he was the one. I trusted him so much that I even decided to make him my first foray into the land of non-virgins. He understood how much losing my virginity meant to me after all the discussions we had about waiting until it was the right time. When the time arrived, he made sure my first time was both memorable and uber romantic. Like with most young love, it seemed like my whole world revolved around him. I thought he felt the same way, but I guess I was wrong.
“I can tell you’re really pissed off at me,” he says now. “If I was in your position, I’d be pissed off at me too. I’ve treated you like shit, and probably don’t deserve your forgiveness.”
“Great. We’ve established I’m pissed at you. Go on.”
He laughs at my snarkiness. “You always do this. Your walls are so thick right now, and I know I’m to blame for most of that. I didn’t just up and leave you, Dani. I was forced to leave. I couldn’t tell you where I was going because I knew you’d be the only person who would’ve been able to stop me,” he explains, his eyes pleading with me to understand.
“I think I’m going to need a little more than that.”
He looks at the ground, seeming to take a moment to gather his thoughts before he returns his gaze to me. “My parents found out about us. Since you were so young, they had serious issues with me being with you. They filled my head with thoughts about how I’d be ruining our lives if we stayed together. They threatened to send me out to California if I didn’t go willingly. So, I didn’t really have a choice. I’ll be honest…the thought of me being your first—and possibly only—boyfriend if we continued our relationship began to eat away at me. I realized that you had your whole life ahead of you, and one way or another, I was going off to college. I panicked and took my parents up on their offer. I thought me leaving would be the best thing for both of us. In retrospect, it was stupid. I know that now, and I’m sorry for fucking things up like I did.”
“What? So, you expect to return here, get this off your chest, and I’m instantly supposed to be okay with this? I gave you the one thing I can never get back and this is your explanation for why you just up and left? It wasn’t fair that you made that decision for both of us. I’ve spent the last two years putting myself back together. Meanwhile, you went off to California to bang me out of your mind because you were young and didn’t want to fight for what I thought we had. Wow, I didn’t know I was dating a boy at the time. I thought I had a man. Guess I was fooled,” I snap.
When I turn to leave, he grabs my hand and yanks me into his firm arms. His embrace is warm and comforting, like being wrapped in a towel fresh from the dryer.
“Is this man enough for you?” he asks close to my mouth, just before our lips caress.
I’d forgotten how incredible it felt to kiss Parker, but was immediately reminded the instant our mouths touched. I feel like I’m standing in a sauna, even though it’s fifty-something degrees out here. Parker releases me from his lips and pulls back to look at me. There’s a hint of anticipation in his eyes, like he’s hoping and waiting to see if his kiss has succeeded in making me change my mind.
The moment he starts to say something, my head begins to feel funny, like I’m really drunk. This can’t be because of his kiss. Parker’s good, but he’s not that good. I find myself trying extra hard to focus on his face and hear what he’s saying, but it all just seems to be gibberish to my ears. A headache forms behind my eyes. I stagger backwards, out of Parker’s arms. He catches me before I fall to the ground. I see concern register on his face, but still can’t make out what he’s saying. His features become one giant blur.
“I…feel…funny,” I hear myself say as I feel Parker cradle me to the ground. His hand caresses my cheek just before everything fades to black.
Chapter Seven
I blink open my eyes and everything seems distorted because my vision won’t focus.