"Yes, and I don't think you cooked enough." They laughed again at my appet.i.te, but I was used to it by now. And to see my mom and my-Nellie get along was worth all of the nervousness.

My mom moved to go back to the kitchen but Nellie grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Please stay and eat with us or at least tell me some good blackmailing stories about Owen."

My mom and I locked eyes for a second and I knew she wouldn't tell any compromising stories. She smiled at Nellie and pulled up a chair next to her. She started in about when I was little and we were in church. I pulled so many stunts in church that there was no telling where she was going with it.

"So, they are pa.s.sing the grape juice around and Owen stands up in the pew and almost screams, 'Are you feeling better Mom?' So I tried to shush him, but he wouldn't listen, of course. Then I asked him what he meant, hoping that if I answered his question he would be quiet. Then he screams, 'Everybody is taking the same medicine, so I wanna know if you feel better,' He thought the grape juice was little cups of medicine! The whole church cracked up."

She and Nellie laughed and Nellie leaned over to hold on to my bicep because she was laughing so hard. Mom's phone went off and she checked the message.

"Your dad will be here soon. He wants to meet Nellie before you leave."

"Ok, thanks Mom."

"I need to go see if everything is done in the kitchen. Nellie don't even think about leaving before telling me goodbye, ok?"

"I wouldn't dare." Nellie answered her.

Mom made her way to the kitchen and we had pretty much finished eating.

Nellie reached under the table and put her hand on my thigh and squeezed the tiniest bit. My eyes went wide and she giggled knowing exactly what she was doing. She moved her hand away as my mom now approached with her famous lemon cheesecake. Nellie took her first bite and looked like she might slump out of her chair.

"Oh, this is the best." She practically moaned it.

"Yeah, she makes this every Friday night. So every Sat.u.r.day morning I ate cheesecake for breakfast."

"Lucky." She said before she put another bite in her mouth.

I saw my dad walk into the front door and my mom went to talk to him. They had been divorced for almost two years but they still talked on the phone every day and neither had ever dated. I was sure that one day they would get back together. And I was also sure that everything I had put them through had caused them to divorce in the first place. The stress of the whole thing tore them apart.

I didn't alert Nellie to his presence. Chase Black was one who needed to observe her for a few minutes before he approached her. It was his way. Mom went back into the kitchen and dad watched us a little more before he finally came our way. Nellie looked up at him and then to me and back to him.

I got up and hugged my bear of a Dad. I only had about an inch on him in height but he met me in weight. I may have had my mother's looks, but I had my father's stature and height almost identically.

My dad introduced himself and Nellie got up and shook his hand. Then he reached under her arms and picked her up and gave her one of his bear hugs that he usually only reserved for me and my little brothers. One day Nellie would have to meet them too. I hoped soon.

Nellie laughed at something my dad whispered in her ear and he was such a clown there was no telling what he said. He talked to us for just a while and then went into the kitchen. Nellie looked exhausted so we decided to leave. We stopped in the kitchen and Mom and Dad both hugged her almost to death and then invited her to Thanksgiving.

She looked to me and then my mom backtracked.

"Why don't you two decide what you're doing for Thanksgiving and then let us know, ok?"

"Ok Sylvia, thank you so much for dinner and everything. It was a pleasure to meet you and you Chase."

My parents had insisted she call them by their first names. I hugged my parents again and we headed out.

23. Nellie.

It was all I could do not to cry. His parents were warm and kind and anyone could see how much they loved him. Not once did they comment on my hair or my tattoos. Not once did they look at me like anything was wrong or different. And it was the very reason I didn't want him to meet my parents. They would probably not say anything directly to him, but they would cut me down to no end in front of him. I just knew it.

I sat in his Bronco on the way home and didn't realize that I was completely ignoring him until he started speaking.

"You ok? I freaked you out right?" He said while he stared at the road ahead.

"No, not at all. I'm so glad you brought me to see your parents. They are so nice. Seriously. It just made me think about my parents and how they are kinda the opposite of yours." I reached between us and took his hand in mine.

