Chapter Twenty Eight

Boston
 
           *A couple of weeks later*
          
           "Good luck at the game tonight, Boston!" A brunette girl says, bending over her desk and pushing her chest out, trying to give me an eyeful of her ample cleavage that is protruding from the top of her shirt as I walk past her desk to take my seat, waiting for Aspen to make it to class. She was called away at the end of Literature and hasn't made it back yet.
           "Hey, thanks," I say with a smile and a head nod.
           The brunette must take that as her cue because she quickly gets up from her seat and plants herself right in front of me, on top of my desk with her legs spread so that one is on either side of me, "Do you want to meet me before the game for a little *good luck*?" she asks, licking her lips, and trailing her finger down my chest.
           Leaning as far away from her as I can, I place my hands against her upper arms to keep her from coming any closer, "Umm...I think that you ne—"
           "What in the fuck?" A female voice says, cutting the brunette off midsentence. Aspen looks from me to the girl, and then back to me, a mix of anger and betrayal written all over her face. Without giving me a chance to say anything, she closes her eyes shakes her head back and forth, turns back around, and sprints out of the classroom.
           "Aspen—," I start when a pair of lips land on mine, cutting me off. I push the girl back, causing her to lose her balance and fall off of my desk, landing in a heap on the floor, but I honestly don't give a shit about whether I hurt the girl or not, because the only girl that I care about just ran out of the classroom.
           Stepping around the girl, I rush down the aisle heading towards the front of the classroom, casting Mr. Jeffries an apologetic glance before rushing on out the door. Once in the hallway, I look both left and right, not sure of which direction she went. Hazarding a guess, I take a left, heading to the side exit that leads towards the gym, and the football and track field.
           *Fuck!* I curse to myself, hoping that she will give me a chance to explain. *I only just got her to be my girlfriend a few weeks ago, the last thing that I want is for her to think that I'm not serious about her, about us. Because I have never been more serious about anything in my life.*
           I pull up her contact, and push the call button, doubting that she will answer but having to try all the same. And, just as I thought, she sends the call straight to voicemail.
           *Shit!*
           "Aspen, please..." I say, pleading to the wind as I make my way towards the football field, doubting that she's hiding out in the gym somewhere.
           As I step out onto the field, I take in my surroundings and spot the girl that has completely turned my life upside down, in the absolute best way possible, sitting at the top, huddled up in a corner with her face buried in her knees. I quickly cover the distance between me and the stands but then slowly make my way up the metal bleachers, trying to be quiet as I possibly can so that she doesn't spook and take off running.
           Once I make it to the top, I take silent steps toward her. When I'm just a few feet away, I stop and say her name to get her attention, "Aspen..." At the sound of my voice, I see her body tense up, her small hands curling into fists against her thighs, "Baby, it wasn't what it looked like," I tell her..."Please, I would *never* do anything to hurt you..."
           That must have been the wrong thing to say because it earns me a derisive snort, followed by angry words that definitely hit their target, "I just figured I was back to being your *Biggest. Regret. Ever*," Aspen snarls, throwing my words from Monday back at me. Standing up, she grabs her back, "I should have known better, Boston. That first day should have clued me into who you really were, you even warned me. But I was naive and thought that you actually cared about me."
           "Asp—," I start but she cuts me off.
           "No." She says, with a shake of her head, and then takes a step down, putting more distance between herself and me, "I don't want to hear your pretty words or whatever you think I want to hear so that you can keep me on retainer, or slip into bed with me at night to have your fun when there's no one around like I'm some dirty little secret," the last part falling from her lips on a sob. She shakes her head, trying to get herself under control, and begins speaking again, this time her voice deep with anguish, "You said it yourself on that first day, *you needed a warm place to slide your cock into* only this time it was the slut that you propositioned on at the beginning of Calculus right in front of me, *that fit the bill* this time."
           She makes her way to the bleachers taking them rather quickly and I stand there dazed for a moment as her words, *my* words wash over me, "Aspen, please...don't do this," I beg, needing her to hear me out.
