“No, I didn’t tell anyone because I wasn’t even sure I’d have the guts to show up. I wasn’t sure of anything until I knocked on your door and you answered.”
“Why do you want to go with me? I don’t think you’ve said more than a few words to me in the last twelve years of school together.”
“I’ve always admired you from afar. I got the feeling you didn’t like me much because of my sister. She can be a little hard to take sometimes.”
“That’s an understatement. I’ll make a deal with you. I won’t hold your sister’s behavior against you if you don’t act like her.”
“We have a deal then. Shake on it?”
He took my extended hand in his, turned my wrist, and brought my knuckles to his lips. He brushed soft kisses along my skin, stealing my breath again and cracking the veneer around my hardened heart one chip at a time. “I never knew you were such a romantic guy, Wyatt. What else are you hiding?”
“You’ll just have to find out.” He winked before kissing the back of my hand again. “I will confess to this…even though you may throw me off your porch for it.”
My left eyebrow slowly quirked upward, and my facial expression dared him to continue. “Now you have to tell me. You can’t say something like that and not finish it.”
“I don’t think you realize how much I’ve admired you from a distance. More than a couple of guys have made the mistake of talking about you around me. Saying they were going to ask you out, stuff like that. They weren’t right for you, though. So, I actively discouraged them from ever looking at you again if they didn’t want their eyes gouged from their heads with a straw.”
“You did not do that.”
“Scout’s honor. But, believe me, you’d thank me for it. They weren’t your type at all.”
“And just how do you know what my type is?”
“You want someone who is confident, but not cocky. Thoughtful, but not a pushover. Handsome, but not a strutting peacock. Smart, but also has common sense. But most of all, you want someone who sees you for who you really are.”
My resolve to remain unaffected by him decreased to nil. “Wow,” I replied with a breathy whisper. “I’m not sure if I should be flattered or leery after that confession. For tonight, I’m going to choose flattered and hope for the best.”
“You won’t be disappointed. I guarantee it.” He stood, and I rose with him. “I should get going. It was rude of me to just show up, but now I’m keeping you up late. I’d love to text you some time, but you didn’t seem to be joking about not having a cell phone.”
“No, I don’t have one. But you can call me on our home phone. The talent of live conversation is a dying art. Maybe we can revive it.” I shrugged casually, trying to take the focus off my lack of money and material things.
“Retro is so in style right now,” he joked. He saved my number in his cell phone and turned to leave. One step down off my front porch, he turned to face me again. He was only slightly taller than me then, and I couldn’t help but notice how close his lips were to mine. “Good night, gorgeous. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He leaned in and captured my mouth. His soft lips pressed against mine. His tongue lightly grazed the seam of my lips, and my surprised reaction gave him full access to invade as he pleased. Our tongues performed an erotic dance, gliding and caressing, building the tension between us. His fingers threaded through my long blonde hair, gripping it in his fist when he tilted my head to the side for deeper access. His other hand lightly grazed along the sensitive skin of my neck, sending chills pebbling across my skin.
He slowed the pace and expertly ended the kiss, leaving me in a dizzy trance. “If I don’t stop now, we’ll be out here on your front porch all night,” he whispered. “Now I really wish I hadn’t waited so long to knock on your door.”
“How long were you waiting?” I pictured him standing outside my house before sunset, staring at my front door while he made up his mind.
“About twelve years, Megan. I’ve waited twelve long years for this.”
After a quick peck on the cheek goodbye, he bounced down the remaining steps and strolled to his car. He drove away with a wave and a smile, and I stood rooted to my spot until his taillights disappeared.
The next morning at school, Wyatt surprised me by opening the passenger door of Christine’s car and helped me as I got out. Then he took my hand in his, and we walked into the school together. Heads turned and mouths gaped open as his astonished friends eyed us, but no one made a single comment.
Except for Blair, of course.
“You’ve got to be shitting me.”
“Shut up, Blair,” Wyatt reprimanded her as we passed. “I’m sorry about that. I’ll talk to her.”
“It probably won’t help. She has always hated me.”
“It’ll help—I promise.”
Wyatt was outside the door waiting for me after every class. No doubt he charmed his teachers and got his way with whatever he wanted. He was part of the legendary family everyone bowed to, so why wouldn’t that extend to his classes too?
In the two weeks before the homecoming dance, he never failed to show his sweet and romantic side. He met me in the parking lot every morning, walked me to every class, drove me home from school several times, and came over to my house to spend time with me at night. Not developing feelings for him was impossible. For the first time since I was six, I dared to hope for a happy life in this little corner of our city. Even Christine rooted for us.
