Page 48 of One Spicy Summer

I always knew I loved the Collins family, but tonight, surrounded by their warmth and laughter, I realized they were everything I’d ever dreamed of having.

Later, Presley and I slipped back to her room, hearts full and heavy, and made love, a slow, desperate kind of goodbye–before life pulled me toward the future waiting just beyond her door.

Graduation

"Congratulations, Class of 2015, you did it!" Principal Barnes shouts into the microphone, triggering an explosion of graduation caps into the air. Not mine though, hell no. I paid way too much for it to lose it in all that chaos.

"We did it, motherfucker!" Rafe yells somewhere in the crowd.

"Yeah, you asshole, we did!" I shout back, laughing as a weight I didn’t even realize I was carrying finally lifts off my shoulders.I scan the sea of people, searching forher. Knowing she’s out there, waiting for me, and will be, no matter what, is the best damn feeling in the world.

"Baby!"I hear her voice clear as a bell before I even spot her, and then there she is, my little ray of sunshine, launching herself into my arms.

"Congratulations! You did it! I’m so proud of you," Presley beams, showering my face with kisses.I catch a few of my classmates giving us the stink-eye, while others, like her best friend Agatha, just grin like idiots.

"Iknewyou two whores were canoodling," Agatha laughs, slapping both of us on the back. "Presley Collins! Didn’t I tell you, no secrets?" I watch Presley nod sheepishly. "Then why am I just now finding out about this?" Agatha demands, jabbing a finger between the two of us.

"We didn’t want to deal with the nasty looks we’re getting right now," Presley admits, shrugging.

Agatha whirls around, facing the gawkers. "Do you fuckers have a problem?" she snaps. "You’ve seen people in love before, right? This ain’t groundbreaking. Mind your business and carry the fuck on!"God help the poor bastard who ever tries to tame her, he’s gonna need it.

"Your level of ghetto is exactly what the doctor ordered," Presley says, wrapping her friend in a hug.

"We’re all going out to eat and then hitting the party," Presley adds, smirking. "Hope your ass is ready for some fun, Ag."

"You bet those buns of steel I am," Agatha laughs, giving Presley’s butt a playful grab.

"Hey, hands off my merchandise," I joke, swatting Agatha’s hand away. "Come on, let's get moving while the getting's good," I say, just as my folks step in to block my path.

“Son, go out and have your fun. And don’t forget.” My lip curls at his words, at the warning buried beneath them.

The night before graduation, he found out about me and Presley. About what we meant to each other.He didn’t need to spell it out, his fists said enough. I hadruinedwhatever plans he had for me, and now, according to him, it was up to him to "make it right."

Whatever that meant. Whatever he thought he could still control.

Another reason to get the hell out while I still had the chance.

I met his eyes for half a second, daring him to say more, then shrugged it off like it doesn’t matter. “Whatever,” I mutter, turning away from him and toward the people whodomatter.

Tonight isn’t about him.

It’s about Presley.

About us.

About these last two weeks before everything changes.

And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let anything ruin it.

Chapter Twenty-One

Presley

July

Rygaard and I had been texting nonstop since the day he left for school. Even though it’s summer and they didn’t sign up for classes, the football team still had practice, meetings, and a million things to prep for the upcoming season.

He and Rafe ended up rooming together, which made the transition easier for Ry, but definitely made our attempts atlong-distance funa little trickier. Luckily, they made some new friends on the team, and Rafe would conveniently make himselfscarce whenever Ry wanted some alone time with me. Which, thankfully, was pretty often.

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