Page 20 of How We Loved

“How could you not want to be? You’re with me!” I give him a cheeky smile.

He nods as he puts the truck in reverse and starts to back out of my long driveway. “You’re right. I’m with you, Sunshine.” He gives me a quick glance with a grin. “How was your night?”

“Amazing!” I squeal, making him laugh again.

“You have way too much energy in the morning. How can I get some of that?”

I reach over to shake his shoulder again. “You have to love the fact that you’re alive! Life is good!”

He drops his head against the headrest and stares at me for a brief moment before he pulls onto the road from my driveway. “You’re right. Life is good.”

“See? Now, your whole perspective will change for the day.”

“So, tell me why last night was amazing.”

“Trevor called me, and he’s picking me up after school.”

I don’t miss the way his head snaps in my direction in disapproval, but I ignore him. It never bothered me in the past when Ben let some guys know I was off-limits. He would always say he knew too much about them and didn’t want me to get hurt. I had never been truly interested in them anyway, so honestly, it just made life easier. I appreciated him looking after me too.

There have been a few guys I was interested in, and he didn’t stop me then, so it’s not like I wasn’t allowed to date.

Now though, I can tell he’s just upset that he doesn’t know Trevor, so he can’t say if he approves or not.

“You’re going out with him again?”

“Sure am!” I sit taller, prouder.

“Then, I’m going to have to meet him. Where is he picking you up from?”

“My house. And, yes, you can meet him,” I drawl out like I’m talking to a parent, not my best friend.

“Your house? Without your dad home? Then, I’ll definitely be there when he comes to pick you up.”

I slap his arm with the back of my hand. “You’re worse than my dad.”

“Yeah, because your dad puts his faith in me to protect you. I take that shit seriously.”

I eye him. “I think you take it a little too seriously.”

He grins and shakes his head. “Not possible, Sunshine.”

Once we’re at school, we hop out of his truck and head to our couches that we have set up in the hallway. When we were freshman, we convinced our parents to put the couches in the hallway entrance, where the area was bigger so the couches could sit off to the side, not in the way one bit.

The crew is already hanging out when we arrive, so after we say our hellos, I take my spot on top of Ben’s lap once he sits down.

I reach over and grab Natalie’s arm to get her attention. “I have another date tonight!”

“Yay!” Natalie responds, only to be cut off by Ben.

“There’s nothing yay about it. I get to meet this guy at least. Then, we’ll decide how good this news is.”

Natalie turns her attention to Ben. “Good. Then, you’ll get to see that he’s a good guy, and you’ll be fine with him dating Maya.”

“Ha!” Dalton yells out. “Fat chance.”

“Yes, he’s going to be totally fine with me dating Trevor once he meets him,” I state clearly. Then, I look Ben in the eyes and nod my head as I continue slowly, “Because my happiness means a lot to you.”

He shakes his head, then drops it back against the couch cushions with a sigh as he admits, “Yes, fine. As long as you’re happy, I guess I can go along with this fuckhead.”

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