Never Moving On (Never U, #1)

by C.R. Lee

One thing I forgot to mention, on top of being a gorgeous football player, Jacob is also a talented artist, and it bugs the ever-living crap out of Emma that he hasn’t offered to draw her—not once.

She’s so tiny—delicate—but the way she holds me, her vanilla scent filling my nostrils, it’s like a blanket wrapping around my whole body. “Sorry, bro,” she says, her warm breath tickling my neck, “but you’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

I’m so used to her always being there, I think I sometimes forget to really look at her. She really is beautiful, not model gorgeous like Emma but something real and warm.

“Look,” Ryan says. “If you see her as a sister—fine, cool. I don’t believe you, but whatever. But I promise you, that girl does not see you as a brother.”

“Because we have eyes. You’d have to be blind not to see it. That girl looks at you like the sun shines out your ass.”

keep my mouth firmly shut. No way am I getting caught up in the middle of her and Jacob’s drama. I am Switzerland.

I bolt upright. “I get it, Stella. Alright. Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop talking about your freaking period.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. This is not helping my headache. A few seconds of silence pass, and I sneak a peek at Stella. She’s smirking like a kid who’d set a tack in the teacher’s chair. “You sure? Cause you don’t even want to know what happened when I got into the car.” “I swear to God, Stella, I will jump out of this car—” “Okay, okay. You don’t have to be such a man-baby about it. Periods are a perfectly natural—

It’s funny, I probably have a billion sketches of Stella going all the way back to when we were kids, but I don’t think I have a single one of Emma or any other girl I’ve dated. I’m not sure I want to unpack that at the moment.

Our eyes lock and my breath catches in my throat. It’s as if she’s seen into the heart of me and is reflecting my longing and fear back at me in her gaze. We don’t speak or smile and the longer we stay this way the harder my heart is pounding. I’m breathing so hard I’m practically panting, but I can’t seem to get enough air.

Our eyes meet, and I’m not sure if it’s fear or shock or something else that I see there, but it’s like she’s grabbed my heart and squeezed. Her eyes fall to my lips, and back again. Does she want me to kiss her? I lean forward, closing the gap between us so our lips are almost, but not quite, touching.

But she’s not just any girl. She’s Stella. The one constant in my life since I was ten. She belongs with me, belongs to me. And if that makes me a domineering bastard, so be it. I don’t care. Because I belong to her too.

Our eyes lock and a shock of electricity jolts through my chest. She feels it too.

I race down the steps and am almost to the doors when a voice calls, “Mr. Gonzales.” I skid to a stop. It’s the professor. I should have pretended like I didn’t hear him, but I was raised to mind authority and my body stopped before my mind could think better of it.

“I’m not liking his tone,” Kat says. “I’m going to get my bat.” She pops a bread ball into her mouth and heads back into the hallway. “Is she serious?” I ask Emma. Emma laughs.

She wrenches the bat from the wall and stalks toward him, swinging it in a circle at her side like a player coming up to the plate. Behind me, Emma whoops like this is, indeed, a sporting event and not a case of demonic possession.

Emma gives her a high five and a hip bump and all I can do is stare at the two of them, mouth gaping. Kat lays a hand on my shoulder, and I have to fight back a shudder. Then she shoves the bat into my hands and gives me a wide, not-at-all-crazy grin. “Something to remember, my friend. It doesn’t matter how big or strong a person is; everybody’s afraid of crazy.”

She’s beautiful. She’s mine. And nothing in my life has ever felt more right.

“Wearing this tie isn’t going to do me much good when I pass out from oxygen deprivation.” She giggles. “It should be a slow death, though. Plenty of time to finish your interview first.”

“I guess not everyone is so lucky as to fall in love with their best friend.”