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“I’m glad you’re here,” Dalton says as he places his forehead on mine.
“Me too,” I admit.
Standing here with him is the best I’ve felt since we were together in that restroom last night. He’s this missing part of me that I never knew existed, and now, I can’t let him go.
“You two have fun,” Ashley says, waving at us as she heads toward the barn, where I assume the whole crew is.
“Thank you, Ashley,” Dalton says.
“Yeah, thanks for dragging me out here,” I respond.
“You know I got you, girl.” Ashley grins, then walks into the barn.
Dalton turns back to me, his hand still on the nape of my neck, his eyes burning into mine. “I want to figure out a way to make this work.”
I place my hands on his arms, making sure he knows I’m serious. “Me too.”
He steps back and holds my hand in his as he walks me to the curb, the area that is seemingly turning into our spot.
We sit down, and he stares forward, almost like he’s collecting his thoughts. He looks so intense in this state that I allow him to do so and wait for what he has to say.
“I talked to my sister,” he finally says, but I’m not following.
“Okay … what did she say?”
“We didn’t grow up like you. Our parents were never the loving,wanting to be with their kidsparents. My grandpa, on the other hand, he was my everything. Since he passed, it’s just been Leslie and me.”
I place my hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to experience life like I did, growing up,” I say sincerely.
He looks at me through the corner of his eye. “I didn’t understand why you cared so much about what your dad thought. I didn’t understand what that might feel like to let him down in any way.” He stares off into space in front of him again. “I couldn’t care less what my dad thinks. He’s trying to rule my life in ways I don’t want. Anything I can do against that is a win for me.”
“But—”
He stops me by turning to face me fully and grabs my hands in his. “But your life isn’t like that.” He lets out a somber breath. “I had no idea what my dad had done to you guys.”
I drop my chin and close my eyes. He places his finger under my chin and lifts it up until I meet his eyes.
“My sister told me everything. I can’t believe he was that vindictive of a person.” He pauses and shakes his head. “Actually, I can believe it, which is why I hate him so much. That’s not me though. I—we—shouldn’t be punished for his sins.”
I grip his hands tighter. “I know that. But my dad will never see it that way.”
“Then, we need to prove it to him. Prove that I’m worthy of you.”
“How?” I plead.
He wraps his arm around me, pulling me closer to him. “We’ll figure it out. Until then, we’ll be more careful. I promise. No more close calls, like with Trish.”
He turns his head to face me, and I lean up and give him a kiss. I might not know how this is going to work, but I do know I feel best when I’m in his arms.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Dalton
It’s been a week since homecoming, and Natalie and I couldn’t be better, except for the wholesneaking aroundthing. The more time that goes by, the more we both realize this is real and we need to figure some way for us to be together in the open, for everyone to know.
After school, I see Thomas with a group of guys, so I go up to him. “Hey, man. Can we talk?”
Thomas looks at me like I threw manure all over him. “Fuck off.”
