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“Someday, you will.” He grins. “Remember, I’ve had twelve years to fall in love with you. You need time to catch up, and when you do…none of the town bullshit will matter.”
I reach out and squeeze his hand. “How did you just graduate today? You’re more mature than I am.” I force a chuckle.
He smirks, and it’s all sexy and delicious. “I’m wise beyond my years.”
“That you are. Did you want to grab burgers and see your other surprise?”
He runs the palm of his hand over my bare knee. His touch is soft but strong. “If it’s what I think it is…I say we skip the burgers.”
I start the car with a shake of my head. “You’re going to need energy, though. You should eat.”
He hisses beside me and leans back against the seat.
The hotel room is fancy and grand, none of which Jackson needed. Yet it was meant to be the amazing grand finale to our celebration date night. Running out on an expensive dinner and ordering cheap burgers from a drive-through wasn’t how I thought our romantic dinner would go. But everything that happened once we entered the hotel room made up for it all.
My body is completely sated and relaxed as it always is after Jackson has his way with me, and my soul is happy. Leaning my cheek against his chest, I trace lazy circles across his chest. We lie naked together in a glorious king-sized bed—not a pile of hay or a wooden desk but a bed.
A couple should have access to a bed. It’s not a novelty after all. Yet with Jackson and me, it is. The thought is depressing. It’s clear I can’t give the guy up. I can’t even pretend to want to. It’s only been a short amount of time, but I need him. I crave him. I think I love him.
I kiss his chest before draping my arm across his body and pulling him close. “No one has ever made me feel as wonderful as you do.”
He kisses the top of my head. “Same.”
“I love every minute we’re together, and when we’re not together, I’m counting down the seconds until we are. I thought it was lust or infatuation, but it’s not. Is it?” I ask.
“I can’t answer for you, but I can tell you that I feel the same way, and for me…it’s what it feels like when you’re falling in love. I love you, Savannah Sullivan. I know I’m young, and you may not believe me, but I don’t see a future for myself that doesn’t have you in it.”
The crazy thing is I do believe him.
At this moment, I realize that loving him in secret is never going to be an option. The more I’m with him, the more I want to be with him, and that kind of love will demand to be loud and all-encompassing.
“I love you, too.” And with that declaration comes the realization that things are going to change. They have to.
My momma raised me to be a lot of things, and strong was one of them. Perhaps the way that Jackson and I got together was wrong. But us together—is right. I’m strong enough to fight for it, for us—and I will. I’m not certain of the details just yet, but it’s going to happen.
I’m going to find a way to love Jackson out loud, and it’s going to be worth it.
Because he’s worth it.
