Declan was relentless.
Since she had accepted his promposal last Friday, he had insisted they go on one last date before graduation.
"We have all summer to go on dates," she argued. "And when I come back for breaks we can still go on dates."
Declan said nothing but he tried to hide the frown on his face.
So Selene relented.
And here they were on their last official date two weeks before graduation.
She stood in the snack section of the grocery store while Declan perused the aisles. He told her to pick up whatever snacks she wanted and wandered off.
Selene was studying a box of strawberry pocky and trying to determine if two dollars was too much for the snack when something compelled her to look up. She glanced around the aisle.
A man was a few feet away from her, trying to look like he wasn't studying her.
Red flags lit up in Selene. She grabbed the strawberry pocky and turned to go.
"Selene?" the guy asked.
She reached into her pocket for her keys, tucking them in between her fingers as she turned. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"Don't remember me?"
She observed him.
The guy looked like a fraternity reject. His skin was slightly tan, and he had a baseball cap on backwards, he was growing a beard but it was more like stubble, to be honest. He wore a UBC crewneck--even though it was much too hot for that--and board shorts.
His eyes were green and as Selene stared into them she realized who he was.
She took a step back. "Julian?"
"It's been a while." He leaned into her like they were co-conspirators. "You look almost the same. You're eighteen now right?" His eyes burned over her body as they glanced at her from head to toe, stopping for an infinitesimal second to observe her chest.
She crossed her arms over her chest as she took a step back. She opened her mouth to say something but couldn't find the words. "I'm dating someone," she said finally, her voice shaky.
"Who?"
"Declan. Declan Grey. In fact, he's here." She gestured vaguely around the aisle as if he would appear out of thin air and beat the living shit out of Julian.
Julian let out a small humourless laugh before his voice lowered to a whisper. "Baby Grey doesn't have to know."
"Hey," Declan came up behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. Selene jumped but relaxed into his touch once she realized it was him. His brow furrowed and he glanced at Julian wearily. "Ready to go?"
"Baby Grey," Julian greeted.
"Sup man?" Declan said, eyeing him up and down with disdain. He tugged Selene closer to his side almost like he was prepared to hide her behind him and bare his teeth.
She noticed that Declan was only slightly taller than Julian. Julian tried nonchalantly to straighten his shoulders to appear bigger but the slight tip of his head to look into Declan's eyes gave the act away.
"How's Addison?"
"Good," Declan responded, curtly. "I thought you were in jail for being with underage girls."
Julian laughed and gestured at Selene. "Takes two to tango."
Declan dropped his arm from around her waist and took a step closer with one of his hands clenched into a fist.
Selene pulled him back. "Let's just go," she insisted.
Reluctantly, Declan allowed her to tug him towards the checkout line.
"Have fun with seconds, Grey."
Selene lifted a middle finger in the air as she guided Declan to the express line.
Declan said nothing as they got their small array of snacks, paid and left the store. It was only when they got into his car that he leaned his head against the headrest and said, "Is it too late to go back and beat his ass?"
"I'm not bailing you out when you get arrested for aggravated assault," Selene responded.
He let out a bitter laugh. A minute passed. "Are you okay?" he asked. His hand found hers and he held it tightly. "He didn't do anything to you?"
"Just said some creepy shit and tried to get me to have sex with him," she waved it off. "Typically disgusting Julian behaviour."
"I know we agreed not to talk about exes," Declan started, "but he's a fucking asshole."
She nodded. "He is."
"I hope a sinkhole swallows him and only him."
She nodded. "That'd be just."
Declan dropped her hand and finally started the car. "Okay, I'm done," he announced.
She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, by the way. I completely froze. After what happened I never saw him again because he graduated while I was in recovery. I thought I had healed but I just ignored it because I never had to deal with it. So thanks for... being there." She placed her hand over his on the steering wheel and squeezed it gently.
He looked at her, a slight smile on his face.
"What?" she asked.
He sighed and put the car in drive. "Nothing."
»
Selene had finished all her pocky when they finally arrived at the date spot.
It was a really cute park with cherry blossom trees. Wood benches decorated the park and in the distance, Selene could see a hedge of tall sunflowers in the distance. The grass was a rich green but not dewy. She breathed in.
Declan grabbed a cooler from the back seat and a blanket while Selene grabbed the small bag of snacks.
"A picnic," she commented, "How romantic."
He shrugged casually. "I guess I'm just romantic like that."
She laughed and he set up the blanket under a tree. It was big enough for them both to lay down side beside but instead, they sat opposite each other and opened the cooler.
Declan had gotten them a family pack of sushi rolls along with extra servings of wasabi, soy sauce, ginger and spicy mayo. Also in the cooler was some (slightly spiked) pink lemonade, macrons and spring rolls. There were also some cherries and green grapes that his stepmother, Tatiana had in Declan's words "insisted he take with him".
