He looked back at me with hurt in hiseyes.
“Sorry,” I supplied, feeling self-conscious. “I just feel fat because I haven’t been working out or skating. You guys have been carrying me around all summer,” I joked, trying to make it lighter.
He paused and sucked in his top lip then, making his usual thinking face. “I thought we weren’t going to use that word. It’s offensive.”
“Fat? To who? To you?” I asked, feeling amused.
“Yes, to me. You’re insulting my beautiful girlfriend,” he said seriously.
“I am your girlfriend, dummy,” Ireturned.
“Yeah,” he said dryly and moved to brush my hair behind my ear, “and you’re being mean to yourself. You’re more beautiful every single day. People are not meant to be sticks, Sav. They’re meant to grow and change. Your ass has never looked better.” He wagged his eyebrows at me.
I rolled my eyes, but his words did make me feel better. He reached under me to squeeze my butt then, and I laughed into hischest.
“I’ll say it as many times as you need me to. It’s important for you to hear. You should realize how beautiful you are.” He propped himself up on his elbow to look down at me. “What if you get pregnant one day?” he said suddenly, placing his hand back on my stomach. “Can you imagine that? I’d love to see that,” he said wistfully.
The look in his eyes made my heartswell.
“You are a softie, Nick Johns!” I said, shaking my head.
A blush crept into his face then. “Only for you, Smol.”
He laid back down next to me, and it felt soright.
“I can picture it all with you,” he admitted.
As happy as that statement made me, I couldn’t stop the bittersweet feelings from creeping in. Because every second we laid there together was a second closer to him leaving me, and I couldn’t imagine life here in Northfield moving on without him…
With my ankle all messed up this summer, it gave me the first taste of watching them but not being able to follow. And while Nick and Griff did give me piggyback rides everywhere they could in order to include me… now they were leaving me behind for real.
Deep down, I was afraid he’d fully move on and forget about me while I was stuck here.
The more I thought about it, the more my eyes stung with tears, and pretty soon, they were pooling up and falling.
“No, no, no. What’s wrong?” his large brown eyes looked panicked as he swiped his thumbs under my eyes to clear my tears away.
“I’m… I’m afraid it’ll end,” I confessed. “I’m afraid you’ll break my heart.” I felt my voice crack and hated how wimpy I sounded. But it was the truth. He had my heart and he was taking it with him.
He pulled my head into his chest and stroked my hair down my back. “This will be our only time.”
I sniffled, trying to hold back any more tears. “Our only time?!” I cried out desperately.
“Damn, that came out wrong. I’m sorry, Smol,” he chuckled. “What I meant is, this will be our only time saying goodbye. Next year after you graduate, I’m coming back to bring you with me.”
I felt my body shudder as I tried to stop crying. “Yeah?”
“I promise,” he said firmly, pushing a kiss into my hair. “I’ll work my ass off to get us in a permanent spot. I just need a year. You’ll see.”
He hooked a finger under my chin and pulled my face up to look into my eyes. “And I promise I will never ever hurt you, Savannah Grace. I will never break yourheart.”
His lips were on mine then, and his hands were everywhere. He kissed down my neck, which sent a pleasant hum coursing through my entire body. I was anxiously waiting, hoping, and wishing to take it further with him. To fully connect with him.
I stroked my nails down his back, making him groan, and then I grabbed hold of his shirt to pull it over his head.
We locked eyes and he looked down at me with hunger, and I loved it. I needed it.
We were a flurry of motions then… just trying to please each other.
