text: “I really thought our date was going to be a bit more fancy”, I say with a smirk on my face, looking at the ground. There’s a red and white blanket covering the grass, two plates and a big pizza on top of it. “Oh, don’t act like you don’t love it because I know for a fact that you do,” he says back to me and I roll my eyes. I’m a pretty simple girl, so I actually like this way better than going out to dinner in a fancy restaurant. But obviously, I’m not going to tell him that. I’m kind of curious though. Was it just a lucky guess, or did he really think about it? “Well, sit down, my lady,” he says as he makes a bow. “You’re such an idiot, Lucas,” I tell him, rolling my eyes once again as I take a seat on the blanket. He does the same, sitting down opposite me before he hands me a slice of pizza. I thank him with a small smile and take a ginormous bite. As I’m chewing, I briefly flick my eyes over at him and see him giggling like a little girl. “What?” I ask him, dough and tomato sauce still filling my mouth. “Nothing... I’ve just never seen a girl dig in like that. Your whole slice of pizza is gone and you only took one bite.” “Oh shut up, Lucas. How would you even know how girls eat? You never take one out to lunch or dinner. The only thing you do is sleep with them and throw them out the next morning,” I say and I can see he’s a bit taken aback. “Oh I am sorry, Miss Perfect,” he snaps back at me before grabbing a slice of pizza and putting it into his mouth. “You know this is stupid, right?” I ask after a few minutes of silence, throwing the last little piece of my pizza slice into my mouth. “Yeah well, it’s sort of your own fault. You shouldn’t have lost our bet,” he says and I let out a sigh. “But what kind of punishment is this? Couldn’t you have come up with something embarrassing like walking around campus covered in dog poop, or making me dance in the cafeteria? Why make me go on a date with you?” “Because that’s the only thing I can annoy you with. I know how much you hate me so, there’s nothing better than to see you sweat trying to put up with me for an evening,” he says as a smirk appears on his face. “I can’t believe you.” “Why are you so winey? You lost, deal with it. You shouldn’t have called me a brainless playboy. That way, I wouldn’t have had to prove you otherwise, and there wouldn’t have been a bet.” “Getting an A on one test doesn’t prove anything. I saw two girls leave your dorm room yesterday morning. So I might have lost your stupid bet, but I still stand by my opinion. You’re still a brainless playboy,” I say, slightly proud of my comeback before grabbing another slice of pizza. I can just feel his eyes staring at me. “Okay seriously, what is your problem?” I scream out as I frustratedly throw the slice of pizza I’m holding down onto the plate in front of me. I look up at him and his chocolate-brown eyes meet my ocean-blue ones. His expression is sweet and tender, something I’m not used to seeing from him. “You’re so intriguing and mysterious, it’s killing me. I’ve never met anyone like you.” “Okay, if this is some weird kind of declaration of love, you can stop it right here.” “I’m serious though. You’re different. It just lures me in,” he tells me as he scoots over closer to me. Confusion creeps onto my face and I’m pretty sure he can tell. “What? Don’t tell me I don’t turn you on just a little bit?” “Nope, not a bit,” I speak out quickly, but I can feel my cheeks heating up. “Then why do you always feel the need to be around me?” “I do not!” “You do too. You’re always there. It doesn’t matter where I am. It can be in class, at lunch or at a party. You always find your way to me. And why? Only to call me a brainless playboy? That doesn’t really sound right, now does it?” he asks me and I’m lost for words. I never thought about it like that, but he makes a good point. I always end up being near him. I take in a deep breath as I feel a weird sensation going through my right hand. I look down and see that Lucas’s hand is on top of mine. I want to move it away, but I can’t. My heart starts beating erratically, my cheeks turning as red as the tomato sauce on our pizza. All of a sudden, the sky turns grey and it starts to rain. Correction, it doesn’t just start raining, it starts pouring. I quickly stand up from the ground and Lucas follows my lead. He wraps everything into the picnic blanket and throws it over his shoulder. I get startled by his sudden movement of grabbing my hand again before he gently tugs on it. I get the message and we both start to run back over to campus, hand in hand, our fingers intertwined. When we arrive, we immediately run inside one of the dormitories to take shelter from the pouring rain. As we look at each other, we both burst out in laughter. “You look so hot right now,” I can hear Lucas say as he looks my soaking wet body up and down. I just roll my eyes and turn myself around. I start walking but instantly get stopped by a firm hand grabbing my arm. “And where do you think you’re going?” Lucas asks me as he spins me around. “My dorm room,” I answer him in a ‘duh’-tone. “No, you’re not. You’re soaking wet and your dorm room is all the way over at the other side of campus. You’ll get sick.” “So?” “So, I don’t want that. And besides, date-night is not over until I say it is,” he says, a smug grin on his face. Before I can even let out a sigh, his arm is present around my shoulder as I’m being chaperoned to his dorm room. He takes out his key and opens up the door. He holds it for me to walk through, which I do, but only after I make sure that he can see the annoyance on my face. I take off my shoes before looking around the room. I have to say, it’s nice. It is much bigger than my dorm room. It looks more like an apartment than a dorm room. A twin bed, a kitchen, a dining table, a desk, a bathroom, a couch, a tv. I don’t know why I’m surprised though. I already knew he had money so this was to be