Becca

It’s not easy, but much to my relief, I manage to avoid running into Shane or any of his friends most of the morning. It’s not that I’m a coward—at least that’s what I’m telling myself. It’s more that I need to stop allowing external distractions—aka Shane Montgomery—from getting in the way of my goals. To escape this town, I need to focus on school and passing my six AP classes, so I can start my first year of college as a sophomore. That I’m struggling to keep my A average in two of those classes doesn’t bode well for me, especially since I’m expecting an answer from Columbia on my Early Decision Application in the coming month, and if I get in, they’ll be requesting a copy of my mid-year grades shortly after that.

“Ms. Franks, could you stop by my desk for a moment?” Mr. Collins calls for me as I walk into my third-period AP Statistics class.

“Yes?”

“You’re needed down at the main office.”

“I’m sorry, what?” I stare at him dumbfounded, wracking my brain for a reason I’d be called down to the main office.

“I’ve got an email here from Mrs. Wilson.” He squints at the laptop in front of him. “All it says is you’re to report to the main office as soon as possible.” I must stand there, mouth agape for a bit too long, for he adds. “Go on, now. Be on your way and you just might make it back in time to catch most of my lecture.”

Crap! Mr. Blair. It has to be him, but I don’t understand. Since he called us to his office last week, my test scores have improved, and all my assignments were submitted on time. So, if it’s not about my grades, what else could it be?

Suddenly not feeling so well, I make my way down to the first floor, and then towards the wing where the administrative offices are located. Just as I’m about to reach my destination, a door to my right opens, and I’m yanked into a small office that’s been set up to look like a lounge. And there, standing in the middle of the room with my hand still in his, is Shane Montgomery. The charming smile I used to hate is in full force, making my knees weak and my insides melt.

How does he do this to me?

“You avoiding me, pretty girl?” With two fingers under my chin, he forces my gaze up to his. The heat behind his eyes doesn’t help in the least and sends a wave of warmth flushing under my skin.

“Uh… no. I mean, yeah. Well, kind of?” My response is an incoherent jumbled mess, but try as I might, I can’t get my brain to engage. It makes him chuckle.

“Okay, let’s peel back some of those layers, see if we can make a little more sense of what’s going on. But first…” Without releasing my hand, he turns to the door and locks it. “You can leave at any time. I’m only locking it to give us some privacy. Now come, have a seat.”

He leads me to the small couch at the end of the space, then he sits on the coffee table directly in front of me. Leaning forward, he takes both of my hands and, with that smile I’m quickly growing addicted to, he stares into my eyes.

“I can tell you’re uncomfortable, pretty girl, so to make this easier, I’m going to ask you some questions. You ready to give me some answers?”

No! Not in the least, but there’s something so reassuring about the way he’s handling my awkwardness. It weirdly makes me want to open up to him. Terrified yet relieved he’s concerned enough to make this easier for me, I nod.

“Good. First question. Are you avoiding me, pretty girl? A simple yes or no will do for now.” Unable to hold his gaze, I look at our adjoined hands and nod. “Okay. Next question, do you remember the promise you made me? About giving us a chance, and letting me prove to you we’re meant to be?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you regret making me that promise?”

Surprised by the question, I look up at him and, without thinking, I decide to go with the truth. “No. It’s not that, it’s just…” As tears sting my eyes, I try to look away, but with his thumb and forefinger, he gently lifts my chin.

“Hey, now. None of that. You don’t have to hide from me, pretty girl. Whatever it is, you can say it.”

“Why me?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Why me, Shane? You could have anyone you want. Any girl in this school, including Amanda. Most of them are a far better choice for you than someone like me, so explain it to me. Why would you want me?”

“I don’t want just any girl, Becca. I want you. Not only because you’re beautiful and smart, but because you’re amazing and you don’t even know it. You’re shy, yet assertive when you need to be. Confident in all the ways that make a woman sexy. Why you? Because there’s no other woman in this school—hell, in this universe—that could ever hold a candle to you. Why you, pretty girl? Because from the moment I laid eyes on you that day in Mr. Blair’s office, as you talked your way into three additional AP classes, I knew you were the girl for me.”

“How are you so sure?” I shake my head incredulously. “We come from such opposite worlds. Considering our differences, how could you see any possibility with someone like me?”

“Because when I look into your eyes, what I see tells me all I need to know. That you are mine and I am yours. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. In terms of our differences, why should any of those things have any say over our happiness? The choice to be together is ours to make, Becca. Once we choose it, the rest doesn’t matter.”

“But what will people say? They’ll make assumptions, and given who my mother is…”

“None of that matters, pretty girl. Not if we don’t let it. You and I, this—” he points between us, “we know what we feel, what it is that exists between you and me. That’s the only thing I care about.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

With his thumb, he wipes away the lone tear that’s escaped from the corner of my eye. “Because it is that simple. I’ve already chosen you, pretty girl. Choose me too, and I swear, as long as we want to be together, nothing will come between us.”

“I don’t know if I believe that.”

