Liam抯 phone comes alive, and he sets it down next to him. 揑抦 going to shower and then head to the library to study for finals.?
He stands and then pauses. 揥ait, did you say you needed something??
揘ah. I抣l catch you later.?
I抣l tell him another time. Let him at least get through finals before I add to the stress.
It抯 in the last week of the semester that I realize how busy my schedule is. I抳e never tried to fit in spending time with a girl. Though I doubt she needs it, Daisy studies hard for her classes, and that抯 especially true for her final exams.
I meet up with her in the library one afternoon after practice. She抯 got her dark blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, and she twists the end around a finger as she reads. She抯 wearing her daisy charm necklace today and it always makes me smile.
When she glances up to find me staring, she grins. 揧ou抮e supposed to be studying.?
揙h, I am.?
揑 need to go find another resource book.?She stands, and I automatically push to my feet.
Laughing, she slows her steps to let me catch up. I follow her to the back corner of the library where books line tall shelves. She stops and lets her fingers trail over the spines of the books. I wrap my arms around her waist from behind and place a kiss on her neck.
While tilting her head to give me better access, she pulls out a book and opens it. 揑 have to finish studying.?
I bite her playfully. 揥hat are you working on??
揂n essay on Thoreau for my final in American Lit.?
I take the book and flip it open. Then I read from the biography. 揂merican philosopher, poet, and environmental scientist. Best known for his book, Walden and his essay, Civil Disobedience.?I close it with a snap. 揝ounds riveting. I can think of a better way to fill the time.?
I sweep my lips over hers and back her up against the shelves. Her hands slide under my T-shirt and along my stomach muscles. The girl likes my abs.
揃orn in Massachusetts in 1817. He attended Harvard College,?she recites.
揙h yeah??I ask, kissing up the column of her neck. 揟ell me more about Thoreau, beautiful.?
She does, stating random facts as I glide my lips along her soft skin. I don抰 hear a lot of it. I抦 too wrapped up in her. She consumes me. Kissing her, touching her, just being near her alters everything around me where it抯 only her.
揌is later works include Autumnal Tints, The Succession of Trees, and厰 Her voice wavers, and she lets out a little sigh as I suck lightly on her neck.
揂nd??
揑 can抰 remember.?
I open the book. Who would have thought I抎 be spending my afternoon reading Thoreau?
揌ere it is,?I say.
She looks up at me with hooded blue eyes. 揥hat is it??
揧ou tell me.?
揑 don抰 care anymore,?she says, and tries to kiss me.
I take a step back. 揟sk, tsk, sweet Daisy.?
She cares. Maybe not right this second, but no way I抦 letting her off so easy.
She growls and tries to reach for the book.
揘o cheating.?I move closer, dip my head so my lips are within millimeters of her neck, and blow lightly, teasing her.
She leans into my touch, eliciting a laugh from me.
揋ive me a hint.?
揙ne of them starts with a W.?
揥ild Apples,?she says quickly, looking so damn proud of herself.
I love it when she smiles at me like she抯 doing now. I feel a thousand feet tall.
揂-plus.?I drop a soft kiss to her lips.
揧ou抮e a really good tutor.?She wraps her arms around my neck. 揂nd really, really good with your mouth.?
On the last day of our lab, I stare at her, wondering how the hell she got so far under my skin.
揥e did it!?she exclaims after we turn in our tests.
Liam holds up his hand for a high five. She slaps his palm and then looks at me. With a smirk, I lift my hand, let her slap it, then curl my fingers around hers, holding on a fraction longer.
I go to Daisy抯 Friday afternoon before she leaves for home. Violet opens the door with a scowl. 揊inals are over.?
揢h, yeah,?I say.
揥hy are you here??
揤i,?Daisy admonishes and pulls the door wider to let me in. 揑gnore her. Come on. I have your notes upstairs.?
揘otes. Right.?I smirk and push past her cousin to follow Daisy upstairs.
揝orry about that,?she says as she closes the door.
I sprawl out on her bed with my feet hanging off the side. 揥hat time are you leaving??
揂n hour. I抦 following Violet. We抮e meeting her parents for dinner, and then I抦 driving the rest of the way to Flagstaff.?
揝ounds nice.?
She shrugs. 揥hat about you??
揘ot sure. Maybe tonight. Maybe tomorrow.?
揧ou don抰 seem very excited,?she notes. 揕iam was practically bouncing yesterday to have a week off hockey.?
揑 like hockey.?
揧ou can like something and still want a break from it.?
I grab her by the waist and pull her down on top of me. I抳e barely had time to work my hand under her shirt when there抯 a knock at the door.
揇aisy??Violet calls from the other side.
She scrambles off me, face bright red. 揓ust a sec.?
I sit up, and she walks over to the door, then smooths a hand down her hair and over her mouth before she opens the door. 揥hat抯 up??
揌ow long until you抮e ready??
揢hh. I thought we weren抰 leaving for another hour.?
揑t took me less time to pack than I thought. Your stuff is already in the car, yeah??
Daisy nods. They share some sort of silent communication, and then Daisy says, 揋ive me five minutes.?
She shuts the door and then turns to face me.
揊ive minutes, huh??
She straddles me and glides her hands along my chest and around to my back. 揝orry.?
揑t抯 okay. I抣l swing by and see if Gavin wants to grab food or something.?
揧ou抮e really avoiding going home.?Her brows lift in question.
揑t抯 not my favorite time of year.?
揧ou don抰 like the holidays??Her expression goes serious. 揙h no, are you a grinch??
I laugh. 揘o, it抯 just?my buddy, Mark厰 I search for the right words. It isn抰 something I really talk about with anyone but my friends from high school. No one else really gets it in the same way. They抮e supportive, but unless you抳e lost someone like that, it抯 hard to understand.
Her mouth makes an O. 揙h my gosh. He died on the twenty-third.?
I nod. 揥e were at a party to celebrate everyone being home for break.?
She wraps herself around me and squeezes tight. 揑抦 so sorry.?
揟hanks.?I clear my throat and lift her off me. I stand, and then she does too, watching me with sympathetic eyes.
揑 should go so you can get on the road. Have a nice break.?I start toward the door.
揥ait.?Daisy goes to her desk and grabs a black folder. She holds it to her chest as she walks to me. 揧our notes.?
I flip it open to see what she means. I thought that was just something she made up so Violet wouldn抰 know we were messing around, but inside is the sketch she was working on in the tree house.
揑 finally got your mouth right,?she says with a proud smile.
Behind it are a few more, one of me in my hockey gear, another of me sitting at a table a lot like the one from the physics lab. She drew my profile like she was sketching it the way she saw it in class. And finally, one of my back with the tattoo for Mark.
My chest tightens.
揇o you like them??Her smile falters, and she sounds unsure. Probably because I still haven抰 spoken as I stare down at the pages. It抯 like she captured all the things that make me, me, in a few drawings.