expected. “Just grab a shirt out of the top drawer,” Lucas says as he points towards a fancy wooden closet at the far right of the room. It isn’t high like a normal closet would be, but it’s stretched out horizontally. “I’m going to take a quick shower. It’ll only take a sec.” And with that being said, he disappears into his bathroom. I hesitate before cautiously walking over to the closet Lucas pointed towards a minute ago. I open one of the top drawers and see piles of shirts. Mostly black and white with a hint of colour in between the basic ones. I grab a black one, making sure I don’t mess up his drawer, before putting it on top and close the drawer back up. I look around myself and once the coast is clear and I’m certain Lucas is not back yet, I unzip my jeans and slide them down my legs. I step out of them, collect them off of the floor and throw them onto the nearest chair. I pull my t-shirt over my head but as soon as my arms are in the air, I feel two muscular arms wrapping themselves around my bare waist. Goosebumps emerge all over my body as I let my shirt fall to the ground, leaving me in only my bra and panties. The arms around my waist move softly as I feel a body pressing against my back. His lips make contact with the skin of my neck and he lets out a soft breath, sending shivers down my spine. “I know you want me. Why can’t you just admit that?” he whispers into my ear. I close my eyes as I feel a gentle kiss being placed in the crook of my neck. “I... I... I don’t,” I breathe out, clearly struggling to keep my feelings under control. I feel his hands move to my thighs. He tenderly grabs a hold of them and spins me around, making me look right into his eyes. “I’m not going to be another trophy on your shelve, Lucas.” “I never asked you to be. And you know I mean that. You know what we have is different. You know I’ve been crazy about you from the moment we met. And it doesn’t matter how many times you try to deny it, I know you feel it too,” he says as his hand makes his way up to my face, cupping my cheek. I can feel my heartbeat speeding up. “Our bet wasn’t just a stupid silly thing, not to me anyway. It was my chance to prove myself. I haven’t slept with any girls since we made that bet. The girls you saw yesterday were my sisters. I’m serious about you. I’ve never felt this before. You are all I think about all day, all night. I just want to be near you whenever I can. I want you, just you. Nobody else.” It takes me a second to make sense of his words. But once I do, I take his face in my hands and let his lips collide with mine. He puts one arm around my body, holding me close as he deepens our kiss. I jump up, wrapping my legs around his torso, not breaking our kiss. He walks over to his bed and gently lays me down, he on top of me. I feel his tongue asking permission to enter my mouth and I happily grant it. I feel him smile against my lips. I can’t help myself as I let out a small moan, telling Lucas I’m enjoying whatever he’s doing. Out of nowhere, confidence takes over me. I push him off of me and down on the bed next to me. I climb on top of his tall and muscular body as he gives me a longing look. He attaches his lips back to mine, even more passionate than before. I honestly don’t know why I suppressed my feelings for him for so long. This feels right. Our lips move together in perfect rhythm like they are two puzzle pieces waiting to be placed together. I feel his hands moving up and down my back until they stop at the hem of my bra. He tugs on it and I immediately sit up straight, backing away from his lips. “I can’t...,” I whisper as I feel his hands retreating from my back, resting themselves onto my hips. “I know, I’m sorry. I got carried away for a second”, he tells me looking right into my eyes. “What do you mean you know?” I ask him confused and kind of shocked. “I know what happened last year at the New Years Eve party. When Travis put something in your drink and had his way with you. So, I understand that you’re not ready yet.” “I’m sorry...” “Don’t be. You take all the time you need. I can wait. If it means being able to hold your hand, envelope you in my arms every day and call you my girl, I can wait all eternity,” he says and I give him an honest and thankful smile. He returns it before patting the bed next to him. I lay down, my head on his rapid moving chest, his arms wrapping around my fragile body. I take in his sent and enjoy the warmth of his embrace. “What are you thinking about?” I suddenly hear him ask me. I briefly look up before instantly laying my head back down, snuggling up to him. “Why me?” “What do you mean?” “Well, why are you willing to wait for me? You are Lucas McCarthy. You have girls lining up to sleep with you, so why me?” I ask him and I can feel a little kiss being placed on my temple. “Because you’re special. You’re different. You are the only girl that talks back to me. You are the only girl that just tells me I’m a brainless jerk, right to my face. You are the only girl that doesn’t just want to sleep with me. You hated me, and that intrigued me so freaking much. The more you teased me, the more I wanted you.” “Sounds like I’m just a challenge to you?” “That’s because you didn’t let me finish,” he says, stroking my arm, making goosebumps appear all over my body. “You are what I need. Someone to put me in my place. Someone to see more than just the asshole I portray to be. Someone who teases me, but loves me for who really I am. You are what I’ve been waiting for my whole life,” he tells me. That is honestly the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. I look up and smash my lips onto his. It’s a quick but rough kiss. It’s his way of letting me know that he means every word he just said. I back away and sit up straight, not because I want to, but because I’m running out of air. As I try to catch my breath, I feel Lucas’ hands landing on my cheeks. “I need you. I want you. I love you.”