter, “because I feel it, too.” My words bring a smile to his handsome face until I finish, “What about your mystery girl? Are you giving up on her?”

I mention her to see if Shawn is still serious about the other girl. While I feel guilty for not admitting we are the same person, I just told him, along with everyone in Philadelphia that I’m a virgin, to kill the mood. I also did it to keep him from liking me. Too bad my plan backfired. That seems to happen a lot with Shawn.

Once we reach my second stop, where I have to wait for another bus, Shawn gets up and helps me out of my chair and into the aisle. We walk toward the front with his big hands cupping my shoulders, guiding me to the exit. He makes me feel safe and more secure than I have felt in a while.

Don’t get used to this.

The guilt that comes from withholding this information from him cause the bile to rise from my stomach. But I have to keep this to myself, even if it’s only for a short while. The less he knows about me, the better, although I fear I have told him too much.

Shawn forced himself into my life by joining me for the ride home, and I let him in. Once he sees the other side of me, the girl who cooks and cleans after her evil stepfamily, Shawn will not like the version he has built up in his mind as his perfect girl. I guess I should give him more credit, but it’s hard after having so much heartbreak in my life.

Shawn thanks the driver as we get off the bus and steers me toward the group of people sitting on benches, either talking amongst themselves or playing on their cell phones.

“You don’t have to do this,” I say, apprehensive. “I will be okay getting home on my own. It’s freezing outside, the streets are starting to ice up, and I have two more buses until I get to my house.”