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“You’re going to wait ayearto have sex with me and you want me to be your girlfriend?” Another thing Miss Jeffries always told the girls in her charge was that if something seemedtoo goodto be true, check the fine print. “What am I missing here, Gage?”
“I’ve been with plenty of girls…”
“I appreciate the visual. Continue.”
“Sorry. What I mean is...you’re different and I like it.” He shrugged one shoulder. “I wanna do things different with you.”
“There hasgotto be a catch. No guy is that selfless.”
Pressing his hand over his heart, he gasped dramatically. “You wound me with your wicked tongue.”
“The truth...it burns?” She grinned at him.
“How would you feel about kissin’ and a little heavy pettin’ here and there?” He held up his first two fingers and said, “I won’t compromise your honor. You have my word.”
“You were an Eagle Scout. You better not break the code.”
He looked highly offended. “I wouldnever.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds and she nodded. “Alright, Gage. Kissing and heavy petting.”
A calculating expression crossed his face. “Can I steal a kiss now? Just one?”
“Fine,” she answered almost inaudibly.
Reaching up, he cupped her head just behind her ear and pressed his lips to hers. Rowan’s entire body felt like it was blushing. The first firework going off made her jump.
He stroked his thumb along her jaw and murmured against her lips, “I couldn’t have timed that better if I tried.”
Then Gage Chambers got serious.
On a hot summer night, fireworks going off above them, with lips that tasted like watermelon and beer, he showed her what was possible.
It was far from the last kiss they shared that night or the many that followed before he returned to college for the fall term. Whenever they could steal a moment alone, he touched her but kept his hands above her clothes and encouraged Rowan to do the same to him.
Summer faded but his visit home for the holidays was tinged with a level of desperation. His kisses became more aggressive, his touches more intimate, and she struggled to remember the deal they made.
All Miss Jeffries’ warnings about theheat of the momentconstantly flickered through her mind.
The last time Gage kissed her before returning to school for the winter term, he whispered, “I’m keepin’ my word. I’ll stay strong. You’re worth waitin’ for, Rowan. I love gettin’ your letters. I canhearyou talkin’ to me when I read them.”
“Then I’ll keep writing them,” she promised.
A few months later, Gage returned to his hometown for Spring Break and personally organized huge outings with everyone at the girls’ home to have an excuse to spend more time with Rowan.
Before he left for school, he whispered, “The next time I see you, I’m gonna make you mine for real, Rowan. I dream about it every night.”
“So do I,” she admitted.
“Good. I’ll do my best to live up to what you’ve imagined.”
Nervous, she sharedeverythingwith her best friend. A few months older, Nina Adams had seen it all and done it all.
“How in thehellhave you kept this secret for almost ayear?” the blonde asked in shock.
Rowan shook her head. “It wasn’t easy. Believe me.”
As the oldest, they shared the biggest and best bedroom at the girls’ home. The place housed eight at-risk girls who either had nowhere else to go or were in danger of ending up on the back of a milk carton. Some were adopted while others aged out and moved on to their adult lives.
