Stolen Moments

I stare at the stack of neon pink post-it notes and smile. Kate looks at me and shakes her head. “He’s going to kill you,” she says. She drops to the floor and extends her legs as she stuffs a handful of popcorn into her mouth. I can’t believe she actually brought popcorn.

I grin and start pasting post-it notes to Carter’s car. It’ll take me forever to do, but it’ll be so worth it.

“It’s gonna be so weird when Carter and Asher are gone. I’ll really miss them,” she says, a sad expression on her face. I nod and smile sadly.

“Me too.”

Kate hasn’t told me anything, but I’ve seen the way she and Asher have been like at school. The two of them have been acting a bit suspicious, and lately she’s grinning at her phone more and more often. I’m not a hundred percent sure what’s going on, but I have a feeling they might’ve acted on their feelings somehow. I wouldn’t be too surprised if they kissed or something. I’m a bit hurt that she’s keeping something from me, but I have no right to be mad at her since I’m keeping so much more from her.

I have a feeling Carter suspects something too, but just isn’t calling them out. Part of me feels conflicted about her thinking that it’s okay to go behind Carter’s back like that, but being unwilling to even entertain the idea of me with him. I’ve been wanting to talk to her about it, but our friendship barely survived Gabby and I don’t really want to put it to the test again so soon.

“I don’t know, Milly. I mean, they’re going to college. They’re both football players and they’ll be living in a frat house. I’m sure they’ll go out a lot, and there’ll be girls. I know Asher and I aren’t together, but I just don’t like the idea of girls trying to seduce him. What if Carter asks him to wingman and stuff like that?”

My heart drops. She’s right, of course. Carter will probably start going out a lot — he might even start dating. The idea of Carter drunk and messing around with some girl tears me apart. In the last couple of months, he and I have threaded a fine line. We’ve kissed a few times, but mostly we’ve managed to stick to being just friends. Neither one of us has so much as flirted with someone else since the Gemma incident. We aren’t dating, and we aren’t even together at all, but it seems like we have an implicit agreement of sorts.

Kate drops her head to her knees and sighs. “I have no right to even. I know Asher and I will never be together, but I also can’t stand the idea of him being with someone else. I’m so selfish, Milly.”

I shake my head and look down at the floor. “You’re not selfish, Kate. You’re in love. It’s okay not to be okay, you know? I know you have feelings for Asher, and letting him go will hurt. But like you said, you two can’t be together, especially since he’s leaving soon. There’s no point in agonizing over it. Just enjoy the time you have left with him as best as you can.”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

She looks up at me fearfully. “I think I really am, you know. In love, that is.”

She drops her head back to her knees to hide her flushed face and I bite back a smile. She’s being so cute that I kind of want to tease her about Asher.

“I know,” I say instead. “I noticed the way you’ve been smiling at your phone, and I’ve seen the dozens of notifications on your phone — all from Asher. I kind of figured you were going down that path.”

Kate pouts and looks away, ignoring my comment altogether. I know what she’s like. She won’t want to face her feelings, especially because he’s leaving soon. My arms are starting to get sore from the post-it notes and I stretch them out for a minute. I’ve covered half of Carter’s car already, transforming it into a bright pink. It looks ridiculous and I love it.

“Will you miss Carter?” Kate asks. I’m startled by her question and blush. It almost feels like a trap.

“Yeah, of course I will. We’ve seen each other almost every single day since I moved here, and I’ve always loved pulling pranks on him. It’s going to be pretty weird once he’s gone. We might argue a lot, but I actually see Carter as one of my best friends. He’s annoying as hell, but he’s always there for both of us. It’ll just be weird.”

Kate nods and sighs dramatically. “I don’t like how everything is changing,” she says. I’m glad she isn’t questioning me further. I wonder if she’s letting it be because she’s now in the same position I’m in. I nod at her and continue to paste post-it notes to the car. As I stick the last one on, Carter walks out of the house with his car keys in hand. I jump up, surprised, and Carter stares at his car, open-mouthed.

“Surprise,” I yell.

I start running, but Carter catches up to me quickly and throws me over his shoulder. I squirm in his hold and giggle. He grabs my ass and holds me in place. I look up to see Kate running into the house. I can’t believe she abandoned me and left me to deal with Carter’s fury.

“I needed to run to the store, but if I have to drive around in that monstrosity then you have to as well. You’re coming with me, Minx.”

He opens the passenger door and drops me into the seat before running around the car. I groan, embarrassed, and buckle myself in.

“I can’t believe you did this,” he says, laughing as he pulls out onto the road. “How many damn post-it notes did you use? How long did this take you?”

I giggle. “Hundreds. It took over two hours, but the look on your face was so worth it.” I glance out the window, frowning. “Hey, I thought you said we were going to the store?”

Carter shakes his head and glances at me. “We’re not,” he says, his voice low. I stare at him with wide eyes. “Now, what should I do with you? I can’t believe you violated my precious baby this way.”

I laugh and roll my eyes as he parks the car in the middle of nowhere. He grins at me and unbuckles my seat belt. My heart is racing and I’m certain he’s going to kiss me, but instead he pulls back. He crosses his arms over his chest and glares at me. “So, how should I punish you for making my car pink?”

I feel myself blush and shrug, but my heart is beating wildly and I’m filled with anticipation. The way he looks at me tells me he wants me as much as I want him.

“I’m sure you can come up with something,” I whisper, my eyes dropping to his crotch. He’s acting all cool, but he’s really hard.

Carter grins and leans into me, his lips brushing against mine. A soft moan escapes my lips when he finally kisses me. He deepens the kiss and pulls me closer. His tongue tangles with mine and his hands roam over my body. He pushes his seat back and looks at me, beckoning me over with his fingers.

“Come here.”

I smile and climb over, settling in his lap. He’s so deliciously hard. He groans when I rotate my hips against his and he buries his hands in my hair, pulling slightly. The kiss slowly turns into more and Carter’s hands settle on my ass.

“You know we can’t,” I whisper. He bites down on my lower lip and all my protests are long forgotten. I have such strong convictions — when he isn’t right there to make me forget all about them. When he’s within reach, I can’t resist. I keep wanting one more touch.

“I can’t stay away, Emilia. I need you,” he says. He drops his forehead against mine and closes his eyes.

“Do you know how hard these last few months were for me? I’m leaving soon, baby. I’ve only got a couple of weeks left with you. I can’t stay away, I won’t do it. Not when I know you want me just as bad.”

His lips find mine again and my hands slip into his t-shirt. Carter pushes his hips up to thrust against me and I moan against his lips. His hands fumble with the button on my jeans. Just as he’s got it open, his phone rings. We both jump, startled. He grabs his phone and groans when he sees that it’s his mom.

It’s like a bucket of cold water has been thrown over me. I scramble back into my own seat while he answers the phone. It sounds like she’s giving him a list of things to buy and I bite down on my lip. We’re gonna have to go to the store now, and we’ll need to be home soon. He looks up at me when he hangs up.

“I’m serious, Emilia. I’m done staying away from you. If you feel the same way, then meet me at the treehouse tonight at ten.”