Page 121 of Miss Me Not

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he said, tucking his arm around me to pull me close.

"You make me want to never leave," I whispered.

He gave a sinister laugh. "Ah, my plan has worked," he said, rubbing his hands together gleefully.

"You're a nut. Aren't you supposed to be sick of me? I thought most guys liked their space," I said, elbowing him lightly.

"Not on your life. I've waited for this for a long time," he said, dropping a kiss on my head.

"You mean in the whole eight weeks we've been hanging out," I teased.

"No, I mean in the whole ‘I've liked you for a lot longer than that’ way," he said, obviously gauging my reaction.

"What do you mean? I wasn't even a blip on your radar," I said, pulling back slightly so I could look at his face.

"I let you believe that because you were so intent on believing no one ever saw you. I can't speak for the rest of the school population, but you were never a shadow to me. I just never had the guts to approach you. I figured you’d leave any attempts I made in shreds. That's why I call you Mads. I've kinda been ‘mad’ about you for a long time," he admitted.

"But you acted like you didn't know me. You had my name written down," I said, recalling our first tutoring session that seemed eons ago.

"I had your name written down because I couldn't believe my luck. I may not go to church or anything, but I kinda felt divine intervention was at work. Like, it was a sign from Mitch," he said sheepishly. "Ridiculous, I know, but it just felt that way."

His words floored me. All along I thought I was invisible, a shadow that would always remain hidden without a chance of attention. He was my sun before I ever knew it.

"Are you mad?" he asked as I realigned things in my head.

"No. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that someone like you could like me."

"Like you. I kind of think it goes beyond that," he said, watching me carefully.

"It's only been eight weeks," I said, frightened of where the conversation was going.

"Eight weeks is enough to know how I feel. I'm not going to say it now because I know your emotions have gone through the wringer, but I wanted you to know where I stand. You are very important to me," he said, dragging me in close so he could kiss me.

I opened my mouth, letting his tongue sweep in. His kisses filled me with a liquid heat that started at my toes and slowly traveled up my body. They evoked feelings and wants in me that had been absent.

I lost track of how long we kissed, but my lips felt swollen by the time Dean reluctantly pulled away and walked me upstairs.

"I'll see you in the morning," he said, dropping one last lingering kiss on my lips before turning to head to his own room.

"Dean," I said softly, almost wishing he wouldn't heed my call.

He turned to look back at me in the dim light of the hall.

"I feel the same about you," I said, gnawing on my lower lip. "I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to say the actual word, but I wanted you to know you're not alone."

His face lit up at my words as he strode to my side and dropped a hard kiss on my lips. "That's all I needed to know. We can figure out the rest as we go," he said, running a hand over the side of my face one last time before heading to bed.

***

My stomach was in knots when I woke the next morning. In just a few hours, I would be reunited with my father. There were so many unanswered questions that would be answered.

The Jackson family was waiting for me in the large sunny kitchen by the time I made it down the stairs. Delicious smells assaulted me as I pushed through the swinging door.

"Madison," the twins screeched, tackling my legs like they hadn't seen me in years instead of just the night before. I grabbed the counter to steady myself. Once I was sure I wasn't going to fall over, I rustled their corkscrew-tossed bed heads.

"Girls, let her breathe," Dean chastised, scooping Ashley up and tossing her over his shoulder while Tim did the same to Dora. Both girls squealed with giggles as their bellies were tickled.

The knots in my stomach untwisted as I watched the family in front of me. They were all so freaking normal that it made everything seem just a little more bearable. Normal was good. I wanted normal in my life.

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