Sadie
I am walking through the halls of the girls' freshman dormitory as fast as my legs will carry me, my heels–a red pair gifted by Anastasia and Angie when we graduated the eleventh grade–clicking on the hard floor. Carter is running after me, but I still have the advantage, walking a few meters in front of him. He's not even supposed to be in the girls' dormitory, but apparently Carter can charm any girl into opening the door for him. Ridiculous.
"Sadie, please," he calls out, and the use of my first name almost makes me turn around. Almost.
Taking the stairs up to the the second floor, I reply, without turning around, "You know, Carter, I don't see why you constantly seem to convince yourself that you are above me."
I reach the top of the stairs, Carter even closer on my heels. I'd amuse myself with the fact that I am out running (quickly walking) my boyfriend who's on the track team, but he would have caught up with me if he didn't get lost within the complicated halls of the girls' dorms. But, now that I am in his sight, I think that it won't take long for him to catch my arm.
"For the millionth time, Sadie, I don't see myself above you nor you below me." Well that's redundant. He pauses and I can almost picture the smirk that curves his lips before he speaks. "Well, maybe I see you below me in other ways. But not when it comes to academics."
And that's the comment that makes me stop walking as I groan and turn around to face him. "You honestly can't help but bring your ego into our argument?"
His smirks transforms into a full-blown grin, which would cause half of the student population at Fairridge to drop to his feet, but I hold my ground. I assess my boyfriend, who has caught up to stand in front of me. His messy brown hair has grown out a little longer, but, apart from that, he looks the same as he always has. With my heels on, we're almost the same height, but he's still an inch or two taller. My gaze traces the freckles on the tops of his cheeks and nose, refusing to drop to the gorgeous dimples on either side of his mouth. He's infuriatingly attractive.
"I was merely making a statement," he says, still smiling.
"Next time, bite your tongue."
It's the beginning of November of senior year and Carter and I have been going back and forth from fiercely competing to working together. Since recently being crowned Valedictorian (no surprise) with Carter, we've had a multitude of events to plan. The largest upcoming event is a winter ball strictly for the senior class that must be almost completely ready before we leave for Thanksgiving break because there's no fucking way we'll have enough time to get anything done before winter break.
"I don't understand why you're mad at me," Carter says, throwing his arms up in frustration.
"How can you be an honours student and not understand such a simple concept: you fucked with my tutoring business, Conners."
His lips rise slightly with the use of his last name, but then he says, "I didn't fuck with anything. You have people to tutor–"
"Tutees," I interrupt.
"What?" He asks.
"People I tutor. The correct term is tutees."
A lustful look appears in his eyes and I have to look away if I'm going to continue to hold my ground.
"You still have tutees, I just got rid of one." He shrugs his shoulders like he doesn't see the big deal.
"Shawn was going to be my highest paying client," I remind Carter.
"Of course he was," Carter says, clearly irritated. "He doesn't need tutoring! He's already the top of the junior class."
I cross my arms. "So? Everyone can use a little extra help. And I could use the extra money." I don't need to remind him that I'm trying to save up for college.
"I don't disagree with you, but we're talking about Shawn. You know? The Shawn that walks around campus like every girl he sees is only here to get him off. He doesn't want your tutoring, he's just trying to make a move on you."
If I'm being honest, this is news to me. When I asked Angie and Ana about Shawn, they just shrugged their shoulders and said that they heard he was an asshole. But people call Landon and Carter assholes, so I didn't think much of it. I didn't know he was a prick trying to get in my pants. Still, I'm not willing to let Carter win a fight, let alone one that we're having in a dorm that I am Head Girl of.
"So what? You decided to get your friends together and threaten him?" I begin walking again, trying to reach my room on the third floor. Carter gets this and follows behind.
"I actually went alone."
"Oh, how daring," I comment, sarcastically. I press my back to the railing running along the staircase, stretching my arms across it. In a mocking voice, I say, "Oh Carter, please save me. I am in terrible need of your–"
I let out a high-pitched squeal as Carter grips me around the waist and spins me to his chest. I almost lose my balance, but he stands cemented onto the step, unwavering. "Your acting can use some work," he whispers in my ear.
I relax into him, "I thought it was pretty good."
He kisses the side of my head. "I'm sorry I fucked with your tutoring business."
I consider his apology my win, and drop the argument. "It's fine. But you don't need to go out and fight against every asshole that you meet. You'd never stop fighting."
