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Chapter One
Max
I wanted her as mine. Always.
I knew that as soon as I saw her, the new girl with the sandy-blonde hair, the shy expression on her face, and the way she looked around the class as though she was scared of us. And in that moment. I wanted to pull her in close, tell her everything would be okay, and that I’d protect her.
I might only be thirteen years old, but my heart started racing for the first time in my life when I looked at her, when our teacher introduced her to the class.
Abigail.
Her name was so pretty, just like her.
She had these big blue eyes, her lips pink and full. I wondered if her mom let her wear lipstick.
My thoughts were broken up when the teacher had her sit right next to me.
I tried hard not to smile in pleasure. She smelled good too, like cotton candy bubblegum, the kind that was pink and blue and was really bad for your teeth but just tasted so good you didn’t care if it was.
I bet she’d give me cavities she was so sweet.
I looked over at her, her head downcast as she stared at the stack of books sitting on her desk. The fall of her blonde hair hid her face from me, but her features were already etched in my memory. I’d never forget what she looked like, ever.
“Hi, I’m Max.”
She turned her head and looked at me, lifting her hand and moving her hair to put it behind her ear. “Hi. I’m Abigail.”
Her voice was soft and low, but it was so pretty-sounding. My heart was beating really hard and fast, and I wondered if she could hear it.
“Where did you move from?” She shifted on the seat a little bit before looking back at me.
“Chicago.”
I nodded like I knew all about Chicago, even though I didn’t. I’d never been there before and didn’t know anything about it.
“Do you miss it?”
She shook her head, that cotton candy bubblegum smell slamming into me even harder.
“No, I don’t miss it.”
I nodded again and cleared my throat, wanting to know everything about her. I wanted to know what her favorite food was, what her favorite band was. Did she like one of those boy bands? Or maybe she liked the old rock music my dad listened to. It was kind of cool. I didn’t much care for country, but if she liked it, I’d listen to it with her.
“Are you liking it here so far?” I should’ve left her alone. She seemed awfully shy and reserved, and I was probably pestering her with my questions. But the truth was, I couldn’t help myself. I liked hearing her voice. I wanted to know everything there was about her.
She looked over at me again and gave me this little smile. “Yeah, it’s really nice here.”
The teacher started talking, unfortunately, and I was pulled away from my focus of her, not wanting to be obvious, and definitely not wanting the teacher to call me out on staring at the new girl. But I couldn’t help myself from glancing over at her several times. I also couldn’t stop deeply inhaling more of her incredible scent.
“Are you making any friends?” I whispered. She shook her head, and that broke my heart. “Well, I’ll be your friend.” She glanced at me, and her big blue eyes went wide. “I’ll be your best friend.” And the small smile she gave me went straight to my heart.
Whatever it was about this girl… it was permanent for me.
Chapter Two
Abigail
Five years later
I stared at my class schedule and felt nothing but trepidation. I’d opted to skip fall classes and took those months to save up some money for books. It was also a leave to help with my sanity. I made no secret my social anxiety was high at times, and starting college for the first time made me a nervous wreck.
But as I looked at Max, I felt that stress start to slowly fade. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in close. My head barely reached his shoulder, his lean, athletic swimmer’s body toned and masculine against my much softer one.
Over the last five years, we’d become inseparable, the best of friends. Just like he said we’d be when we were thirteen years old.
And in the passing years, he’d grown into the man he was today… the man I loved, was in love with. Even if he was only eighteen, he was so much more mature than boys our age, had plans and aspirations for his future.
He might not be going to school with me, but he did have a duplex his uncle let him stay in rent-free as long as he did the upkeep and maintenance for both units, and he was only twenty minutes from the university. He also worked full-time at his uncle’s mechanic shop. I looked up to him in more ways than one.
