Page 35 of Mine

GRETCHEN

As the car sped away from school, leaving everyone behind us, I relaxed into the seat feeling safe and happy beside Cal.

No one agreed with us being together, but when I was with him, none of that mattered.

Most girls would kill to be in my position, sitting in a car withCalFallon—full name usage and everything.

His dirty blond hair was messy and pushed back away from his eyes, which looked slightly swollen and tired, but he was still the most attractive man I’ve ever seen.

“Are you okay?” I asked, as he looked over at me, my stomach flipping as his lips pulled into a reassuring smile.

“I’m alright, don’t worry about me.”

He pulled off the main road into a deserted car park, near a crappy, local diner. I frowned as he cut the engine, turning towards me as he did.

“What happened?” He murmured in a low tone, his gaze holding mine.

He listened as I told him everything from start to finish, my eyes watering again when I remembered how angry Luke was.

“Raven, if you ever left me, I would be fuckingfurious. If you left me for someoneelse, well...”

The sentence hung in the air, the understanding between us unspoken. The insane connection we had came with a powerful form of jealousy that we felt on both parts; the fact he referred to me ‘leaving him’ despite us never having a conversation about us being official was a perfect example.

“I wouldn’t,” I say firmly, knowing it was true.

No one had ever made me feel this way before, and in such a short span of time.

He tilted his head to look at me. I could never describe his eyes as plain green; they were too vibrant, too deep. Animated with emotion, swirling against the darkness of his pupils as he moved closer to me, his scent driving me wild.

“No, you wouldn’t. You won’t ever want to leave me,” he pulled me into his arms as I moaned beneath his touch. “Are you mine yet?” he breathed into my neck, his lips against mine, softly at first, before I parted my lips, unleashing his inner demon. Unable to believe this creature wanted me as much as he did, I gasped against him as my tongue danced with his.

“Yes,” I breathed with excitement as he groaned into my mouth, pressing my head to his as he deepened the kiss.

When I kissed Cal, I lost all sense of rationality. Reality faded into the background, and it was just us, in our own world. But reality beckoned, as it always did.

“Cal,” I pulled away from him reluctantly and stared into his eyes. “I need to go back to school. My parents will kill me if I don’t.”

He nodded as he started the car, his brow furrowed. “Whatever you want,” he muttered, and my heart leapt into my throat.

“Are you angry with me?” I asked, my chest tight with the thought of upsetting him.

A puzzled expression filled his face as he pulled out of the car park. “Why would I be mad at you?” he chuckled, turning back to gaze at me.

A flush of embarrassment washed over my body as I muttered under my breath, “You know... for not....”

“Fucking me in the seat of my car?” he finished my sentence, his eyebrows raised with amusement. “Not at all. It will be worth the wait, I know it,” His hand squeezes my thigh. “Let’s go face those fuckers.”

When we got back, it was lunchtime, and a wave of nausea swept over me as we approached the entrance.

Cal squeezed my hand as we walked into school, lifting our joined hands up to me. “Is this okay?” he checked, a playful smile on his lips, and I almost burst with happiness.

“Yeah... although I don’t think Luke will....”

Cal put a finger to my lips. “FuckLuke.”

We walked into the cafeteria together, and a hush fell instantly.

My friends were sitting around our usual table, along with Luke.