Page 185 of Always Love You More

Sam

Iwatchtheleavesfall, the trees becoming shades of orange and brown. The parking lot is nearly empty now as I sit on the curb outside of school and wait for Jameson to pick me up.

The first few weeks of school have dragged by now that I’m all on my own. It was bad enough without Jameson, but now I’m missing Billy, too. Even all of my friends were their friends, and with everyone already graduated, it’s back to the way things were before.

But I won’t drop out.

I won’t give up.

Not after I promised Johnny.

The rumble of an engine pulls my attention, and I stand as Jameson slows in front of me. I slide into the passenger seat, dropping my bag. Before I can even turn to him, his hand is on the back of my neck, guiding my face to his.

“Sorry I’m late,” he says before crashing his lips against mine.

It takes me a second to catch up, but once I do, I grip his shirt, fisting the fabric and deepening the kiss.

His hold on me tightens, the possessiveness of his touch fueling me. I pull his bottom lip between my teeth, biting it lightly, a low hum spilling from my lips as he groans. When I lean back, he drops his hand, his eyes roaming over me.

“I have a surprise for you,” he says, a slight nervousness in his voice.

“You do?” I ask excitedly. “Can I have it now?”

He shakes his head. “Not here.”

“What is it?”

We pull away from the curb, and he looks over at me. “Wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I told you, now would it?”

“Am I gonna like it?”

He laughs. “I really fucking hope so. It’s not exactly something I can return.”

“What does that—”

“Baby.”

“Yeah?”

He lowers his hand down on my thigh. “It’s a surprise, remember?” He squeezes once. “So stop asking questions.”

I let out a huff. “Fine.”

“How was your day? How’d that physics test go?”

“My day was okay,” I tell him, fidgeting with my ring. “And the test was pretty good. Only one question I wasn’t sure about.”

“I’m bet you aced it,” he says.

“How about you?”

He turns onto his street. “Things were slow today. Pretty easy.”

“Good,” I respond. “You need a break.” Pulling into his driveway, I look up at the house. “And here?”

He clears his throat, running a hand through his hair. “She’s at work now, but she was fine this morning.”

“Was she—”