One-Eighty (Westover Prep 1)

“I do love you!” I spit as she reaches for the doorknob. No matter what I feel or think, there’s no way I can let her walk away from me right now, not thinking and feeling the way she does. She freezes, but she doesn’t turn around. The sight of her shoulders shaking with her sobs is killing me. “I love you more than I ever thought possible, but I’m no good for you.”

“No!” she yells, spinning around to face me. “You don’t get to do that either! My love for you is unconditional. It doesn’t make sense. Even I can admit that, but it doesn’t make it any less real. If you want me to walk away, just tell me, and I will. But shoving me away because of things we can’t change? I forgive you for all of it. You told me to stop living in the past, and I’ve done that, but now you want to push me away for the very same reason.”

Tears burn my eyes, and the lump in my throat returns.

“You forgive me?” Her head nods immediately. She doesn’t even have to think of her answer. “For everything?”

“All of it. Everything you’ve ever done to me, I forgive, but if you walk away from what we have, I’ll never forgive you for that. My scars may never heal, but they’ve made me stronger. They’ve made it possible for me to open myself up to see who you are now.”

“And if I get my memories back?”

“Will it make you stop loving me?”

“No. I don’t think there’s anything that could make my love for you fade.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I want to save you from me, Piper, from the things I’ve done, but if I remember, I can’t help but feel like we’re going to be right back here—right back to me hating myself and feeling like I don’t deserve you.”

“Then I’ll have to remind you of all the good you’ve done since the accident. I’ll remind you every day that you love me.”

“I won’t need a reminder,” I tell her.

“So, where does this leave us?” She hasn’t closed the distance between us, and it’s killing me.

I give her a small smile. “I guess this means you’re mine.”Chapter 40PiperHis.

God, how I want that. It’s why I came over here this morning. It’s all I’ve felt for a while now. Thinking I lost him has been ten times more painful than anything he’s done in the past.

“Yours?”

“Yes.”

“No more pushing me away.”

“No more,” he agrees.

“I’m serious, Dalton. I don’t want to lose you, but I refuse to go through this again. I can’t handle the back and forth.”

“I promise,” he vows. “No more.”

“You made me another promise, and you haven’t followed through yet,” I remind him.

His eyebrows rise in confusion.

“You promised me…” slowly, I walk toward him, my heart hammering inside my chest at being the one to instigate this, “fingers, mouth, cock.”

His mouth parts, allowing his breaths to rush out past his lips.

“That’s not a good idea.”

I pause. “Because of my scars?”

“Because you just got out of the hospital. I nearly killed you last time.”

“Death by orgasm?” I tease. “What a way to go.”

“I’m serious, Piper. We should wait.”

“I’m fine.”

He takes a step back, but I can see his hands clenching at his sides with the need to touch me.

“And your doctor cleared you to have sex?”

A laugh erupts from my throat. “I didn’t ask the doctor about sex.”

“Then we wait.”

“I’m not going to call one of my father’s colleagues and ask him if I can have sex. I feel great. Better than I have in a long time, and I’m telling you I’m fine.”

“I can wait, Piper. We don’t have to do this now.”

“I can’t,” I tell him as I tug my t-shirt over my head. “Is this pressuring you into doing something you don’t want to do?”

I reach behind me and unsnap my bra, letting it coast down my arms and fall to the floor.

He shakes his head. “I want to. God, do I want to.”

He steps closer like he doesn’t have any control of his body.

“You’ll tell me if you get a headache or if you start feeling bad?”

“Of course,” I vow. And I will. I don’t want to go another four days without seeing him. “Will you be gentle with me?”

“I can try,” he whispers. “You’ll tell me if I’m going too fast?”

I laugh because we’re moving at a snail’s pace right now. “Yes. Will you touch me now?”

His eyes are aimed at my exposed breasts, and he nods, but his legs don’t move him any closer to me.

“Touch me here,” I tell him as my hand reaches up to caress my own breast.

“Jesus,” he pants. “God, I don’t deserve you.”

“But you still have me,” I remind him. “I’m yours.”

“Are we really doing this?” Finally, he closes the distance, his hand reaching up for a tentative touch to my flesh.