“That’s okay.” He gives me a warm smile and leans in to brush his lips against mine. “I’ll prove it to you. As time goes on, you’ll learn to trust I’ll take care of you—of us—and I’ll trust you to do the same. Eventually, you’ll come to understand what I already know: the outside world will only have a say if we let it. Now, the only question that remains is, do you want to be with me?”

“I don’t know, Shane.” Not wanting to see his reaction, I pull away. Rising from my seat, I pace to the front of the room. The last thing I want is to hurt his feelings, but there’s no way I can ignore the truth. “Before this weekend, I didn’t even know I liked you.”

“So, you do like me?” I don’t need to see his face to know he’s smiling from ear to ear. Why, oh why, won’t my mouth shut up? What is it about Shane Montgomery that turns off my internal filter, leaving me exposed to saying whatever I’m thinking?

With a frustrated sigh, I wrap my arms around myself. Staring out the window overlooking the student lot is far easier than getting caught in that infuriatingly charming smile of his I used to hate so much.

When did I stop hating it? 

Or could it be I only hated it because I loved it?

“Come here, you,” his voice comes up behind me, and before I know it, I’m wrapped up in his arms, my forehead resting against his chest.

“Why do you have to smell so good?” I groan both at the observation and the fact I once again word-vomited what I’m thinking. Damn him for screwing with my brain.

He chuckles and kisses the crown of my head. “You smell pretty damn good yourself, pretty girl.” He holds me close for a few seconds more, and then, with his voice full of mirth, he asks. “So, you do like me?” When I smack his chest, and try to pull away, he laughs but doesn’t let me go.

“Don’t let it go to your head. I don’t want to like you.” I pout.

“I know, I know. Wish I could say I was sorry about it, but I can’t. Because I more than like you too, and now that we’ve established we both like each other, what do you say? Will you give us a chance?” Pulling back, he cups the sides of my face, and the intensity in his gaze takes my breath away. “Be with me, Becca. Say yes and let me prove to you that you and I are meant to be.” With him looking at me like I’m the center of his world, my insides melting into a puddle of feels, as my skin tingles at the rightness of his touch, how could I say no?

“Okay. Yes,” I whisper, closing my eyes in defeat at the realization that not only can I not fight this, but that I don’t want to.

Lifting me into his arms, he pulls me tight against his chest. “I promise you won’t regret this, my sweet, strong Becca.” He kisses the side of my face, then down my neck, before meeting my lips in a spine-tingling kiss that makes my toes curl and my body sing. How does he do this? Why is it that when I’m with him, everything I never wanted suddenly feels so right?

“Shane, wait.” I pull back, coaxing him to lower me back to my feet. If he were a normal person, the fact I uttered those words and pulled away in the middle of such a tender moment would give them pause for concern, but not Shane. Instead, he stares at me with fervent excitement twinkling in his eyes and a radiant grin lighting up his face.

“Whatever it is, the answer is yes.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

“The only thing I cared about was you saying yes to us being together. Anything else? I’m okay with whatever you want.”

“Even if what I want is to hold off on telling anyone else? I’m okay with giving us a try, but I don’t think I’m ready for much more than that right now. This wasn’t part of my plan, you know? It’s just a lot. I think I need some time to get used to the idea.”

“You want to wait to tell the world?” he shrugs. “I’m good with that. As long as I get to hear your voice every morning. As long as I get to kiss you when we’re alone…” He kisses me, parting my lips with his tongue in a move that makes me whimper and him groan. “As long as while you’re getting used to the idea of us, we can be together like the couple we’re meant to be.”

“I promise it’s not forever. I just want to be sure this is right—for the both of us—before we add the complication of what the rest of the world will think.”

“I’ll follow your lead, pretty girl.” He tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear before leaning down to kiss me. “But I have two conditions.”

“Okay. What are they?”

“One, we’re together. Exclusively. You’re my girl, and I’m your boo.” He smiles.

I smack his chest, feigning annoyance, but I can’t help the smile that crosses my lips. “I never would have guessed you’re so darn corny, Montgomery.”

He throws his head back and lets out a hearty laugh. “It’s alright, you’ll learn to love it. As I was saying, while to the outside world, we’ll look like flirty friends, in private, we’re together—like boyfriend and girlfriend. Now, the second condition, and this one is also non-negotiable. We keep our relationship separate from our peer advisory relationship. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, we’ll still get together to focus on your academics.” He lifts his brow like he’s expecting an argument, which is ridiculous.

“Okay. I agree to both of your conditions.”

“That was easy.” He lifts me off my feet again, and when he kisses me this time, I feel his smile against my lips. “Now, what about you? What are your conditions?” He pulls back, never putting me down as he looks into my eyes and waits me out.

“Other than not telling the world until we’re both ready, I only have one. Please don’t make me regret this.”

“Never. Do you hear me, Becca Franks? You will never, ever regret us. I’ll make sure of it.”

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Author’s Note:

There's so much I love about this scene. Most of all, I love the effect Shane has on Becca.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Do you agree with Shane, that love is as simple as just choosing one another? 

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