Be Mine, Always

Chapter Six

Xander’s POV~ Eight Years Ago

        Dating Melody was like a boy's best dream. 

        I walked her to every class and she pretended to hate me escorting her, I knew she adored it. She liked when I insisted on carrying her backpack or opened her locker for her. She enjoyed when I filled up her water bottle when it ran low. That girl could throw back some water, I had to refill it after every period. 

        We ate lunch alone, under the bleachers and when the weather was too bad we sat at a corner table where no one could see me place discrete kisses against her neck. Things were great, she didn’t feel the need to fill silences with talking and she was more than willing to give me space when I had issues going on at home. 

        But the last thing I wanted from her was space. 

        Being with her made me happy, it made me forget who my dad was and she made me feel worthwhile. 

        Behind me, she sat with her back propped against the fence, her hair in a loose ponytail and she read to me, her fingers combing through my hair as the back of my head was cradled between her breasts. Her voice was soothing and she definitely wasn’t a boring reader, she injected the dialogue with energy and the inner monologues with feeling. It was entertaining and the way her long nails scraped against my scalp caused my eyelids to droop. 

        This was my happy place. 

        When the chapter ended, she closed the book, marking it gently with a bookmark, because only heathens fold the corners (obviously). She wrapped her arms around my stomach, stroking up and down, her nails making my skin pucker with goosebumps. Melody buried her face in the crook of my neck and I caressed her legs, squeezing her calf, it was all I could do in this position. 

        “I want you to meet my parents tonight, they’re cooking spaghetti,” she murmured. 

        I wanted to turn and look at her but she tightened her arms around my middle and kissed the sensitive skin right below my ear. I groaned and pulled her sock clad feet over my thighs to rest between my legs. “Did they say something?” I asked. 

        I briefly met her father when I took her to the fair but it was so short we didn’t get a chance to talk much past the “Don’t fuck with my daughter, or I’ll fuck you up” talk. 

        She shrugged behind me and loosed her arms so I could twist to face her. She took one of my hands in hers and rubbed her thumb over my palm in a repeated motion, she was nervous. “Not really, they just know we’ve been spending a lot of time together and I think they can tell it’s getting serious. You know how it is.” 

        I didn’t know. My dad couldn’t care less about the girl I was seeing, much less about meeting her. With his gang activity I didn’t want her around my house. She’d been over a few times when he was out of town, but I kept those visits few and far between. “What if they say you shouldn’t see me anymore?” 

        Those mesmerizing green eyes snapped up to mine and she chewed her inner cheek. I leaned forward to kiss the cheek she was abusing and squeezed her thigh. “They won’t say that, Xander,” she said. 

        “But what if they do?” I pressed. Would she cut things off with me if her parents didn’t approve? She didn’t have a good relationship with her parents but it wasn’t bad either. It wouldn’t surprise me if she took their opinion about her boyfriend to heart. 

        She shook her head and a few pieces of blonde hair fell forward across her face. She rested her temple against my shoulder and sighed. “I wouldn’t care. I really like you and for the first time in months I feel…” she paused, taking a deep breath before meeting my gaze again. “I feel good again. I feel happy. You know that chest tightening squeezy thing I told you happens when I read romantic scenes?” I nodded to confirm, I remember everything she has ever told me. I hoarded information about her like it was the most precious of gems. Because to me, it was.