The Middle - Volume Two ✔️

Chapter 21 (Sarah)

Sarah

Erin and I step back into our dorm room and find the boys sitting on the couch, just like they were when we went downstairs.

"Everything okay?" Jay asks, getting to his feet at the sight of us. Joel smiles at me encouragingly.

"Totally fine." Erin says neutrally.

"Yeah, we're just -" I turn to face Erin, "Well, I'm just having a rough time of the month."

"Ohmygod, say no more. Please." Jay says, averting his eyes and sitting down next to Joel again.

"See? I told you. Girl stuff." Joel says to his friend before smiling back at me.

"Right, enough girl stuff for one day." Erin says quickly, brushing the subject off. "Jamie, you're with me. Come on."

"Um..." He gets to his feet again, looking between Joel and Erin, unsure.

"Come on, I wanna talk to you. These guys will be fine on their own for a while." Erin insists.

"It's fine, go." Joel encourages him.

"Um, okay then." Jay still doesn't sound sure, but I'm positive the idea of being alone with Erin is enough to tempt him away.

"I'll show you around Central Park a bit. We can catch up." Erin says, grabbing her coat and her purse as Jay walks over to her.

"Okay, I'll see you guys later then." Jay says, barely glancing back at me and Joel. He wants Erin all to himself. Even if I didn't already know that, it would be so obvious.

"I'll be back later, Sarah. Take care of Joel, yeah?" She says to me with a knowing smile, one hand on the door knob. "He's a special guy."

And with that, she and Jay are gone.

"Is she okay?" Joel's on his feet the second they leave the room, concerned about the conversation I just had with Erin downstairs. 

"She is." I assure him. "She wasn't to start with, but I explained our situation to her. She gets it. And she isn't gonna tell anyone. I told her we wanna do that ourselves when we're ready."

"Okay." Joel nods his head a couple of times before walking over to the door and locking it. I smile, because I think I know what's coming next. He walks over to me quickly and pulls me into his arms. I beam up at him as he grins down at me before kissing me. 

"It's barely been three hours since we christened your bed, and it's all I've been thinking about since." He murmurs into my ear, sending chills down my spine. 

"I know, me too." I reply, as he starts kissing my neck, just where I like it. I close my eyes and revel in the sensations. 

"Do we need to talk more about this Erin thing?" He says between kisses. 

"Probably." I reply, as I feel Joel's hands wondering from my lower back down to my ass. "After."

He picks me up and carries me over to my bed. And I can't stop smiling. 

***

After, I'm lying naked in my bed in Joel's arms, completely satisfied, and moments away from bursting with happiness. The only thing that could possibly make this moment better...

"So, is now a good time to talk about stuff?" Joel whispers into my hair. I nod, before swivelling my body around and propping myself up on one elbow so that I can face him. He keeps one arm wrapped around my waist. He doesn't wanna let me go. I still haven't stopped smiling. 

"Well, I was thinking -" he starts, while brushing a loose lock of hair out of my face. "I'm gonna spend the weekend at Jordan's, you're coming too, right?"

"Of course, as long as it's okay with Jordan, Michelle and Melody." He laughs at me, of course it'll be okay with his family. I've been over there plenty times already, and I think they like me. I hope so, at least. And we all get along really well. 

"Good." He says, smiling down at me. "So, now that Erin knows - and she didn't completely disown us like we thought she might - maybe it's time to tell everyone else?" 

I feel my heart skip a beat. "Joel, we agreed we weren't gonna say anything to anyone until we knew exactly what we were..." I say slowly. 

"I know, I haven't forgotten." He says playfully. "So, what are we right now? We agreed we were exclusive a while ago."

"Right." I agree. 

"And we also agreed that we weren't exactly dating, we were seeing each other exclusively." 

"Correct." I agree again. 

"Well, don't you think that all just sounds like a bunch of crap?" He says, and I feel my face drop in disappointment. Holy shit. Is he... breaking up with me!?

He smiles at me and shakes his head in disbelief. "Sarah - I think it would be much easier if I could just call you my girlfriend." 

And, my smile is back. 

"What do you think?"

"Um, hell yeah!" I exclaim, throwing my arms around his neck and rolling on top of him again while he laughs at my excited response. 

"You already know I love you." He whispers into my mouth, before kissing me lightly on the lips. "And when you love someone, where's the sense in fucking around? I wanna be yours, Sarah. And I want you to be mine. Properly. No more uncertainty, no more sneaking around. Will you officially be my girlfriend, Sarah Robinson?"

"Of course I will." My voice is barely above a whisper as I look into his blue eyes and watch them flicker between my eyes and my lips. "I love you too, Joel Evans. And I don't care how much distance is between us, or what anyone else thinks about this. I'm yours. I have been since the moment I met you." 

He kisses me again, a little harder this time. 

"This isn't gonna be easy." He says seriously. "But I'm up for it if you are." 

"I am." I confirm, before kissing him again, passionately, with tongues this time.

He breaks away from me, a little breathless. We're still naked, and I can feel his excitement growing between my thighs again. His grip around my waist is firm.

"We'll take the weekend. Then we can talk to everyone." He breathes into my mouth while caressing the tops of my thighs.

"Our last weekend of sneaking around." I grin against his lips before lightly kissing him again. 

"Lets make it count then, girlfriend." He says, before spinning me around quickly so that I'm on my back, and he's hovering above me. 

I have a boyfriend! And he's gorgeous, and sweet, and funny, and talented, and oh my god I can barely believe it. Afternoon delight has never been this good.