Page 2 of Keep Me

Coming here on my own was a terrible idea, and I planned to walk into the journalism department on Monday morning and give whoever gave me that terrible advice a piece of my mind.

I twisted my lips when my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was either theChally Sportsappor one of my brothers asking me where I was.

Five more minutes.

I’d finish roasting my marshmallow, have a s’more, then go and call my family. I wasn’t going to meet my prince charming, or anyone for that matter, sitting alone on a log in the middle of the campus woodland.

My knees knocked, and I shivered as I flipped the marshmallow around, letting the other side burn. When someone cleared their throat beside me, I thought nothing of it.

“Hey, um, sorry.” His deep voice vibrated through my chest. When I looked over, I stilled.

Deep green was all I saw.

His eyes were so beautiful I’d barely noticed the haphazard smile accompanying it.

I wasn’t sure how long I stared at him, but if he noticed, he didn’t say anything. He tipped his chin, gesturing to the fire. “My marshmallow accidentally tapped yours, and well, now they’re stuck together.”

I gulped, trying to find my voice as my gaze drifted to the fire. He was right. Our marshmallows weren’t just stuck together, they were now a unit with no way to tell where one started and the other began.

When had I looked away long enough for that to happen?

Leaning back, I let out a loud, awkward laugh, but then clamped my mouth shut.

Could he tell how desperate I was to talk to someone?

“Oh, I’m sorry about that.” Why was I apologizing? It was his fault our s’mores were touching, so he should be the one to say sorry.

Then it hit me.

Wide-eyed, I threw him a big grin.

Marshmallows melting into each other on the fire.

Could a meet-cute get any more organic than this?!

“I’m Matty, by the way.” When he held his hand out, his shoulder leaned against mine, sending waves of electricity through my arm. I stared at his impressively large hand for a second too long before accepting it, then flicked my gaze back to his face. Hard callouses scratched my soft palm, and a thrill of anticipation soared through my stomach. Anticipation for what? I wasn’t sure, but I was eager to see where this might take us.

“Britt.”

His smile widened when I said my name, and I felt it. The same thing all those romance novels described. The air was trapped in my lungs, the words got caught in my throat, my heart was thumping out of my chest. In any other scenario, I’d think I was having a heart attack, but it wasn’t that. It was because this gorgeous guy was in front of me smiling like a goofy, lovestruck teenager, and I had no doubts I looked the same.

“It’s really nice to meet you, Britt.”

My stomach fluttered at him saying my name. Rolled out and firm. It was perfect.Hewas perfect. This moment was perfect.

The best part about it? This was the start of our story. I could imagine someone spending days and hours writing pages upon pages of where our relationship could go, and I’d be there for every damn sentence.

“So, what do you study?” he asked, doing nothing to separate our marshmallows, and I was okay with that.

I giggle, quickly biting down on my bottom lip.That was new.I’d never giggled at a guy before, and the anxiety of becoming a Pick Me was taking hold again.

“I’m majoring in Communications and minoring in Computer Science.”

“Really?” he asked. Why did I like hearing his voice so much? With just that one word, all my anxiety melted into nothing, the other people at the bonfire were drowned out, and the only thing I wanted to listen to was Matty’s voice on repeat for therest of my life. As I gazed into his eyes one more time, a zing of electricity bounced between us, and I wondered if he felt it too.

“Because I’m majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Communications. Guess we’ll be in some of the same classes, then?” He smiled, and I felt it all the way to my toes.

Fate.

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