by Shane Morgan
“You’ve been doing that ever since you came here,” she says.
“I know, and I’m—”
“Sorry?” she smiles. “You’ve said that so many times.”
“It’s just…”
“Just what?” she prods, angling her head to one side. Her gorgeous hazel eyes are darkened by the night, but the shade is embedded in my head so much that I can even envision the sparkle in them.
It’s now or never. I have to come out and tell her the truth.
“I lied, back at Pure. I wasn’t messing with you, Reign. I really wanted to kiss you. I’ve wanted to kiss you since the day I saw you in the park.”
I pause a moment to let her soak it in. She keeps her eyes steady on me, never looking away. Because of that I’m motivated to continue my confession. “I like you, Reign, a lot. And I know it’s morally wrong to interfere with your relationship and I’ve tried to put you out of my head, but I can’t. I’m too damn attracted to you and I can tell you’re not happy with this guy.”
She’s still quiet, looking at me with an unreadable expression. I wish she’d say something, anything.
Slap me. Let me know you’ve heard everything I’ve said.
“Choose me,” I let slip out. “Let me be the one to make you happy.” I probably seem so damn desperate right now. I don’t care. She needs to know how I feel about her.
Finally, Reign catches her breath and mutters in a soft tone, “I shouldn’t be here with you. I shouldn’t be around you. I don’t know why I let it get this far…I don’t think we should even be friends.”
Seriously?
My stomach sinks. That’s all she can say after I spilled my guts? I’m practically lifeless here. My heart’s in my hands. I’m willing to give it all to her. I’ve never done that before.
“Um…so, you don’t feel the same way, at all?” I ask, feeling like a complete idiot.
Reign eases up on her feet and brushes off her jeans and top. She shakes her head, then tells me in a shaky tone, “I don’t know what I’m feeling right now.”
I stand up as well. Before I can utter another word, she steps past me towards my bike, indicating she wants to go home now. I suppress the hurt so I can ride her back with a clear mind.
When we approach her beach house, I slow down a little from the fence in case her parents are awake and see her coming back with me at this hour. Reign hops off the bike and lingers in spot.
She chips at her fingernails as she asks me, “Are you gonna be okay?”
“Yeah,” I answer dryly, looking ahead. “Go on inside, before your parents find you missing and freak out.”
When our eyes meet, excitement consumes me. My heart hammers. Fire ignites in my stomach. I can see all she’s trying to hide. Her emotions are beyond clear.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” she says coolly.
Reign turns and starts toward her gate. I spring from my bike, hurry up to her, and grip her arm. Turning her to face me, I wrap my arms around her curvy frame, bringing her in close—closer than we’ve ever been. She doesn’t pry out of my grasp, confirming my suspicion.
“You do feel the same way.”
She gasps as I press my mouth to her soft wet lips and kiss her hard, making up for all the missed opportunities. Reign tips her head back and clutches my lower back, squeezing me. Then she parts her lips to deepen the kiss. I tighten my hold on her, caressing her body and running my fingers through her long hair. She smells exotic; a mixture of fresh berries and vanilla. But she tastes even better, as our tongues lock and I drown myself in the candy flavor of her mouth.
An intense moan rushes from her lips as I move away from them and start to kiss her on the neck. Reign trails her hands all over my body, aggressively stroking me.
She’s so warm. She feels so damn good! I can’t control the bulge in my jeans with her pressed into me like this. I’ve never wanted any girl as bad as I want Reign right now. The tension had been building up since we met. Now I feel as if I’m about to explode.
“Come home with me,” I hear myself beg, “Please.”
She groans before breaking out of my grasp. I steady my breathing and reach a hand out to her. With no hesitation, Reign takes it and guides me in the direction of her car. We’re almost there when her phone vibrates.
I want to take it from her and smash it to pieces when she pulls it out of her pocket and glances at the screen, saying almost breathlessly, “It’s my mom. She’s wondering where I am.”
