The Story of Us (16 page)

“Nah, keep it.”

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Nope.”

“Craig, don’t be stubborn.”

“No, seriously. The alcohol is keeping
me warm.” He gives me one of his famous sideways smirks.

“Okay... thanks.”

“Don’t thank me,” his smirk drops. “I
was an ass tonight.”

“No, not all night. Just towards the
end,” I tell him honestly.

He laughs. “Okay, I was an ass towards
the end of the night. It’s just that…” he trails off, looking for
the right words.

“It’s okay,” I assure him. “You were
with your old friends, catching up and whatnot. I didn’t want you
to feel like you had to babysit me anyways.”

“It wasn’t that. Trust me, it wasn’t
that.”

I scrunch my eyebrows together. “What
then?”

He takes a deep breath and I can tell
even before he responds that it’s going to be something he would
never admit to me if he were sober. I consider stopping him, but
curiosity wins, so I wait while he works up the courage to say what
he wants to say.

He exhales loudly and then hesitates
before responding, “Everyone thought that we were
together.”

I raise my eyebrows in question, but
don’t respond, letting him continue.

“It got to me, that’s all.” He
shrugs.

“Why would that get to you? Is it
really that bad that they think you’re with some spoiled princess?”
I ask with more resentment than I mean to.

“What? No,” he answers,
genuinely surprised. “It’s because it’s not true. It got to me
because it’s not true and I wish more than anything that it was.”
His voice is firm with determination. “You’re all I think about.
All the time. But I know that you’re too good for me. I mean, I get
that. I’m not an idiot. But the fact that they thought we were
together… that you could ever actually be with
me
… it was like a knife in my
stomach, because I know it’ll never happen. What I am to you and
what you are to me, are two completely different
things.”

I stop walking and just stand there,
speechless. He’s joked about it a million times before, but this is
the first time that he’s sincerely admitted his feelings for me. I
think I knew how he felt, but hearing him say it… I’m blown
away.

He takes another deep breath and hangs
his head down low before he talks again, quieter this time, “Shit,
Val. I’m sorry. It’s my own insecurities. Forget about
it.”

But I can’t. Not after he said it out
loud. The question is, does it change anything? He’s still the same
person he was five minutes ago, making out with a random girl and
blowing me off. Would that be how we’d end? If I allow myself to be
with him, would I end up being that girl with the hurt so clearly
registering on her face while he walks away? Because I don’t think
I could come back from that. I don’t think I could stand to even
look at him again, knowing I gave him my whole heart and he could
just dismiss me as easily as any of the others. I look into his
eyes with my heart pounding out of my chest. His intense eyes stare
back at me.

I feel a tingle of something wet on my
skin and I look up into the dark sky to see that it’s just started
snowing. It’s unexpected, yet beautiful, falling down in big puffy
clusters all around us. With my head still tilted up, I notice the
streetlights flickering like someone’s eyelids when they’re
fighting sleep. When I lower my head back down, Craig’s lips are on
mine. There’s no time to think about it. There’s no time to pull
away. No time to protect my heart. In all honesty, I don’t want to
anymore. He kisses me fervently and I kiss him back with just as
much passion. I grab his hair and press my body closer to his. I
can’t get close enough to satiate the hunger. I jump up, wrapping
my legs around him as he catches me easily. He presses me up
against the side of a nearby building and I let my legs fall as I
feel his lips all over me. My neck. My chest. My stomach. It’s like
fireworks across my skin. He looks up at me with a hooded gaze and
with a husky voice says, “We should stop.”

I want to protest, but once the words
leave his mouth, all sense of reason comes back to my mind. He
searches my eyes and I can tell he sees my resolve. He pushes my
hair back behind my ear and kisses my forehead as he backs away. I
stand there, breathless.

“C’mon.” He extends his arm out,
offering me his hand.

I take it and walk with him, only
letting his hand go when we get to my house. We don’t talk the
whole way, so it feels awkward now. I would think he’s mad at me if
it wasn’t for him drawing tiny circles on the top of my hand with
his thumb while we walked.