We continue walking up the steps and reach my dorm. I push open the door, which I didn't lock earlier. Fairridge may be competitive, but I doubt anyone would go as far as breaking into my room. A plus of being Head Girl is that my door locks from the inside, so when Carter and I walk through the door, I turn the lock. Head Boy and Head Girl always get first pick when it comes to rooms, so mine is larger than any other single or double you'd find in the freshman dorm building. My bed is pushed against the wall with white and gold bedding. Two wooden drawers are pushed up against the windows of the other side of the room, a desk with scattered papers atop it in-between. A fuzzy rug is on the ground, but it's buried under textbooks. There's a small pile of sleeping bags beside the walk-in closet (another perk) for when Angie and Ana sleepover, since the bed is not large enough to fit the three of us.
"Jones, your room is a mess," Carter scolds, playfully. "When was your last dorm check?"
"I bypassed last week's," I say. "Valedictorian duties."
Carter laughs, "Did these 'Valedictorian duties' involve spending the night in my dorm?"
"Team building exercises," I say. And they were very... captivating.
"Oh yeah?" The corner of Carter's mouth perks up, showing one dimple. He advances as I back up towards the door I just locked. The bed, well, while it is made, it may also be drowning under poster-making supplies. Ana, Angie, and Lena came over and helped me work on them last night. "Were those team building exercises helpful?"
"Oh yeah," I breathe. I'm completely intoxicated by the smell of his cologne and the proximity of his body.
"I think we could use a few more," he murmurs, our lips almost touching. Just kiss me.
"I agree." I don't even recognize my breathy voice. But I don't have time to think about it before his mouth is on mine. Sweet and possessive. The back of my head gently hits the door as his hands snake around the midriff between my tank top and sweatpants (his). A pleasured gasp escapes my mouth as he brings his lips to my exposed collarbone. He groans in response when my fingers dive into his hair and pull the strands.
I'm about to pull his black t-shirt above his head when my phone buzzes in my pocket and I'm suddenly reminded of all of the things we have to do today. It may be Saturday, but, for us, that's the busiest day.
Placing my hand under Carter's chin, I bring his lips to mine, indulging him in a quick, hungry kiss before we pull apart. Carter's eyes wander along my entire body as he pushes a hand through his hair. "You've got to stop doing that."
"Doing what?" I ask, looking up at him, innocently. I already know what he's going to say, though.
"Getting me all wound up before telling me that we're going off to write a ten page English paper or something. Haven't you ever heard of sexual frustration?"
I actually laugh at that. "Sexual frustration? I think you'll survive."
Carter responds by pulling out the hair elastic holding my hair in a high ponytail, so it falls in faded rose gold stands down my chest and back. It's down to my waist, slightly frizzy from being up all day.
Carter plays with the ends of my hair while I scoff, "Mature."
He pulls the ends, so I end up moving closer to him. His other hand is dipping lower and lower, moving down my stomach. "Frustrated," he breathes into my ear.
My skin is tingling and my breathing is getting heavier–warning signs that I'm about to give into what he wants. But I haven't checked the message on my phone.
With one hand, I grab both of Carter's wrists and spin him so his back is pressed against the door now. He lets out a surprised breath that I caught him off guard like that, but I don't entertain him further. I drop his wrists and take my phone out of my pocket. Surprisingly, it's a message from Landon.
You and Carter better get your asses here right now. We're not going to do all of the work for you two. And tell Carter that I have his damn phone.
"You left your phone?" I ask Carter, not looking up from my phone while I type out a message saying that we're on our way. We're all supposed to be meeting the dining hall staff to talk about what food will be available at the winter ball. Well, Carter and I are supposed to be deciding what food is available, but, for some reason, our friends volunteered to have a say, as well. I didn't object because different perspectives are necessary when planning an event as big as the winter ball.
"Yeah, I was in a rush," Carter replies.
I nod. "We have to get going. They're already at the dining hall."
Carter comes up behind me and places his arms around my waist, hugging me to his chest. "Do you ever think about anything other than school?"
"I think about you," I say, surprised at myself for even uttering those words. They're true, but I'm not usually one to admit something like that out loud. Maybe being around Carter is messing with my brain.
"I love you, Jones," he says, smiling.
"I love you too," I reply.
Carter's smile transforms into a massive grin. And that's when I realize that I have never said those words before. Carter has told me that he loves me plenty of times, but I haven't been able to bring myself to say it back, even if it's true. Perhaps some part of me was scared of relying of Carter. That I'd somehow be weakened by love. But that's not the case.
"You love me," Carter whispers. He doesn't sound surprised. He's always known that I do.
"I do," I whisper. And, because I can, I add, "Now don't let it go to your head."
...
A/N
Surprise!
You know, over the break I've really been missing these characters :(
Either way, I hope that you enjoyed this cute little chapter about the first time Sadie told Carter that she loves him (and a peek into their relationship during senior year).
And thank you so much for 11k reads! You are the best readers I could ever ask for :)
Happy reading!