“Beautiful,” he rasped, his breath caressing the tip of my earlobe. It made me warm and breathless, though we had been this close so many times: we hugged, we slept in the same bed, and Maddox would give me piggyback rides. We were always touching, one way or another, but some days… it felt more than just a friendly touch. Like today.
My eyes fluttered shut as his thumb brushed against the pulsing vein in my neck. His touch lingered there, feeling my heartbeat through my throat.
“The necklace or me?” I asked, my eyes still closed. Why… did I just ask that?
“You,” he said. “Always you.” His voice was soft and hot, leaving me feeling things I couldn’t explain, couldn’t put into words.
I leaned into him, my palms landing on his chest. The hard thump of his heart had my eyes snapping open. Maddox’s gaze flickered to my lips. His hands fell to my curve of my shoulders, sliding down my arms, and his fingers curled around my hips.
A single heartbeat passed between us.
I pulled back, breaking the moment between us. Maddox blinked before releasing a shuddering breath. My skin still burnt from where he had touched me, and I hated how cold I suddenly felt from pulling away from him.
Maddox took a step back, too, pulling us farther from each other. He ran his fingers through his hair, which he kept short since the first time I called him Poodle. He thought it’d make me stop calling him that stupid pet name if his hair was no longer long and curly like before.
Ha, he thought wrong.
Once a poodle, forever a poodle.
“Pictures!” Gran said. She waved Riley over, who came forward with Grayson.
“Closer everyone,” Pops demanded as he held a camera in his hand.
Colton and the boys – Brayden, Cole and Knox – all whom were Maddox’s teammates and close friends, surrounded us. Riley stood beside me, with Grayson on her side, while I stood next to Maddox. We formed a semi-circle and Gran was smiling from ear to ear.
“Say cheers!”
“Cheers,” we called out and the camera’s shutter clicked.
Picture perfect.
The moment our circle broke apart, we were surrounded by the other Berkshire students. I lost Maddox in the crowd, all the girls vying for his attention one last time. They were probably hoping he’d take one of them home for a graduation fuck fest. Colton and the boys had their own little harem around them, too.
I found Grayson and Riley, holding hands as they stood under a tree, watching from a distance. Grayson looked slightly relieved that Colton’s attention was no longer on his girlfriend.
Riley was convinced that Colton didn’t have any feelings for her. She was either in denial or she truly was blind to the tension between Grayson and Colton, which was extremely palpable.
Gran came to my side, pulling my focus away from the lovebirds as she hugged me, surprising me by her strength. “So proud of you, Lila. Your parents would be, too.”
I blinked back the tears at her words. “Is it weird that I felt like they were with me during the ceremony? Like they were right there, watching me?”
“No, sweetheart. It’s not weird because I know they’re watching over you.” Pops rubbed my back. “You’ve grown into such a beautiful and smart young lady.”
“I’m going to miss you two when I go to Harvard,” I confessed, choking back my tears. My heart was heavy in my chest as I realized I only had a few weeks left with my grandparents before I moved away to a whole different state.
Gran cupped my cheeks, smiling. “You have Maddox and Riley with you.”
In the end, Riley, Maddox, Colton and I were going to Harvard. Cole got accepted to Yale and that was where he was going. The other boys were leaving for Princeton or Dartmouth.
I sniffled, nodding. “Yeah, but they aren’t you.”
Even Pops looked crestfallen – I was his little girl – the one he raised and his only grandchild. Pops was rarely emotional but times like this reminded me just how much he loved me and Gran. He placed a chaste kiss on my forehead. “You’re going to be okay,” he said with strong conviction.
Hours later, I found myself in Maddox’s car. We no longer had our cap and gown on, but instead, Maddox was wearing a white buttoned up shirt, black slacks and a black tie. He was… in other words, sinfully sexy, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.