“Good night, princess,” he says when
we reach the top of the landing to my house.

“Can you stay? At least for a while?”
I ask, my voice sounding so small. I don’t know what I want, but I
know that I don’t want him to leave yet.

He looks behind me into the house and
I know what he’s thinking.

“They’re not home,” I assure
him.

He looks back at me with questioning
eyes, but only nods his head yes.

I open the door and turn on the
lights, illuminating the empty house. When I look back at Craig,
he’s looking around in awe. I grew up in this house, so it doesn’t
look like much to me because it’s what I’ve always known. But
trying to look at it from new eyes, I guess I can see how it would
be overwhelming and maybe even a little intimidating. It’s a big
house and my parents have expensive taste.

“Come on in,” I tell him.

He takes off his shoes and walks into
the foyer, following me into the kitchen.

“Do you want some coffee or maybe
something to eat? I could make you a sandwich. You should really
get something in your system after all the shots you
did.”

“I’m alright, princess. I think that
kiss was enough to sober up any man on this planet.” He smirks at
me and I feel my cheeks flush as I look away.

“Okay, well… do you want to watch a
movie or something?” I bite my bottom lip, feeling self-conscious.
I’m nervous all of a sudden and I can’t control my fast-beating
heart.

“Sure,” he agrees. If he notices my
nervousness, he doesn’t say.

He follows me as I walk from the
kitchen to the living room and straight over to our extensive DVD
collection that spans the bottom length of the entertainment
center, which actually looks less like an entertainment center and
more like an architectural masterpiece built into the wall. Again,
I’m used to this. But seeing the look on Craig’s face, I can tell
he thinks this is anything but normal. We sit on the living room
floor, searching through the DVDs and I start to feel even more
anxious, wondering what he thinks of all this. Does he think I
invited him in for a booty call? Is that what he’s expecting?
Because honestly, I could see how he’d take it that way. It’s late
at night and I told him my parents weren’t home. He’s used to girls
throwing themselves at him. He’s probably expecting more than I had
even thought of up until now. The more I replay everything in my
head, the more I start to panic. I’ve never had sex before, never
mind a one-night-stand. We’re not in a relationship and I know
Craig’s not a relationship kind of guy, so that’s what it would be,
right? A one-night-stand. I start to feel sick, thinking that I led
him on. From the kiss to the ‘let’s watch a movie,’ which, let’s
face it, could be code for something else. I led him on and now I
don’t know how to get out of it. I stand up suddenly.

“Princess?”

“We shared a moment, a kiss, but
that’s all that it was, okay? I didn’t invite you in for more and
I’m sorry if that’s what you’re thinking. I get that it seemed that
way and I probably should have been clearer, but a movie means a
movie. This isn’t going to be a hook-up and I know it sucks that
you left the party where you probably had a hook-up to come here
with me and just… watch a movie. But, that’s all that this
is.”

His eyes widen in surprise, but then
go dark with anger. “Whoa. Where is this coming from? Did I do
something to make you think that I expect more here?”

“Well, no. But…”

“But nothing. I left the
party because I realized what a jerk I was being. And yes, we
shared a moment… a kiss… and… that’s enough for me. I’d trade all
the hook-ups I’ve ever had for that. It was amazing and you can’t
tell me otherwise. It wasn’t
just
a kiss. I know you felt what I felt in that
moment. It’s not always about sex. I mean, yeah, I’d be lying if I
said I didn’t want you right now. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t
wanted you since the first time I laid eyes on you. But you already
know that. You’re beautiful, and sexy as hell. What kind of a guy
would I be if I didn’t want someone as gorgeous as you? I’d be out
of my mind. But it’s more than that. It’s more than just a physical
attraction. I crave you in the most innocent ways. I want to hold
you, kiss you, run my fingers through your hair. I just really,
more than anything, crave being near you. I don’t care how
ridiculous that sounds. Hearing your voice, seeing you laugh, it’s
the best part of my day, every day. I didn’t walk into this house
expecting a short-lived hook-up. I want so much more than that with
you. But even if you never want me in the same way that I want you,
I’ll take this… Just being here with you, like this… any
day.”