Just like that, our night together is over.
“Um…I have to go inside,” she murmurs, nodding back at the front door.
I accept, because I know I really have to get out of here before her mom catches us together. “Wanna meet up in the morning?”
She looks frightened by my question so I clarify, even though I don’t understand why. “I mean to go running before work.”
Peering at the ground, she answers without meeting my gaze, “Um…Maybe not. I need to think all this through.”
I ease forward to give her a kiss on the cheek goodnight, but she turns away before I can. She reaches her front door, slipping inside without looking behind.
“Good night,” I whisper to myself. Letting out a long breath, I walk back to my bike and look up at the house, hoping Reign isn’t regretting our moment of passion. It would rip me apart if she wants to pretend like it never happened and resume her relationship with Nate, because that was the best kiss I’ve ever experienced in my life. Ever!
TWENTY-TWO
Reign
I RELEASE the breath I’d been holding the second I enter my house. Frick! That kiss was fire! I’ve never felt the way I do now after kissing Nate. It feels so much different, so much better.
“Where’d you go?” Mom asks, peeking out of her bedroom the moment I reach upstairs.
“Next door,” I lie. “Claudia’s not herself. Boy stuff.”
She bobs her head slowly. “Oh, well, I’m sure she’ll be back to her charismatic self in no time. Just try not to stay out this late after work, Reign.”
I smile at her as she goes back into her room. I walk to mine, plopping down on my bed right after closing the door. My whole body is boiling over in heat. If Mom hadn’t texted me, I certainly would’ve gone over to Micah’s house and let him have me.
Funny how I’ve been apprehensive about sex all this time, then suddenly Micah comes along and I want to toss my virginity at him.
Gosh, I hope he’s not upset after I told him I couldn’t run with him in the morning. Like I said, I need to sort out everything and make a decision. If I want to end whatever is there between us before it grows deeper, or break up with Nate. I’m weighing heavily towards ending things with the latter, since he’s cheated on me. Then again, aren’t I doing the same thing?
I didn’t sleep at all last night. Of course, that’s nothing new. Only this time I was up thinking about a steamy kiss and what I’m going to do today.
The moment light encapsulates my room I climb out of bed, take a quick shower, and get dressed in black jeans and a sleeveless top, putting on my flats before I snatch up my phone from the dresser and tiptoe downstairs.
Mom and Dad aren’t up yet. I saunter across the kitchen and sneak out the side door, making my way across the lawn to Claudia’s house. Hopefully she’ll be forgiving when I tell her Micah and I kissed, because I really need her advice.
Mrs. Nunez is inside the kitchen when I approach the glass door. She’s doing some cleaning before she starts breakfast. I tap on the door and wave. Her brows shoot up as she strolls over to let me in.
“Buenos dias, Senora Nunez,” I smile at her.
She inclines her head as she replies, “Buenos dias, mija. It’s so early. You know that friend of yours isn’t up yet.”
“I know, but I wanted to talk to her about something important before heading off to work. You mind if I run upstairs?”
Mrs. Nunez pats my arm lightly. “You know you don’t have to ask, mija. Go on.”
> Meandering up the stairs, I quietly open Claudia’s room door and enter. I walk over to her bed and shake her arm to wake her up.
She groans, “Hmm…go away, Eleanor.”
“It’s not your stepmother,” I chuckle.
Turning over, Claudia squints up at me then buries her face back into the pillow. “Reign…do you have any idea what time it is?”
I sit down on the side of the bed. “I know, but I really need to talk to you about this.”
She pushes up and throws her messy hair out of her face. “What is it?” she asks, rubbing her eyes.
“First, you have to promise me you won’t be mad.”
Claudia dips her head and stares down her nose at me as if I’m being silly. “You know I’ll never be mad at you.”
“Okay,” I exhale deeply, then come out and say it, “Micah and I kissed last night.”
“Whoa!” That certainly wakes her up.
