Only Once: A Single Parent- Hollywood Romance

by Ashley Munoz

  His confession shifted something in my chest, making me feel exhilarated and confused.

  I’m a fool.

  Why did he have to use that exact phrase?

  “Why are you telling me this?” I asked, raising my voice over the heavy rain.

  He blinked, licked his lips, and leaned closer to me. “Because I’ve been watching you for two years, and if I have to watch you get a boyfriend or kiss someone besides me, I’m going to get kicked out of school. We’re going into high school next fall, and I don’t want to play games anymore.”

  I kept my breathing to a minimum, letting him continue, because he had to. I needed him to keep confirming that this burning feeling I always had when he was around wasn’t just one-sided.

  Hot air made contact with my neck as another shudder ran through him. His words spiraled out in a rush of breath. “I want you to be mine, Faith.”

  I shifted forward, catching us both off guard. I tried to take it back, reclaim the small amount of distance we’d had, but he gripped my wrist, slowly pulling me closer as I breathlessly said, “So…you like me?”

  White light lit the sky on fire, showing me his handsome face: bright blue eyes, a jaw that was already starting to define, and dark eyebrows that framed his features. He laughed, bringing his thumb to my lips.

  “I think we’re way past that, Pip.”

  My heart stalled. “What did you just call me?”

  His hand traveled to the nape of my neck, pulling me closer.

  “Pip, I’m your fool. Please don’t hate me.” His whispered confession washed over me.

  No. It couldn’t be.

  I pushed him back.

  “You’re…” I couldn’t even say the words.

  “Yes, it’s me. I started writing to you last year when I realized I had no other way of getting you to talk to me.”

  “You could have just been nice.” I sputtered, still shocked, amazed…relieved.

  His deep laugh rumbled between us. “I was nice to you when I first moved here, but you didn’t notice me—not really. When I was funny, you didn’t laugh. You never tried to sit with me at lunch or be my partner in class, not like the other girls. I wanted you to look at me, to notice me the way I noticed you.”

  I didn’t know what to say to his admission. I was too afraid to believe him.

  “But you said you couldn’t write to me anymore…you ended things,” I reminded him.

  His eyes flashed as a grin broke out across his face. It was painfully beautiful.

  “I wrote that because you wouldn’t have accepted that it was me, not if I showed up the way you had asked me to. You would have cried or shouted that you hated me. I didn’t want to risk your rejection.”

  His finger trailed down my face, tucking more hair behind my ear. Goosebumps erupted along my skin, making me feel fevered. I processed his truth, realizing he was right. I would never have accepted that it was him if he had shown up in the library. I wouldn’t have believed him.

  “Okay.” I finally breathed again, my heart jumping into my throat.

  He watched me, a small smile lifting the edges of his mouth. “You serious?”

  “Yeah…I mean…I-I don’t know what to say,” I stammered. Am I supposed to say yes? Or that I accept? Did he even ask a question?

  “Say you’ll be mine. Say you’ll be with me,” he harshly declared to the dark surrounding us.

  Nodding my answer, I waited in utter terror for what was coming next. My friends had all already been kissed at some point in middle school, but I hadn’t. I had no idea what was involved with dating and becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.

  Jace wet his lips, and while he leaned toward me, the tiny shuddered breath that left his lips made me think he was as nervous as I was. I tilted my chin up so he knew I was sure, because I really didn’t want him to ask. Two more thunderous booms echoed overhead before his lips descended on mine.

  It was as if we were pats of butter shucked into a hot pan, melting into each other, moving soft and slow. Small fireworks went off inside my head, and exhilaration roared inside my heart as a soft sound emanated from his throat. I didn’t know what to do except match exactly what he was doing.

  Rising to my knees, I kissed him back, grabbing his shirt, pulling him even closer. We moved to a song birthed in darkness, illuminated by fire, all while I gracefully handed my heart over to my secret keeper, my bully, the boy I was falling in love with.

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