His words hit me in a way that I don’t
expect. I feel tears running down my face, but I don’t even try to
turn away or stop them. “It’s not about whether I want you or not,”
I manage to choke out, through the lump growing in my
throat.

He takes a step closer to me and
brushes his thumbs under my eyes to wipe the tears. His features
are soft now, gentle and sincere. “What is it about then?” His eyes
search my face for the answers I try to sort out in my
mind.

I turn my head to look away from him
as I answer, “I know you want me, but you also want a different
girl every week. Sometimes every day. I won’t be enough for you and
it’ll end badly.” It sounds silly when I say it out loud. It sounds
like I’m insecure and jealous, childish even. But with his track
record, how could I ever really trust him?

“Is that what you really think? You
really think I could do that to you? Or is this just your excuse to
push me away?”

“You’ve never taken one of those girls
seriously. Why would I be any different?”

“Because you
are
different. Don’t you
get that? Those girls knew I was never serious about them. I was
always honest about that from the start. They knew what they were
getting into.” He pauses, running his fingers through his hair
before continuing. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.
If you don’t feel the same, then fine. I’ll be man enough to admit
that I couldn’t win you over and I’ll walk away. But don’t you dare
push me away if you feel it too. And you
do
feel it, I know you do. That kiss
proved it.” He searches my face for a moment before continuing
again. “Tell me you don’t and I’ll walk away. I’ll leave and I’ll
stop bothering you altogether. Just tell me,” he demands, almost
daring me to.

Like magnets, we’ve somehow gotten
closer without noticing or meaning to. I know what I’m risking and
I know I’ll probably regret it when it all comes crashing down. But
right now, in this moment, I have to admit what’s staring me right
in the face. I love Craig Morgan. I love him and I want to be with
him, everything else be damned. I still have an aching feeling in
the pit of my stomach that he might someday break my heart. But
doesn’t everyone risk that whenever they allow themselves to be
with someone they love? Isn’t that what love is all about? Handing
your whole heart over to someone and hoping they don’t destroy it?
I watch him as he searches my eyes, waiting for an answer. Just as
I’m about to say something, he speaks up.

“I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love
with you.” He says it in a whisper and I can see the vulnerability
on his face. “Hell, I know it,” he adds.

There’s a moment of anticipation
before our second kiss that wasn’t there before our first. It’s a
moment where the world around us just stops; a moment so intense it
hangs in the air; a moment so perfect that I realize with absolute
certainty that this is only the beginning. I look into his eyes
that are so sincere and honest. “I love you too,” I whisper
back.

“I’m with you. I will be with you
until you kick me to the curb. Please, don’t worry. Not about that.
You can trust me,” he assures me, brushing the hair out of my
face.

I nod my head in return and then feel
his lips on mine, softly, slowly, sensually. His tongue travels out
across my lower lip and then he deepens the kiss. He slides his
tongue along mine and I reciprocate. We find a rhythm easily. It’s
so different from our first kiss. It’s not demanding and hungry.
Instead, it’s a kiss that says we have all the time in the world.
It’s possessive, yet gentle. It’s a kiss I never want to
end.

Chapter 13

I wake up in my bed, in the same
clothes I wore last night, including Craig’s sweatshirt. I lay
there for a minute, relishing in the steady heartbeat under my
cheek and the sturdy arms embracing me. I don’t dare move and ruin
this moment, so I just lay there in pure bliss. After a few
minutes, I turn just enough to look up at Craig, careful not to
wake him. I study his face, so serene and peaceful. He looks more
content than I’ve ever seen him. So boyish and innocent. So
beautiful in his vulnerability. When he starts to stir, he tightens
his hold on me and it melts my heart to know that he wants me
closer to him even when he’s not completely conscious of it. I lean
down and kiss his lips softly and I hear him groan quietly. When I
pull back, he grabs me quickly and rolls me over, pressing his body
on top of me, carefully supporting his own weight. I squeal from
the surprise of it and he laughs just before kissing me
deeper.