"They can't be that bad, they had you." He rubbed my hand with his thumb as he spoke.

"Yeah well, there's not a day that goes by that they don't regret that. Don't worry."

We pulled up at my apartment complex. Apparently I had been in my own world longer than I thought.

We both sat there and looked up at the windows which marked my apartment. Tonight had been so wonderful but I wasn't ready for it to end. But at the same time it was already almost one in the morning and I'm sure Owen was tired.

"I'm not ready to let you go." He turned in the driver's side seat and half smiled at me.

"Me either. I..." I was always such an open book but it also meant that I took a chance at getting my heart broken.

"You what?" He said as he played with the ends of my hair.

"I feel like I never get enough of you. We've spent all this time together tonight and it's still not enough." His face stayed unmoving so I tried to backtrack.

"Sorry, I'm just tired. Can we just ignore everything I just said?" I covered my face with my hands.

"Absolutely not." He took my hands from my face and continued, "I have felt that way since I first met you. And I hope that it's never enough. I hope you never get enough of me."

I blew out a breath of relief.

"Can you at least walk me up?" I whispered.

"Are you serious? Like I would miss kissing my girl goodnight."

Before I could say anything, he got out of his side of the car and came around to open my door. He took my hand and we walked very slowly towards my apartment.

We got to the door and I unlocked it. Amber's room was shut so I a.s.sumed they had already come home. I turned to see Owen. He braced both of his hands on the top of the door jamb and he was looking down at me. He looked like he wanted to say something but instead he folded his arms around me and held me to his chest. It was much more than an embrace. For the first time in a long time I felt safe. Those arms could protect and save me from the bad friends, the ex-boyfriend, the ex-best friend, the parents and the gossipers. I let out a sigh and held on tighter. He stroked the length of my hair as we stood there and when I looked up to thank him again he was already looking at me so seriously that I almost forgot what I wanted to say.

"Thank you for tonight."

He closed the distance between us and when our lips touched everything went away but us. I clung to the back of his shirt then my hands traveled underneath his shirt and held on to the muscles just above his waistband. With this act he deepened the kiss and pressed me, with hands on my back, as close to him as two people can get.

"Ahem." I heard behind us and we both stopped to look behind him to see Dylan and Amber coming down the hall.

"h.e.l.lie, your bed is all of six feet away. Don't give away your v-card right here in the hallway."

They squeezed past us into the apartment and went directly into her room. All of the sudden I was reminded of how I didn't 'put out' and how it ruined relationships. I could almost hear a draining sound as the blood rushed from my face. I gave a small smile to Owen and told him goodnight. He looked confused. Maybe he thought we were going to... I shut the door and went to sleep. Shortly afterwards, I woke up to the sound of a text message.

O: U ok?

N: Y.

O: U r lying.

N: Tmrw? Lunch?

O: Y, where?

N: Salem Park, picnic tables.

O: ok I looked like c.r.a.p the next day and the way I felt matched it perfectly. I had completely turned a cold shoulder on him at the very mention of anything intimate.

My shower this morning had revealed that the bruise on my thigh was ma.s.sive. But I still had to wear shorts as this crazy southern weather had taken a turn for hotter temperatures. I put on some black shorts and a light pink tank top. I forgot to ask what time Owen wanted to meet so I texted him.

N: What time?

O: Soon.

N: Ok, 30 min?

O: Y.

Why soon?

I ran to the local sandwich shop and picked up a small sandwich for me and two huge ones for Owen plus chips and drinks. I got to the park and he was already there sitting at one of the tables. I got out and got the food and made my way to him. His head was resting in his hands and I wasn't even sure if he noticed I had arrived. I sat down opposite him and he raised his head slowly. He started to worry me.

"Hey, I got sandwiches. I didn't know what kind you liked."

"Thanks." He said it but he didn't move to eat.

I let my hands span the length of the table and grab his. He looked down at our hands.

"What happened last night?" He looked truly concerned.

"What do you mean?"

"Amber said something about using your bed and the next thing I know, you're shutting the door on me. I wasn't expecting-that. I don't want you to think that I'm pressuring you into anything."