           She stops but doesn't turn back around to face me when she says with a broken sigh, "I didn't do this, Boston," she hiccups, and hesitates, letting out a sob and then continues, "*You* did this. Please, just leave me alone." while she's stopped making her way down the bleachers, I quickly but quietly begin making my way towards her, closing the distance between us as much as possible. When she finishes speaking, I'm right beside her and wrap my arms around her as breaks down, collapsing as soon as my arms are around her torso.
           "Baby..." I mutter, at a loss for words but hating seeing her so torn up, knowing that it's because of me and my being an idiot. "Shhh." I tell her as I begin to sway us back and forth, "Shhh, it's okay, Baby."
           "Why?" she says, sniffling, "just tell me why. Are you ashamed of me? Am I not good enough?"
           "What?" I ask, pulling back to look her in the face, I want her to see the truth in my eyes and have no doubt the words that I say to her are true, "Baby, you are *everything* to me. You are definitely *not* my dirty little secret-except for around our parents, but if you want me to, we can tell them about us this evening, before the game." Bringing my hand up, I palm her cheek, rubbing my thumb beneath her eye, wiping away her escaped tears, "I don't want to hide you or how I feel about you from anyone."
           "Then why—," tears begin to fill her eyes again as she tries to ask the question that I already knew she was going to ask, so I place my finger against her lips, cutting her off.
           "I *did not* ask her to plop her ass onto my desk or to do anything else for that matter. Do you hear me?" I ask, forcing her face up to look me in the eyes, "she wished me good luck with the game tonight, and I told her *thanks*, that was it. Next thing I knew, she was on my desk, basically straddling and propositioning me, I was pushing her away and fixing to tell her she needed to back off when you walked in." I close my eyes, taking in a deep breath, getting pissed off at the girl won't do me any good. "Baby, I *need* you to believe me. I don't want *anyone* except you."
           "You don't?" Aspen asks warily, biting her bottom lip.
           "No, baby, I don't." It's on the tip of my tongue to say that four-letter word that has always scared the absolute shit out of me, but it seems too soon to be feeling such strong emotions towards her, let alone *tell* her that I'm feeling that way.
           I lean down, taking a chance and seeing if she will let me kiss her. When she doesn't stop me or pull away, I close the distance between us and claim her perfect mouth in a chaste kiss, knowing now is definitely not the time to get carried away.
           When I pull back, I tell her, "And when I said that stuff that day, I didn't mean it. Every time I said something negative, I meant the opposite." I tell her, "So when I said that you were my biggest regret ever, I really meant that being with you was the best decision I had ever made. And you are *so* much more than just a warm place to sink my cock into. Yes, I won't deny that I *love* fucking you, baby. Your pussy was made for me, but that's just the icing on the cake. It's *you* that I'm drawn to, that I yearn to be close to. It's *you* that is on my mind each night when I fall asleep, even when you're lying right next to me, and it's *you* that I think about first thing every morning before I realize that you're there with me. *You are my* everything *Aspen, never doubt that.*
           "Okay." She mutters, closing the distance once more and kissing me so deeply, so passionately that it takes everything in me to break the kiss and pull away. When she opens her eyes, they are sparkling with mischief.
           "You did that on purpose," I chide her, grinning, glad to see that there are no longer tears in her eyes and that her lips are tilted up in a sultry smile.
           "So, what if I did, what are you going to do about it?" She asks, pulling the side of her bottom lip between her teeth as she looks up at me from between thick lashes.
           "Not a damn thing," I tell her, pulling her closer against my body, needing the intimacy and to reassure her that this isn't about just sex for me.
           The bell rings, signaling the end of Calculus and we finish making our way down the bleachers. When we make it to the bottom, I stop us, turn her towards me and grasp ahold of her hands, "Will you go to the field party with me after the game?" I ask her. At her questioning look, I elaborate, "I think it's time I showed off my girlfriend a little bit."
           "I think it's time that you showed off your girlfriend, too." She agrees with a smile on her face, and then lifts up onto her toes and quickly gives me a kiss before taking off down the steps and sprinting towards the school. I follow after her, like a lovesick fool who is hot on her heels.