Page 88 of Mine

Our mouths met again.

“But... I live here. You have a house in Winterburg...how will it work? We said long distance—you said you couldn’t be in New York.”

He leaned back on his arm, looking at me happily.

“The thing is, Gretchen,” I shuddered when he said my name.

Will this man ever cease to influence me the way he does?

“I want to be with you. You want to be here, so I’m here. Last night you called me when I was at the airport. You were drunk, and I couldn’t bear the thought of dirty bastards taking advantage of your innocence,” he growled, looking towards the door meaning Tate.

I shook my head. “No, he’s not—“

Cal silenced me by pushing his finger down onto my lips. “If not him, it will be countless others. I am not fuckingsharingyou. You wanna be a student? Do it. But I want to protect you, and I can’t do that from Winterburg, baby.”

I stared at him, my heart in my throat. “What are you saying?”

He smiled lazily. “I’msaying, shall we do New York together? I can sell the house in Winterburg, I can move here.”

I panicked at the mention of his house in Winterburg, remembering the reason I could never go there again.

“Verno?” I asked him, my eyes meeting his, my heart pounding.

Cal kissed my fingers, something he had done regularly since the day we met.

My body tingled as I ran my hands through his hair.

“I think I’ve redeemed myself in his eyes. He took care of the body. He isn’t a friend, but he doesn’t want me dead anymore.”

Relief coursed through my body.

This meant Cal could stay in New York.

Excitement ran through my veins. I sat up like a kid on Christmas morning and Cal watched me with a bemused expression on his beautiful face.

“Seriously?!” I breathed, staring at him in adoration.

“Seriously,” he laughed. “On one condition.”

I met his eyes with mine, prepared to do anything to be with this perfect man forever.

“Anything,” I said confidently.

“You call me Leo from time to time.”

I fell onto him, kissing him all over his face.

“Deal.”

His mouth met mine, and I realized that whatever his name, he would always bemyCal. I would always be his and he would always beMine.

PART TWO

Part Two: Chapter One

GRETCHEN

I scrunched my eyes up as I repeated the words in my head like a mantra, determined to make them stick.