They talked lightly as they ate; ranging from final exams in a few weeks to prom plans and how Carter and Micah's wedding planning was going. Declan's whole family had already received their invitations but most of the Grey clan--sans Eden and Declan--had declined, though they sent a wedding gift.
"What made you want to go out with me?" Declan asked.
Selene paused in attempting to throw grapes in his mouth. "You mean besides the fact that I'm your girlfriend?"
He shook his head. "I mean from the beginning."
"I mean I didn't exactly," she said. "I told you no when you first asked me out."
"But you said yes," he said then opened his mouth.
Selene threw a grape and clapped as it landed in his mouth.
"Why'd you say yes?" he asked after he had chewed and swallowed.
She shrugged. "You seemed really persistent; I wanted to give you a chance." It was a half-truth. She couldn't exactly tell him that rejecting him had all been part of a plan to break his heart.
"So not because you had a little bit of a crush on me?"
She smirked. "Wouldn't you love to know?" She tossed another grape.
Declan caught it in his mouth.
"What about you?" she asked him. "Why'd you want to go out with me?"
He took a breath then chuckled. "You can't judge me."
She was suddenly curious. "What?" she asked, sitting up straighter.
"I kind of had a crush on you for a while," he admitted. He looked up at the sky to avoid her gaze. "It was after Nyx and I had broken up for the first time. We had grade ten science together. We were paired together for a group project because I sat behind you. You were so mad because you wanted to work with Zoë instead so I told you I'd work with her partner instead."
Selene's mouth fell open. She had completely forgotten about this. Grade ten felt like so long ago now, but it was only two years before.
"And you looked at me, and you smiled and said, 'You're the best.'' Declan looked at her again and Selene could have sworn his cheeks were red. "And I don't know I just kind of always liked you after that. I thought you were really pretty, and you were always on the principal's list but no one knew you but Zoë."
"So you started talking to Zoë," she realized.
"And then I realized, 'hey Zo's pretty cool too.'"
"And you started dating," she finished.
He nodded. "We could have been here much quicker if I just grew the balls to talk to you instead."
She chuckled. "Well, yeah."
Her chest hurt. She really did like Declan. And to hear that he had always liked her but ended up with Zoë for nine months hurt. Even though she knew that if he tried all those years ago she wouldn't have even given him a chance.
He nudged her foot with his own.
She looked up.
His eyes searched his face for a second before he moved to sit closer to her. "Sel," he said softly before his mouth found hers in a kiss.
When Declan kissed her, he did something to her akin to a spell; she was practically mistified. Over the course of their whole relationship, she was finding it harder and harder to resist him. Selene pulled him in closer, kissed him harder, relishing in the low moans he released.
Declan moved in closer, his hand tenderly cradling the back of her head as he slowly laid her gently against the blanket, their bodies flush against one another. Something poked against her lower leg and Selene slipped her tongue into his mouth.
Selene lost track of time when she kissed him. He was so easy to get lost in. All of Selene's thoughts floated away to make room for one; Declan. His lips, his hands, the low moans that left his lips and flooded hers, his proximity to her; just Declan. Maybe this was why Declan liked kissing; he liked the passion, the heat that two bodies created together, the feel of their hearts syncing in the rising and falling of their chests.
Declan pulled away from the kiss, his lips brushing hers as they panted. His eyes searched hers in apprehension. She was about to ask what had plagued his mind when it came out of his mouth all in one breath, "I love you."
Selene froze, her smile falling from her face. "Huh?"
Declan scrambled off of her, the tops of his ears turning red, "I-I-I," he stuttered.
They stared at each other for a moment.
"You don't have to say it back," he said finally, staring at his shoes. He had his knees up to his chest and his arms around his legs almost as if he was folding in on himself. "I.." He sighed. Ran a hand through his hair. "I just wanted to say it because it's true. And I can't have us graduate and you leave for Toronto without you knowing because I really want us to work--"
"I love you too," she lied.
Declan paused. "What?"
"I love you, Declan."
A grin took over his face. "Really?"
She nodded.
"Say it again."
"I love--"
His hands gripped her face as he kissed her only pulling away to laugh happily.
He rested his forehead against hers. "I love you," he said.
"Pretty sure we established that," she joked.
He laughed again, smiling. "You make me so happy."
Selene almost felt bad for lying to him. She tried to think of it as a prediction instead of a lie. If things continued as they did, she could see herself being truly in love with Declan before the end of summer.
She tried to erase the word 'lie' from her mind.
"You make me happy too," she said, truthfully, and kissed him.
a/n
hey crazy butterflies!
happy (one day early) singles awareness dayâ i mean valentine's day. valentine's is also Declan's birthday so it felt like a good time to post a couple chapters.
please vote and comment your thoughts on everything so far. how do you think everything is going to play out? do you think Selene has changed Declan?
have a beautiful day. take care of yourself.
MWAH. LUV YA. BUH-BYE.