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Mrs. F kisses me on the cheek, tells me she loves me, and then places my hand in Shawn’s, before standing at my side. Shawn takes my face in his hands and kisses me softly on the lips.
“You are the most beautiful woman in the world, Ella.” He rakes his eyes over my body for a second and takes a step back, releasing me from his grasp. “And I am the luckiest man in the world.”
“I love you,” I say under my breath, and he mouths the same to me.
His words fill me with so much happiness they bring tears to my eyes. But I don’t allow them to spill after all the makeup Mrs. F helped me layer onto my face. Shawn wipes them away with his finger and smiles. From the day we met, he has never changed. He’s the man I fell in love with in the tutoring center, and he’s the man I will love for the rest of my life.
We join hands when the minister clears his throat, and I turn to face him. With Mrs. F at my side and Grace at Shawn’s, everything about this moment is perfect. Despite my parent’s absence, they are here. I can feel them in my bones and recall every moment we’d shared in this garden, as it all comes flooding back to me at once.
After we say slip the rings onto each other’s fingers, and the minister pronounces us husband and wife, Shawn hooks his arm around my back, lifting me up and off the ground, as he parts my lips with his tongue. I lose myself in him, allowing the passion between us to consume me.
Shawn Finch is my happily ever after.
If you want more of the crew from Strickland University, keep reading for an excerpt of Roughing.
Roughing Excerpt
Chapter One
Tori
Tonight is going to suck.
I can feel it in my bones as I run down Broad Street, toward the Strickland University football stadium. Our school lives and dies by football. Between the Philadelphia Eagles and our college teams, the city comes alive on game nights.
With the start of a new season, the air buzzes with electricity from the fans screaming in the distance. I’m not one of them. Football is not my thing. Neither is our star running back. At least that’s what I tell myself every time I run away from Bash. But he’s fast. Obviously. So, I don’t get far before he catches up to me, trying to plead his case for the thousandth time.
“C’mon, Tori,” Jessica yells, pulling on my shirt.
I slow my pace to check out a cute guy sitting on a bench in the Quad because I need a distraction for tonight. He was in one of my classes last year, though I can’t remember which one with how many I packed into my schedule so that I can graduate on time.
Jogging almost in place, I get up the nerve to raise my hand and wave to the boy who I think is Josh. Or maybe Justin. Either way, he’s hot. We can clear up the name situation later. Now that my senior year is finally beginning, I’m forcing myself to break out of my shell. This is a good start.
“Stop checking him out. We’re gonna be late,” Jessica whines.
I laugh at my best friend and roommate since freshman year and turn my head away from the hottie on the bench. “Let me ask him to come with us. Just hold on a second.”
She still has a good grip on the Strickland football baby tee that rides up my stomach, exposing some of my flesh. The shirt is too small for me. It was free, and since I’m not much of a football fan, I didn’t want to pay for it. So, I stuffed my curvy ass into this size small shirt that has my boobs popping out of the V-neck.
“We don’t have time. Let’s go! Clay will be pissed if I’m not in my usual seat at the start of the game, and I don’t feel like fighting with him tonight, of all nights.”
Shrugging her off, I smile at Josh-Justin as he waves in my direction. I return the gesture and hope we will run into each other again. Preferably before the party tonight.
“Fine,” I say to Jessica in a huff and jog next to her, dodging people on the street as we pass.
If I can find someone to bring along with us to the party, my senior year will be off to a better start. I need a buffer when I step into the house that holds so many bad memories. Not only is this game important, but so is the massive party the football team throws every year at their house. It’s the kind of invite you die to get. Because an invitation by a team member means you’re one of the elite, part of the inner circle of sports royalty on this campus. I know from experience.
Until Jessica had started dating Clay Summers last spring, I avoided football and anyone associated with it like the plague. My father is a big fan of the sport, but I loathe it because of one person. The boy who broke my heart freshman year. The asshole who also lives in the house I dread so much.
Darting through the courtyard, I spot another boy who has the potential to make my ex-boyfriend jealous. If I don’t find someone good-looking enough to bring to this stupid party, I will look like an ass. I can’t have Bash see me alone when I have no doubt he will have a swarm of women surrounding him. Or worse, he’ll try to talk to me, same as usual. Then, I’ll have to play the catch me if you can game, where I look for ways to evade his charms.
Jessica knows I have a legitimate concern about tonight, yet she still insists that I come along and put on a happy face. I have spent the last two years avoiding Bash. I only need to make it through the night.
Shuffling past returning students, we’re almost at the football stadium. Like most prestigious schools, Strickland University has the pristine shine of an Ivy League campus. From the people to the statues of famous Philadelphians, the place oozes perfection and wealth. I’m one of the few who is here on a scholarship. Unlike these trust fund babies, I didn’t grow up with money. And I almost lost all of it because of Bash.
Once we reach the gates, we stop to hold out our tickets to a man wearing a Strickland University polo shirt. He scans the bar code and says, “The game is already in progress. Be careful getting to your seats. You’re on the field.”
“Shit,” Jessica moans, frowning in my direction. “You just had to stop and stare at that guy, didn’t you?”
