Waffles and Starbursts

1. Waffles

"Let me leave! I need to go eat!" I try to squirm my way out of his arms then press my hands against his chest.
"No Ashley," Conner's face was serious, but then he put of a pouty lip. "What will I do while you're gone?"
"Conner!" I laugh and kiss him. "I will literally be on the other side of that wall, not the other side of the world!"
His face is determined as he thinks.
"No. You are staying here." He tightens his grip around my waist.
I lean into his face and whisper: "if you let me go now, I'll make waffles."
Conner loves waffles. He can't resist them. Especially my homemade waffles. He thinks for a minute, his face serious enough for someone to be contemplating the meaning of life.
"So," he says finally. "If I go in there, I get waffles, and I won't have to put you down?"
"No, that is not what I said."
"Yes it is."
"No it's not."
"Yes it is." He says as he picks me up and carries me to the kitchen. It's so easy to forget how strong he is. When we get to the kitchen, he sets me down on the counter. The shorts I am wearing let the cold through very easily, and I hop off the counter. Conner looks really offended, and puts me back. I hop off again. He gives me a dirty look.
"What?" I ask him. "It's cold."
He thinks for a minute and runs out of the kitchen like lightning, and I realize I forgot how fast he was, too. Conner is quarterback on out high-school football team. I think it's safe to say that it was a shock for the entire school when he asked me to be his girlfriend in freshman year. We were lab partners in chemistry, so I guess you could say that there was some "chemistry" between us. We are seniors now, and we have every class together thanks to the charm he hold over the vice principal. I'm to this day still surprised that he asked me out. I was the nerdy, antisocial, emo girl who was constantly getting bullied. He was the smart, popular, football player that stood up for her one day. The next week, he asked me out, and I still don't know why. He says there are so many different qualities that he loves, but he won't tell me any specifics. I don't see how anyone could love me with all of my scars.
My father was abusive both mentally and physically. He convinced me that everything he did was my fault. When my mother called 911, they found me on the floor, with my father screaming at me and kicking me. He went to jail and I was in foster care for years.
My new parents are an old couple that loves me with all of their hearts. They love Conner almost as much. He and I have been dating for four years, and I still cannot figure out why he likes me.
Conner comes running backs with his sweatshirt. I pull it over my head. It smells like him. I start making our waffles, but I hear a slow song turn on. Conner hugs me from behind and starts swaying back and forth. I smile and start measuring the flour. He takes the cup from my hands and sets it on the counter before turning me around and holding me close. I sigh. "Okay. Just one dance."