Young Blood

Chapter Seventeen

  “George?”

  I looked up in absolute shock. That voice had been ringing through my ears since the moment I’d met its owner, and I was overwhelmed. I had spent the previous night thinking about Ritchie and how I had finally realized that life would be okay without him, and now there he was, staring at me as I awoke. Suddenly, a crushing feeling sank upon me. I realized I wanted Ritchie back. Still.

  “George?” he repeated, and I sat up, dusting myself off. So I hadn’t died, which had been a good thing. But now the man I was trying to escape my feelings for was staring straight at me. He’d caught me off guard. And now I was feeling things I wish I wasn’t.

  “Oh.. uh..” I looked up higher, making eye contact with Ritchie and immediately looking down. Damn those blue eyes.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” He asked, helping me up. He took my hand, and shudders were sent down my spine when our fingers touched. It wasn’t like we hadn’t held hands before, but now it felt so different.

  “I thought I was Mr. Harrison to you,” I scoffed, letting go of Ritchie’s hand after he’d helped me up.

  He looked a little hurt at my remark but was overall professional, ignoring my little comment and speaking to me as if we were acquaintances. “How did you end up hear?”

  “Took pills. Walked around. Woke up here.”

  “Oh.” Ritchie looked disgusted. At least I was honest with him.

  “How did you find me?” I looked over to my left, his car was parked alongside the road.

  “Well, this is the main road to work.” He forced a sarcastic smile.

  I looked around me. Oh. So he was right. This was the main road. I had crashed on the side of the main road to class like a drunken bum. God, I was a disgrace, wasn’t I?

  “How did you know it was me?”

  “I didn’t.” Oh. Right. I felt like an idiot today. Of course he didn’t know it was me; that’s why he asked “George?”

  “Are you still angry with me?”

  “No.” Ritchie’s response came quickly after my question, almost as if he cut me off. I was confused for a moment, not sure how I should feel about this.

  “Um..” That ‘um’ didn’t exactly mean to come out, and Ritchie could tell. But he ignored it in his usual manner.

  “Want a ride?” he asked.

  “To where?” I chuckled.

  “Class.”

  “Uh..”

  Ritchie laughed. “Class starts in an hour, George.”

  “But..” I looked down at myself. “I’m not ready for school.”

  “Then I best you get ready.”

  “But how-“

  Ritchie leaned in and kissed me, pressing his lips hard against mine. He didn’t even care that dozens of cars were rushing by, all of whom who could see us, two males, kissing. He didn’t care about the whole professional speech he had given me the day before, saying that we could never do this again. He didn’t care about anything when we kissed; I was in love all over again.

  We both pulled away slowly, staring into each other’s eyes and smiling. I could tell the whole little fight between us was over, and that we felt the same way about each other once more.