Never Have I Ever (Campus Games, #1)

by Stephanie Alves

“It’s an SRT Demon,” I tell her, knowing it will mean nothing to her, but I’m proud of this car. She snorts. “How fitting.” I laugh, running a hand through my hair. “Get in, angel.”

“You really are an angel,” he says. “Why’s that?” “You’re so innocent, Rosie.” I look away, feeling my face heat up. “Stop saying that. It’s not a good thing.” “It is to me,” he says. I turn my head towards him. “It is?” He nods. His eyes don’t leave mine as we stare at each other, lying on our sides on this thin blanket, feeling the gravelly ground beneath us. “How?” I ask. He smirks. “Because it makes me want to corrupt you.”

“How do you… oh my god. You remember that?” The party. It was the only thing I drank to that night. He turns his head to the side, stopping abruptly and staring right at me. “I remember everything about you, angel.”

“Show some respect,” he spits out. “She’s with me.”

“As long as I get to taste this,” he says, running his thumb over my bottom lip. “I don’t give a fuck what I have to give up.” I stop breathing. I don’t even remember how to breathe in this moment. “I want this more than smokes.” “You do?” He nods. “I do.”

How could he not feel anything for me when he treated me like I was everything?

He chokes out a laugh. “Bro, relax your face. Jesus.” I glare at him. “I don’t need beauty tips. I need a drink.”

I love her. Of course, I fucking love her. I want every moment with her. I want to wake up with her, go to sleep with her, share every day with her. I want to teach her everything and share all of her firsts with her. I want to hear her laugh, I want to see her smile, I want to make her happy because she makes me happy just by being around, by being herself. I want her. I love her. “I’m going to get my girl back.”

“But… you don’t believe in love,” I somehow manage to say. “I didn’t,” he reaffirms, shaking his head. “Until you.”

“I honestly thought I was just caught up in the moment, but my mind knew it before I did. Everything I feel for you screams love,” he says, running his thumb over my cheek. “I want to be with you every day, all the time. It feels like I can’t breathe when I’m not with you,” he says, shaking his head. “Seeing you in there, with some other guy’s hands on you, made me realize that I couldn’t let you go. I knew if I didn’t accept my feelings and tell you, I would lose you forever, and I won’t let that happen. I couldn’t live with myself knowing I let the best thing that’s ever happened to me out of reach.”

“Fuck, you have no idea what you do to me. I want you. Today, tomorrow, and the next. I want you forever. If you’ll have me, I want to be yours. Completely yours, and I want you to be mine.”