Clearing his throat, he brings my attention back to his eyes as he says, “But if you want to date without anyone knowing, I can do that.”

“You don’t like it though,” I add, and he agrees.

“Not even a little bit. I want to show you off. I want people to know that I’m dating the hottest girl on campus, but I get what you mean, so yeah, I got you.”

Ugh, the butterflies. Swallowing hard, a grin pulls at my lips and I say, “I think you’ve always got me.”

“And I always will. Now come here,” he says, leaning toward me, still holding the bridge in a cute, little kid way. Matching his stance, I meet him in the middle, our chests pressed together as our lips almost touch. “Kiss me to seal the deal.”

“How very demonic of you,” I tease, thinking of my favorite show.

With a grin on his sweet lips, he says, “I’d say you could be the Sam to my Dean, but that’s a little odd.”

“Just a bit, since sleeping with your brother would be frowned upon in some states, but shut up! Seriously though, you watch Supernatural?”

He laughs as he nods, his breath warm on my lips. “I do, but forget that right now and kiss me.”

Running my tongue along my bottom lip, I grin. “Fine, but note I don’t like being bossed around.”

“Duly noted. I’m dying here, Bay, put me out of my misery,” he says, his eyes locked on mine. His whole heart is in his eyes, and soon mine is beating out of control. The anxiety of doing what he’s asking is all-consuming in my chest, but as I get lost in his eyes, it slowly starts to vanish away.

Closing the small distance between us, I press my lips to his as my heart explodes in my chest.

I’m doing this.

And I’m going to be triumphant.

Or it’s going to all come crashing down in a heap of mess, and I’ll be a wreck.

Either way, I’m going to try.

Because, really, there is no other option.

He’s it.

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the taste of her lips.

They are so soft, glossy from her lipstick, and utterly perfect. I crave them, and soon I’m unable to hold on to the bridge because I have to hold her. Letting go, I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her in close as her hands come to rest against my cheeks, deepening the kiss. When I told her she was a sure bet, that was easy. It’s the truth, but what I left out was that I’ve fallen in love with her.

A head over heels, rainbows and sunshine, unicorns pooping glitter kind of love.

I want to scream it at her. Tell her how I feel, but I know that would be stupid. She wouldn’t receive it the way I want her to. She’ll freak, probably hermit it up, and then I’ll be alone. It scares me, it does, because at any moment she can decide that this isn’t what she wants, that it scares her, that it’s not controllable. And, to be honest, I’m not dumb, I know that probably will happen. More than likely, she’ll break my heart, but I don’t care.

I love her.

Do I like that she wants to hide our relationship? Fuck no, it sets my teeth on edge, but I get it. I understand her fears. She doesn’t fight for her wants, for her feelings; she fights for her career, but I’m going to change that. I’m going to help her realize that the important thing is her and that everything else will fall into place. It won’t be easy because Baylor isn’t an easy girl to understand, but I’m going to do it and I will succeed.

So as my mouth moves with hers, I’ll keep my profession of love locked away in a little box. I’ll show her what it’s like to be loved by a good guy, and maybe, just maybe, she’ll fall in love with me. We’ll go off into the big leagues, and life will be good. For once, I’ll be truly happy. I just need her to realize that. Realize that this is what’s good for her. That her fears are moot because they aren’t needed. We will work it out. We are two of the most headstrong people, how could it not work?

As her mouth moves against mine, my hand curves around her neck and I squeeze my eyes shut, praying to God that this is really happening. It’d suck to wake up and have this all be a dream, but then again, what a dream to have. She’s simply amazing. Tightening my arm around her waist, I kiss along her bottom lip, her jaw, nuzzling her neck as I breathe in her scent. As I nibble on her neck, her breathless giggles make me smile and I pull back to look down at her.

“I knew I’d win,” I say playfully, kissing her nose.

“Win what?” she asks, a grin pulling at her lips. Her eyes tell me she’s nervous, and I think it’s adorable. While I hate that she doesn’t get that she can be herself around me and I’ll still want her, it gives me a rush to know that I get to prove that to her.

“You,” I say, softly kissing her nose again. “I gotta say, you play some intense hard to get, Moore.”

Her face fills with color as she shakes her head. “I wasn’t playing anything. I really was trying to resist you. Found that to be very hard.”

Grinning, I wink as I say, “’Cause I’m irresistible.”

Rolling her eyes, she nuzzles her nose into my chest before leaning her chin against it to look up at me. “I’m cold.”

“Okay, let’s head back,” I say, even though I don’t want to. I don’t know how it’s gonna be once we get there, and letting her go isn’t really an option right now. “Or we can get my car and go somewhere.”

“Or we can watch Supernatural,” she suggests with a grin, and I laugh as I shake my head. “It’s your fault, you brought it up. I love that show.”

“I guess so,” I say with a grin. “Fine, but how are we going to do this? Hiding our relationship and all? What are the rules?”

She shrugs as I lace my fingers with hers, but then she smiles at me before removing her hand and tucking it into the pocket of her jacket. “Well, first, we can’t be walking around holding hands. My dad could see us.”

“He could have seen us kissing on the bridge too,” I point out, and she shakes her head.

“True, but that was an in the moment kind of thing,” she says, looking over at me. “But when we are alone, it’s cool.”

Rolling my eyes, I tuck my hands into my own pockets. “Okay, so no PDA.”

“None for the time being.”

At least she said that. It gives me hope for the future. “But we’re together, so no sleeping around or anything, right?”