“I know. I mean, I tried to fight my attraction to him all this time but then we started running together and it only got harder and harder. Now I don’t know what to do.”
“Hold up! Wait a sec,” She slithers down next to me. “You’ve been running in the mornings with Micah and you kept it a secret from me?”
I purse my lips and frown as I nod.
“Okay, I’m jealous that you get the chance to sweat with that hot stud muffin, but this is not about me.”
She slaps me on the arm.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“Reign! Open your eyes! Why are you in my room moping, talking about you don’t know what to do? You should be with Micah right now, smooching in the sunrise and doing other delectable things with him.”
“But,” I hop off the bed and begin to pace the room. “There’s Nate—”
“Forget about Nate!” Claudia springs to her feet. “He’s just a cheating dickbag, anyways.”
Settling in one spot, I bite down on my bottom lip as she comes up to me, squeezing my arms. “What’s the problem? It’s obvious who you want to be with; gosh your eyes are glowing so much right now because of Micah.”
“I guess I’m scared of all that I’m feeling for him. Not to mention he’s probably not gonna stay in Newport after August. And there’s so much I don’t know about him still.”
“Jeez, stop being so analytical. How about you give it one day at a time? For now, just enjoy each other. Don’t worry so much about perfection, Reign. If it’s meant to be, it’ll work out. What you need to do is set it straight to Nate. Tell him you’ve fallen for someone else because duh, you have.”
She giggles and jerks my arms. I throw them around her, hugging her tightly. “You’re not mad about Micah then?”
“Of course not.” She eases me out to look me in the eye. “I told you, he likes you. Even a blind person can see that.”
Twisting me around, Claudia smacks my butt and shoves me towards her room door. “Now go, you have one to dump and another to do business with,” she laughs, “Choices, choices.”
“All right, see you later,” I say as I open the door.
“Text me the juicy details, or better yet, snap me a pick of you and Micah together.”
“Bye, Claudia,” I wave her off and step outside, heading out of her house and over to the beach where hopefully, I have a sexy new boyfriend waiting for me.
TWENTY-THREE
Micah
THE FIRST sunrise you see after a passionate kiss is so much different from the ones you glimpse on any other day. You’re more motivated to stop and stare.
Even though Reign told me she wouldn’t be coming out for a run this morning, like a fool I still jogged down to the beach and waited for her. I had a feeling in my gut last night and when I opened my eyes earlier, I thought that today would be a great day for me. But she’s usually here before daybreak and the dark clouds have already moved aside, giving way to the blazing sun almost an hour ago. I have to get it in my head that she’s not coming for real.
Sulking, I twirl around to head home, that’s when I see the familiar radiant face and sparkly eyes smiling back at me. I stop instantly. An air of relief rushes out of me.
“Hey,” she says, her voice sounding sweeter than ever. My heart begins to pound so much I fear it’ll leave dents in my chest.
Reign swings her arms and slowly walk down to me in the sand, her olive skin beaming in the sun. “How’s it going?”
“How’s it going?” I repeat in a playful tone, folding my arms. “Not so good. Let’s see, I slept like crap last night ‘cause you told me you had stuff to think about, and you didn’t even want to go running with me this morning, so I’m kinda bummed out that you didn’t get to admire my body earlier when I was drenched in sweat.”
She beams at my pouty face and inches closer, tipping up in her sneakers to give me a kiss on the cheek. Then she reaches her arms around my neck and breathes, “I’m sorry. There’s nothing to think about. I want to be with you, Micah.”
I ease her away to confirm what she said. “You mean that, you really want to be with me?”
“Yes,” she says with a laugh. “I do.”
I yank her into my chest and kiss her hungrily, slightly reenacting the moment of passion from last night.
Though our first kiss can never be outdone, the feeling is still there, it’s even deeper. Reign stays in my grasp for several long seconds before finally backing away to catch her breath. A broad smile spreads across her face. It melts my heart.
