"alice?" he whispered, his voice nervous. "yeah?" she replied absent mindedly, stirring the coffee in the dark red cup with her spoon. "i love you," he said. an uncomfortable silence filled the air. "i love you, alice," he repeated, looking at her. her head was bent as she spooned the cream and only strands of her ginger hair hung from the sides of her face. "okay," she replied. [© noiembrie; cover by @aciddaisies] short story #76, romance #383, thirteenth july two thousand thirteen.

Tessa Young is an 18 year old college student with a simple life, excellent grades, and a sweet boyfriend. She always has things planned out ahead of time, until she meets a rude boy named Hardin, with too many tattoos and piercings who shatters her plans.