I took a deep breath and tried to smile.

"Ok, so in order to explain that I'm going to tell you the story of Corey." He visibly tensed at the mention of his name even though he had no idea who that was or what I was going to say.

"So Corey and I were together for four years, from the time I was fourteen until I was two days shy of eighteen. The entire time we dated everything had to be right. I had to dress a certain way and act a certain way. I was told that we could not hold hands or kiss in public and when we kissed in private, it was like kissing a brick of ice. He basically ignored me unless it was Sat.u.r.day night, then it was burger joint, movie, home. It never differed or strayed from that schedule. It was suffocating. But I was trying to make everyone else happy. So I stayed with him. He called me one afternoon, a Sat.u.r.day, and said he didn't want to see me anymore. He said that I was too nice of a girl for him. Then the next Monday I found out that my best friend Ca.s.sandra was apparently not very nice. I walked into the cafeteria to no more friends, everyone talking about how I was a cold-hearted virgin and my best friend and my ex were making out in the middle of the room. They are married with three kids now. That was the day I went ape s.h.i.t as my mom calls it. I quit doing what everyone else wanted me to do and did what I wanted to do. Hence, the hair and the tattoos and the piercings. Plus they always wanted me to be a lawyer and I blew that to h.e.l.l too. So, Amber kinda picks on me about my lack of, um, experience whenever she gets a chance but it really hits a nerve. So I'm sorry I took it out on you. I was just embarra.s.sed."

I had let go of his hands to make my famous hand gestures while I was talking. He said nothing.

"Get over here." He whispered. And though it was a command, it sounded like a plea.

I got up and walked around and sat next to him, not knowing what to expect.

"You know what I think?" He asked me as he pulled up the hem of my shorts a little and c.o.c.ked his head to inspect the damage.

"No clue." I shrugged. He turned to face me and pulled me closer.

"I think Corey is the stupidest a.s.shat that ever lived. I think your Mom is mistaken. That day was the day you became who you are today. And who you are today is a gorgeous, smart, funny woman who takes bulls.h.i.t off of no one except Amber. And I've never known anyone as sweet and kind as you in my whole life."

"Oh," was all I could croak out.

"And I hope when you kiss me it's better than a brick of ice. Cause from where I stand, I almost catch fire when those lips touch mine."

"Hey, I checked my lips for scorch marks last night." I tried to joke around but he was still not laughing.

"It's only been a week." He whispered and looked up like he had realized something.

24. Owen.

"What was that look about?" she asked me. I couldn't tell her what I had just come to terms with. But I had realized through her trusting me enough to tell me everything that had happened to her that I loved her. More than that, I was in love with her.

"Nothing. Are you hungry? Cause I'm starved."

"Yeah, ok." She knew something was up but let it go.

We ate and soon after she needed to go to work. I went to the gym, and probably overworked myself because I knew that I had been too chicken to tell her what I felt. But I needed to get it off of my chest soon.

I went to eat and then to the library to study. I sat at my regular table in the back and glanced over my shoulder at the rows where she sat with that short jean skirt on that beckoned me to touch everything it didn't.

I shook my head to myself and got down to studying. Eventually I made my way back to the dorm and thought about texting Nellie, but decided to give her some time to breathe. Some time to miss me, I hoped.

The week flew by quickly and I tried to see Nellie as often as I could. But she was practicing hard and working. Cindi was now training her to take over, even though Nellie hadn't given her an official answer.

By Friday night I was dying to spend some time with her but she had one last Friday night team dinner before the season was over. I went to eat and play pool with Dylan since Amber had decided to go to the last dinner with Nellie. Dylan decided to go to a bar and meet up with Amber later and I went back to the dorms to go to sleep. I heard my phone and almost ignored it because I thought it was Dylan.

N: U asleep?

O:No, laying here awake thinking about some girl.

N: Well, don't let me keep you.

O: Oh, trust me, I'm thinking about doing a lot more than keeping you.

N: I must have the wrong #, my Owen would nvr talk dirty to me.