“So, did you tell him?” I just have to know. That’s the only way she’ll assure me she’s mine now.
My stomach plunges when she shakes her head and mutters, “No. Not yet.”
Noticing the excitement is wiped off my face, she quickly adds, “I’ll tell him later, after work.”
“Sure,” I say lowly. “I mean, I can’t expect you to change up everything for me in only a couple of hours.”
Hooking her arm around mine, Reign leads me up the beach towards her car.
“Wanna hang out later?” I ask her. “That singer’s back in town, the one you like. Allysen…something…”
She giggles before saying, “Allysen Callery, and yes, I’d love to hang out.”
“Cool. It’ll be our first official date then,” I tell her.
Turning her head down, Reign tries to hide her blushing cheeks. She smiles innocently and tightens her grip on me. I nuzzle her closer to my side, draping my arm over her shoulder and then I kiss her on top of her head.
“You’re so cute,” I tell her.
She pushes me teasingly then dashes ahead, shouting over her shoulder, “Last one to the car buys breakfast!”
“Yeah right!” I yell back, jogging up behind her. Reign leans against the door, a smug grin at her lips. “Even though you just cheated,” I say, pressing into her. “It’s not like I’d really let you buy me breakfast.”
She locks her fingers around my neck. “Well, what if I wanted to treat you?”
“I can think of other ways you could treat me,” I tease back.
Suddenly, her face tenses and she slowly loosens her hands from around my neck, switching to this awkward mood as she messes with the door. “We should get going then,” she says, “So we can have enough time to eat and get ready for work.”
“Yeah.”
I amble around to the passenger side and hop in. Reign lingers a moment before climbing in as well.
Reign and I drown ourselves in another passionate make out session before she drops me off at my house so we can get ready for work.
After showering, I haul on a grey shirt and blue jeans. My phone rings just as I step outside and closed the door. I assume its Pete, calling to try and convince me to talk to Ashley again.
When I look at the screen, it’s Greg’s name I see instead. I stop midstride on the stairs, considering whether or not I should answer. I don’t want any reminders of Haxtun, now that I’m starting to feel happy again.
Jabbing the phone inside my pocket, I scurry
downstairs and take out my bike, riding to work.
I arrive at the restaurant shortly and park my bike around back. My phone starts to ring again as I’m about to enter. Damn, Greg’s not giving up. I finally answer to get it over with.
“What’s up, Greg?” I feign interest.
“Mitchel, it’s been a while.” His usual cheerful voice is filled with concern.
“Not long enough,” I grumble. “You said you’d let me breathe,” I say sharply.
Greg exhales long and hard before saying, “He’s awake, Micah. Lewis Harrison is finally awake.”
After a few seconds I realize what this means and manage to find my voice again, muttering, “He is?”
“His wife called me. She found out I was your counselor in juvie and wanted me to set up a meeting,” he explains. “They’ve been looking for you. Lewis wants to see you. You have to come back to Haxtun.”
My stomach drops. There’s no way I can go back. No way will I see his family, or him. I’m too ashamed. I can’t face them.
“You know I can’t,” I tell Greg.
“Mitchel, you have to stop running. We both know it wasn’t your fault and Lewis Harrison wants you to know that too. The man’s out of his coma after two years and he’s asking for you. You owe it to him.”
“Tell him…” I pause, not sure what to say. “Look, just give me some time.”
“Mitchel, I think—”
“I need time, Greg,” I say again then hang up.
I’m glad Lewis woke up from his coma, but I’m partly to blame for putting him in that situation to begin with. He’s missed two years with his wife and son. How can I look at them? How can I look at him?
Frustration must be etched all over my face when I tread inside the restaurant, because Aislin asks the moment she glimpses me, “You okay?”
“Yeah…I’m fine,” I tell her and walk past her around to the back room to change into a uniform.
I know I should return to Haxtun and face Lewis. It’s the right thing to do. Grams would have wanted me to. But I feel like a coward right now. I just can’t do it alone.