Nets and Lies(4)

“Hey, whose side are you on?” I asked.

Dad smiled. “I just know you and your sweet, sappy romance movies…you’re too much like your mother.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled, but I smiled in spite of myself. Will and I took the drinks and popcorn in the living room and then settled in on the couch. “And what are we watching?” Will asked, after swigging down half of his coke.

“Sense and Sensibility.”

As I flicked on the TV, he forced a smile. “Peachy.”

I leaned over and brought my lips to his. By the time the credits finished rolling, our tongues were waging war against each other. Will’s hand had just begun roaming over my body when I suddenly pulled away. “Movie is on,” I panted.

He groaned. “Are you serious?”

I jerked my head to the kitchen. “Besides, Mom and Dad are in the next room.”

Holding my breath, I waited for his response. Any other guy would have sulked or demanded we go somewhere to finish what we started. Any other guy would have dumped me months ago because I hadn’t gone all the way with him.

But not Will.

The mention of my parents was the douse of cold water he needed. He straightened up and then downed the rest of his coke. He grabbed the popcorn off the table and pulled me to him. I rested my head against his chest. “This is my favorite position,” I murmured.

“Yeah, I could talk to you about positions,” he retorted through a mouthful of popcorn.

I elbowed him. “Watch it.”

He grinned. “Okay, okay, why is it your favorite position?”

I stared up at him and smiled. “Because if I lean my ear in, I can hear your heart beating.”

The muscles in his jaw tensed. “Melanie…”

I rolled my eyes. “I know. Stop being such a sentimental sap.”

He shook his head. “No, that’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

“I’ve been thinking about next year.”

I frowned. “Will, please. I don’t want to talk about that—”

“Would you let me finish?”

“Okay.”

“I’ve decided not to go to Duke.”

I popped out of my seat like a jack-in-the-box. “What do you mean? It’s always been yours and your dad’s dream to go there.”

Shrugging, Will replied, “Well, things change. Dreams change….people change.”

“But I don’t understand.”

Will broke a piece of popcorn apart between his fingers. “It’s just I like what you and I have. I like it so much that I don’t want to jeopardize it by going far away from you.”

My heart fluttered in my chest. “Are you serious?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

Slowly, a smile crept on my face. “You’re really going to stay closer to home because of me?”

“Yep.”

I threw my arms around him and kissed him. “That’s wonderful, Will.”

“I thought you’d like it.”

I shook my head. “But I can’t let you do that.”

“Why not?”

“For starters, what about your scholarship?”

“It just so happens that I got an offer from Georgia Tech with the same deal.”

I squealed. “I can’t believe it! When were you planning on telling me?”

“I just decided this afternoon.”

Happiness bubbled over in me. I didn’t think; I just acted by reaching over, throwing my arms around his neck, and kissing him.

“Hey, you better watch it,” he murmured, against my lips.

I pulled away to stare into his eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just…You don’t know what this means to me—us not having to be separated.” I bit my lip before saying, “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” Cocking an eyebrow, a wicked grin slunk across Will’s face. “You know, you could walk me out to the car and show me a little bit how much you love me.”

I laughed. “Do you ever stop being a horndog?”

“Nope.”

I sighed. “All right, I’ll give you a little victory gift before you leave.” His grin widened at the prospect of some third base action, but I shook my head. “First, you gotta watch the movie.”

He growled against my neck. “Why do I gotta pay to play?”

My hand slid down his chest to rest at the waist of his pants. “Because those are the rules of my game.”

“It’s time we rewrote the rules,” he said.

“Maybe it is,” I said, tentatively.

Will’s head jerked away from my collarbone, and he stared into my eyes. “Whoa, whoa. Really?”

“Yeah,” I murmured. I felt the intensity of his stare on me, and I realized I needed to give him an answer. “I know you’ve been so patient with me, Will. I’ve always wanted to wait not only until I was in love with someone and they loved me back, but until I knew I had a future with them.” I didn’t tell Will that witnessing the mistakes that my older sister, Natalie, had gotten into by sleeping around made me especially cautious. I stared into Will’s eyes and smiled. “I think I’m ready now.”