Page 12 of Love and Defects 1
I really didn’t, though I did enjoy her and Dad’s company. They weren’t overbearing parents—just protective. And after the hell I’d gone through, that protection was welcome. I knew it definitely wasn’t easy for Mom to let me come to college away from home, but she was comforted by the fact that my therapist was nearby. And when I became friends with Graham, she relaxed even more.
I had a system here—a reliable one. And that was all she wanted for me.
“Meet us at that breakfast spot down the road from campus,” Mom instructed. “I can’t think of the name of it right now. Graham knows which one I’m talking about.”
“If anything pertains to food, he always knows,” I joked, slowly coming more awake.
Graham lightly bit my shoulder, making me yelp. “Stop teasing Graham, Sterling,” Mom scolded, but her tone was too light to actually be serious. “We’ll see you in, say… an hour?”
“An hour’s good,” I assured her. When the call ended, I rolled over and narrowed my eyes at Graham. “Did you seriously fucking bite me?”
Graham just grinned. Then, he rolled us over so I was beneath him, settling between my thighs. My body came alive, though not one hundred percent like I would’ve preferred. But when his lips met mine, I ceased to care.
All I could think about was the way Graham’s body weight felt pressing me into the mattress and how warm and wet his mouth was. Moaning, I mapped the planes of his muscled back with my fingertips and palms, my legs binding around his hips to keep him secured to me. He was hard—I could feel his shaft pressing against my belly—but he was ignoring it, instead just slowly kissing me. Taking his time like I was something precious to be treasured. Like I was the rarest gem in the world and he had to protect me and take care of me at all costs.
“You’re so fucking mine,” Graham groaned into my mouth before making his way across my jaw.
A breathless chuckle spilled from my lips. “So fucking yours?” I rasped, admiring the way his muscles flexed in his back as he moved.
“Fuck yes,” he groaned. “Mine. I’ve waited so damn long for you. A little over two years has felt like a fucking eternity, Sterling.” He moved back to my lips, kissing me again. I groaned, my fingertips pressing into his skin.
“You’re mine, too,” I panted when we parted. My eyes met his. His hazel eyes were blazing with need and adoration, and butterflies erupted in my stomach at the tender yet lustful look.
Graham traced my jaw with the tips of his fingers. “I’ll always be yours, Sterling,” he vowed. “Always.”
“I’m fucking starving,” Graham grumbled beneath his breath as we stepped into the restaurant hand-in-hand, our fingers linked together. “It smells so fucking good in here.” Graham’s stomach rumbled in agreement with its host.
At this point, his stomach felt almost like a parasite. Graham was always hungry. And I had no idea where he managed to put it all.
“Oh, my God!” Mom squealed as we neared the table she and Dad were sitting at. Her eyes were wide and hopeful, and she was practically bouncing in her seat beside Dad. Dad was quietly chuckling at her antics. “Are you two finally together? We’ve been shipping you two since you met,” Mom gushed.
My face flamed red. Graham snickered and pressed a kiss to my cheek before pulling my chair out for me. I quietly thanked him and sat down. Once he took his seat beside me, he draped his arm over the back of my chair and ran his fingertips up and down my shoulder. “Yeah, we’re together.” Graham turned his head and winked at me. “Finally.”
Mom squealed again and then quickly pulled out her phone, her manicured fingers quickly flying over her screen. Dad shook his head in amusement. “I’m glad the two of you are happy,” Dad told us. “You’re good for our boy, Graham. We wouldn’t dare trust him with another soul.”
Graham cleared his throat, his expression solemn. “I know, Mr. Hardison. I don’t take that lightly.”
I placed my hand on his thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. He glanced over at me, and the tips of his lips curved up the tiniest bit into a smile. My chest squeezed.
I was so in love with him. Head over heels. Drowning in it. And I never wanted to inhale anything but his ocean ever again.
“Honey, can you stop texting Graham’s mother for two seconds so you can decide what to order?” Dad asked her. I snickered. Graham’s mom and my mom were thick as thieves since they met the summer between our freshman and sophomore years. Graham wanted to hang out with me, but my mom was wary of letting me spend so much time at someone’s house with parents she’d never met before, so Graham spent a month at my house while my mom and Graham’s mom got to know each other, and then I spent a month at his.
Fuck, we’d been nearly inseparable since meeting freshman year.
“How are classes going?” Dad asked us. As he spoke, he slowly slid Mom’s phone over to him when she set it down and pocketed it. I coughed to cover my laugh, but Graham wasn’t as discreet.
“Did you just take my phone?” Mom snapped at him. “Trish and I were having a conversation about our boys and planning their marriage.”
I knew she was teasing, but I still gaped at her. “Mom!” I snapped. Graham’s shoulders were shaking from his laughter. I glowered at him. “Stop it,” I hissed at him. “It’s not funny.”
“It kind of is,” he told me, a grin on his lips. He ran the tips of his fingers over the side of my neck, and I shivered. “Make no mistake about it, Sterling, I’m marrying you one day.”
I gaped at him next. Mom shrieked, so excited she almost spilled her glass of orange juice. Dad sighed and moved it back, so used to her being hyper all the time that it was second nature for him.
“Can we confess our love first?” I croaked.
Graham winked at me. “Oh, we will. But not in the middle of a diner with your parents as an audience.”
