His tongue tangled with mine, and he gently pushed my body up to his. A slight moan left my lips, and his stormy eyes narrowed as he pulled back. “Don’t tempt me. We’re not allowed to have sex. Not with a fresh wound.”
I grinned. “I know. I just like teasing you.” It was strange how easily I could go from feeling heavy to light in a matter of seconds.
Eric grunted, gently pulling me over to his side and wrapping an arm around me. We both gazed down to the driveway where his parents were standing, ironically, exactly like us. His dad had an arm draped over Heather’s shoulder, and my mom was standing back with her arms crossed over her chest. They’d seemed to put the drama of the affair behind them. It was surprising, but Eric and I decided we weren’t going to let ourselves get in the middle of it any longer.
I glanced over to the For Sale sign in my yard. “As happy as I am to be leaving this house and all the bad that’s associated with it, I’m not really okay that we’re not going to be neighbors anymore.”
Eric glanced down at me, grinning. “Don’t worry. You can’t keep me away from you.”
I smiled coyly. “What if I go to college in…” I thought for a moment. “Alaska?”
He turned back to look out the window. “Then I’ll buy us matching parkas.”
I laughed, picturing him in a parka, and he did too before walking us over to my bed and turning on the TV. “What are we watching?” I asked, trying to accept the fact that, although everything else in my life was crazy and unsettled, things with Eric were the opposite. He was my safe place. My normal.
Eric sat down, leaning back onto the pillows as I tried to get comfortable. He pushed the rest of the floating balloons out of the way before smiling coyly. “Brink.”
And with that, I snuggled up beside him as best as I could with stitches plastered on my side, and we lay in my bed for the rest of the night.
Epilogue
Madeline
“This is weird, right?” I ran my fingers through my hair, smoothing the ends underneath my graduation cap. “I feel nervous.”
Hayley and Piper were standing just up ahead underneath one of the evergreen trees that lined the entrance of English Prep, with Ollie and Christian close by. They were waiting for me, and I was stalling.
“Baby.” Eric swatted my hands out of the way. “Relax. You’ve been sitting at our lunch table for the last few months. Why is this any different?”
I glanced at the girls again. “Because now I’m about to be alone with them while you, Christian, and Ollie go to your side of the line.” I pouted. “I don’t have you as my anchor. My buffer.”
Eric chuckled as he put his navy graduation cap on. His dark, unruly hair was sticking out from the sides. I reached up and pushed a dark lock away from his eye.
I sighed as my hand fell. “I just wish things were different. I want to go in the past and take it all away. I don’t even know how they can stand me after being so…bitchy.”
Eric grew serious, his brows crowding his forehead, his thick mass of eyelashes blinking. “No regrets, Maddie.” He cupped my waist, pulling me toward him by the scratchy material of my graduation gown. The sun was above our heads, the warm, near-summer glow shining down through the limbs of the trees surrounding us. “Our experiences mold us into who we’re meant to be, baby. Even the bad.”
A small smile crept on my lips before I reached up and kissed him feverishly. He squeezed my hips, swiping his tongue into my mouth. Happiness bloomed within, and butterflies rubbed their wings and sparked me into a state of bliss.
When he pulled away, breathless, and shook his head, he said, “Am I ever going to get tired of kissing you?”
God, I hoped not.
“Madeline! Get over here!” Piper called out, throwing her hands up. Her copper hair was sleek and straight as it laid over her shoulders. Hayley smiled from beside her, waving at us. The apples of her cheeks were bright with happiness.
Eric grabbed onto my hand, and we walked over to his—my?—group of friends. Eric and Ollie fist bumped, and he and Christian nodded.
“Group photo?” Piper beamed, pulling out her phone.
Our classmates were scattered around, the seniors with caps and gowns, the juniors and the rest of the underclassmen in their school uniforms.
r /> Ollie whined. “I can’t fucking believe I’m going to be here alone next year. I hate that you are in a grade above me.”
Christian chuckled. “Sucks to be the stupid brother, huh?”
I smashed my lips as he glared. “That’s not why I’m a year below, and you know it.”
“There, there, baby.” Piper patted his chest gently. “He’s just teasing. Just think, you’re gonna be the king of English Prep next year.”