Page 128 of I Don't Need Your Romance

“I want to take you to our special place,” he says as he slides his hand into mine and leads me to the bike. “My mom will definitely not have spies there.”

I unzip my backpack and pull out my helmet, then slip the backpack over my shoulders. Damian helps me slide on the helmet by tucking my hair inside. Before I get on the bike, I throw my arms around him again, my helmet knocking into his chin.

“Oops, sorry!” I say, jumping back. “Sometimes I forget how big it is.”

“It’s okay,” he assures me as he rubs his chin.

He helps me onto the bike, and once he’s on, I squeeze my arms around him. I no longer need to be told to hold onto him. I’ll hold onto him until the end of time if I could.

He kicks into gear and off we go. In the past, I might have soaked in my surroundings, but now? I just close my eyes and relish the feeling of holding him in my arms. I etch every little detail in my memory so I can hold onto them when he and I are apart. When I’m lying awake in bed and missing him so much that my stomach hurts.

Damian slows down when we reach the hiking trail and parks the bike. I take off my helmet and put it into my backpack while Damian tucks his under his armpit. Holding hands, we make our way toward our special place. It used to be his parents’ special place, but now it’s ours.

“Is she being a witch to you?” I ask as we walk to our destination. “Is she making your life a living hell?”

“She treats me like she used to. She just doesn’t let me use my phone, and she only gives me my laptop for homework. She immediately takes it away before I go to bed. I would risk emailing you or texting you with my laptop, but I’m pretty sure she monitors what I do.”

“I’m so sorry, Damian. You must really feel like a prisoner.”

“The only thing that gets me through the day is when I see you in class. Even though I can’t talk to you, it’s enough to know that you’re there.”

“Are we going to have to sneak around for the rest of high school?” I ask.

“It’s just a year and a half,” he says as we reach the clearing. He leads me to the tree we sat at the last time, and he lowers himself on the grass, pulling me onto his lap. Wrapping his arms around my middle, he presses his lips to the side of my neck. “Once we graduate, we’re free to do whatever we want. I’mwalking away from that woman and the life she’s trying to force on me. I’ll follow you wherever you go.”

I turn around on his lap so I can look into his eyes. “Are you sure? I mean, I know you said you want to have a career in art, but do you have any dreams or goals? I don’t want to get in the way of anything.”

“You’re my dream. Wherever you go, I go.”

I gape at him. “You mean…?”

He nods as he cups my cheek. “I love you, Sophie. I think I’ve loved you the moment you stood up to me at our first tutoring lesson.”

“That early, huh?” My eyes dip to his lips as I rub my finger across them. “I love you, too, Damian. But I bet you don’t know when I first started having feelings for you.”

“When I took you to buy the helmet?”

I shake my head.

“When we snuck into the dining hall?”

I shake my head again.

“I don’t know. When?”

“When you offered to buy me my books.”

“Really?”

“Duh! That was the first nice thing you did for me. Well, not counting the ride to the bookstore. That’s when I realized you weren’t a bad boy at all. I knew you were kind and sweet.”

“Huh. I should have guessed that one.”

“Yeah, you should have.” I playfully slap his shoulder.

He envelops me in his arms and cradles me close to his chest, his eyes boring into mine. “You have no idea how much you mean to me, Sophie. The fact that my mom is trying to keep us apart just makes me love you more. It’s like it proves we belong together because every part of me hurts when we’re apart.”

“My whole body aches, too,” I say.