teacher ♤ s.t [rewriting]

46 ♤ At The Counter

46 ♤ At The Counter

C O U R T N E Y ♤

Shayne took me back to his house after that vulnerable exchange we made. My heart was racing the entire time he was driving, and I noted his hands gripping the wheel tighter than usual. For once, I was glad Olivia had taken me to school this morning because I hadn't been able to get in my car and drive away before Shayne could catch up to me.

I glanced over at his face, realizing despite his tight grasp on the steering wheel, his face was more relaxed than before. More at peace. Even though he looked a little panicked, there was still calm in his eyes.

"Shayne?" I asked softly, watching his expression soften a bit as he looked over at me quickly.

"Yes, princess?" he asked gently.

"Can we- can we talk when we get to your house?"

He inhaled a bit sharply. "Anything in particular on your mind?"

"We haven't really had a... serious relationship conversation before," I fiddled with my hands, looking down at my lap, "and I feel like now would be a good time to."

I saw him nod slowly out of the corner of my eye. "Okay, that's fine."

I relaxed a bit after he said that. It wasn't like he was going to say no, but I guess I needed the extra reassurance to calm my nerves.

Smoothing out my skirt, I realized it was definitely more than a few inches above my knees, which wasn't really allowed. Whatever, no one had said anything about it yet.

Shayne pulled into his neighborhood, and I couldn't help but notice a sigh of relief escape his lips. He glanced over at me again to see if I had noticed his subconscious starting to take over. I just returned a soft smile.

In his house, he brought in both of our bags, setting them on the kitchen counter before resting his elbows there. His gaze rested on my face gently, with care, as I took a seat at the counter.

"You're alright?"

His voice was quiet, still friendly.

"Yeah," I replied.

"So, what did you really want to discuss?" he stood up a little taller, lifting his arms off of the counter top to run a hand through the hair that had fallen into his eyes.

"I- uh," I felt myself freeze up. I hadn't really planned it out in my head; I just knew I wanted to go over my feelings with him. Letting out an inaudible scoff at myself, "sorry."

"Don't be sorry, duchess," Shayne was quick to comfort me as I could only look at my hands clutching the hem of my skirt. "Do you want me to talk, maybe help you get more comfortable?"

All I could do was nod.

He exhaled faintly, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. "I really, really like you, Courtney. I like spending time with you, I like seeing your face, I like when I wake up next to you. I like so many things about you."

Shayne sighed, pausing to take a step closer to me. "I know that we're not supposed to be together, but I think over the past few months I've really started to fall for you. You telling me that you loved me today confirmed how I feel, and I-"

Here he faltered, and I found the courage to look at him fully, being vulnerable and open to me. His gaze was directed at the counter top, but it flitted back up to me as he took a shaky breath.

"I love you so goddamn much, Courtney," he told me quietly.

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to resist looking at my lap as I felt his eyes on me. "I feel like, when I said it, it just slipped out. I'd never thought about it before, and I was scared of rejection once it came out. I- I was thinking about if I meant it the ride over here, and I do. I really love you."