Page 88 of Sweetheart

"I say we take our time, make sure to dot all the i's, cross the t's."

"Well, I think it would be better for everyone if we don't draw things out," I said. "Then there won't be any confusion."

"You feeling confused, Kent?"

"No, of course not," I said as a flush spread across my cheeks. Before he could probe further, I added, "Has Brisa reached out to you yet?"

"You mean, besides her glaring at us in the halls?" he said. "That would be a no."

I took one last whiff of the flowers and smiled. "That's okay. Those glares mean stage two is working liking a charm.If she's upset at seeing you with me, that means she's still into you. We'll get her back in no time."

"Sure," he said, sounding less excited than he had a moment ago. I assumed his mood shift had to do with missing Brisa. Which was just one more reason to end this sooner rather than later.

"Hey," I said and reached out to place a hand on his forearm, ignoring the spark I felt upon contact. "Don't worry. We'll get her back."

"Yeah." Sam stared at my hand. "I should get to practice."

Tilting my head to the flowers, I said, "Thanks again, Bishop."

Sam leaned forward and dropped a kiss on my forehead. "Happy two-week anniversary, Starlet."

Eyes wide with surprise, I watched as Sam lifted his chin then jogged off to the field.

Was it normal for high school guys to remember anniversaries?

I didn't think so.

Even if it was, I doubted they'd go out of their way to find out someone's favorite flower.And the forehead kiss? Total overkill. I was already swooning from the moment I saw him in that jersey. By the time he left, I might as well have been a puddle at his feet.Sam Bishop kept wedging his way deeper and deeper into my heart.He made it look so easy too.

It was the right call, speeding up the timeline.

Now, I just had to make it happen.

Turned out that was easier said than done.

First of all, I hadn't anticipated Sam's reaction to my request.

He showed up the next day and handed me a sheet of paper.

"What's this for?" I asked.

"Our dates," he said.

I lifted a brow as I read through the page. "More than one, huh?"

"Three so far, but there might be more. You signed on for the full boyfriend experience, and that's what you're going to get, Kent."

Each "date" was labeled, and Sam had written little summaries including the broad details of what to expect.Estimated times and days of the week were listed (he'd obviously considered my schedule when making these).It was clear a lot ofeffort went into creating this sheet.

My eyes met his in wonder. "I thought you wanted to take things slow."

"I did," he said, "at first.Still do if you're up for it.But I can see why you wanted to speed things up."

As my gaze narrowed, he gave a small shrug.

"My charm's obviously too much for you."

I choked out a laugh.

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