“Yeah, he told me that he wanted me. Kind of freaked me out, you know?” Aria said.
“How is that possible?” Mary asked. “A guy you’ve known all of your life tells you he wants you, and you freak?”
“Not to mention he’s hot. He’s got tattoos, and he’s probably the hottest guy in school,” Rachel said.
“Hey.” Chris shot a glare toward Rachel.
“Of course I don’t think that. You’re my hot one.”
“Good.”
Eli rolled his eyes. “Why did we remain friends with these people?”
“Because we like them, Eli. They understand us.”
“Exactly. So are you guys together or what?” Branson asked.
Eli looked at her, waiting.
She bit her lip, and he released a groan.
“You’ve got to stop doing that in front of me. Are you going to put me out of my misery? Are we together?”
“Yeah, we’re together.” She wrapped her arm around his waist. “I still don’t know what that really means. We’ve always hung out.”
“Yeah, but now it means I can do this.” He pulled her close, slamming his lips down on hers.
In the background he heard his friends che
ering, and he ignored it, focused more on his woman, and her beautiful body pressed against his. When he pulled away, Aria’s eyes were still closed. Slowly, she opened them. “I could get used to this.”
“I know I could.”
They didn’t linger at the lake for much longer. After he dropped her off home, as she’d changed her mind about staying over, he made his way back to find his father already waiting for him.
“You cut school?” his father asked.
“I had some stuff to deal with. It’s no big deal. I’ve got the work. I’ll study hard.”
“I threw a lot of money for you to come back home. Even your class sergeant was impressed by your transformation. Don’t make me regret this decision.”
“You won’t.”
His father folded his arms. “Where were you?”
“If you must know, I was with Aria. Okay. There.”
“Is she the reason you decided to make this work?”
“Larry, please, leave the boy alone,” his mother, Tania, said.
“I pulled a lot of strings here, Eli. I mean it. I expect you to uphold your end of the bargain. I want good grades, good behavior, and you exploring college.”
“I will.” Eli would do whatever was needed to stay with Aria.
****
“I’m not going to get used to this, am I?” Aria said, climbing out of his car.