Not with Seth nearby.

If anything, I felt more protected than ever. A feeling of safety and security unlike I’d ever known filled me, and I knew it was all because of Seth- all because of what he would risk to keep me alive.

And it was then that I felt myself fall just a little bit deeper in love with him.

“So you’re not coming to school again?” Piper whined into the phone. It was currently not even seven in the morning yet, and Piper had finally gotten ahold of me after more than three days of radio silence.

“Nope,” I tried my best to sound sick, although it wasn’t too hard since my voice was still scratchy from getting punted in the throat. “I’m still quarantined.”

“This is the worst week of my life,” Piper groaned. “First you miss couple’s night, then you miss the big party. I didn’t see you all weekend! And now you’re staying home again. You’re ruining my life!”

I couldn’t help but laugh, “If it makes you feel any better, I’m not doing it on purpose.” I let out a weak cough, just for good measure, but I hated lying to Piper.

“I don’t ever remember you being this sick before, Stella,” she pointed out. And I cringed and waited for it. “In fact, I don’t ever remember you being sick, ever! You’re like some freak of healthy nature. You don’t even get colds.”

“Yes, I do!” I defended myself, even though she was right. “And maybe I’m so sick because I’ve never been sick before. It’s all caught up with me or something. I feel like I almost died.”

Not a lie.

A strong arm reached up and pulled me into him. I had a serious feeling of déjà vu with a boy in my bed and Piper on the phone, but I ignored it. This boy was allowed to be here.

And he hadn’t touched me all night.

He had been annoyingly chivalrous. He slept on top of the covers, and I slept underneath. He held my hand for a while, but otherwise I remained untouched. He was partly afraid of hurting me again.

And I had a feeling he was trying to respect my parents, even though he had snuck into my room through my window and they didn’t know he was here…. Still, I admired his integrity.

Kind of.

Ok, not really. I mostly found it obnoxious. But at least, I wasn’t suffering from conflicting feelings at the moment.

Ahem.

“Whatever,” Piper continued her complaining. “I’m stopping by later. I’ll bring you soup or something.”

“Bring me my homework too, please,” I asked sweetly. Seth tucked me in closer to him and mumbled something into my neck.

“You’re such a nerd,” she giggled. “Feel better soon. And I mean that. Tristan has been a little biotch without you here to balance out his testosterone with your magic female ways. Hurry back to me!”

“Play nice, Pi,” I giggled. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Bye, babe.”

I tapped to end the call and then tossed my phone on my nightstand. I snuggled back into Seth and lay like that for a few minutes. He was so perfectly comfortable and I had wanted to do this all night.

This was probably becoming a bad habit between us, but that was fine with me.

“Mmm, Stella, I’m going to miss this,” he whispered with hot breath against my back.

Apparently, Seth thought this was becoming a bad habit too.

“But it’s so nice,” I pouted, not wanting him to give this up.

“You like this?” he sounded surprised and sleepy- it was my new favorite sound.

“I do like this,” I confirmed. “I like you, Seth.”

“I know you like me,” he turned me so that I was laying on my back looking up at him. He had one arm under my neck and one holding my waist across my stomach. He was looking down at me with full lips and slightly puffy eyes and I felt myself fall just a little bit more in love with him. And then he said, “I want you to more than like me.”

“I want to, too,” I heard myself say.

His beautiful mouth broke out into an adorable grin and he nuzzled his nose along my jawline. “Don’t give up on me, Stella. You need to know that my feelings for you are running my life right now. I know you need time to come to terms with your feelings for me, but I did that the moment I met you. You’re everything to me.”

His voice was rumbling and deep, rough gravel. I knew what he was saying was true because I saw it in his eyes, felt it in his touch, and heard it in the delicious sound of his voice. He was confessing all this to me and it felt like there was a purpose to it, but I couldn’t figure out what it was exactly.

“I won’t give up on you, Seth,” I promised. I reached up and held his jaw, loving the scruffy feeling of his morning growth in my hands. I let my nails scratch over the short hairs, worshipping the spiky feel on the pads of my fingers.

“Promise me, Stella,” he demanded firmly.

“I promise.” My voice was only a whisper because it was weighed down with true emotion. There was something so intense in his eyes, something so infinite. He was asking me something simple, but it felt endlessly more complex. And there was this puzzle he was setting out for me, but I couldn’t piece it together. My thoughts were still foggy and slow this morning and the answer was just out of my reach.

“I also promise that I’m going to do this again, soon. And properly.” He smiled down at me but I couldn’t figure out what he was talking about. I scrunched my eyebrows at him and frowned, but he just shook his head at me. “You’re so beautiful, Stella. And if I do this right, we can do this,” he waved a finger back and forth between us, “for the rest of our lives.”

His words set my heart thudding loudly in my chest. My stomach erupted in heated tingles and I could barely comprehend his words. The one thing I did know though was that for the first time, when Seth talked about our entwined future, it didn’t terrify me.

He leaned down and I sucked in a breath and held it, too afraid to move or do anything that would stop him from what he was about to do. My eyes fluttered closed instinctively, and I felt Seth’s lips brush across mine. Once, twice, and then he pressed his mouth against mine and held me there in a lingering kiss. He kept the kiss sweet and innocent, making me melt under the drugging sensation of his consuming affection.

Seth had been my first kiss. And while this was technically only my second, it felt so much more like an epiphany. Like instead of a kiss, this was a brand. Instead of an innocent gesture, he was claiming me for himself.

My feelings for Seth were real. And if I’d let them breathe every once in a while instead of burying them deep in the earth where they were likely to suffocate and die, I could feel just how happy this man would make me.

He pulled back and I regretted the space between us immediately. His eyes were warm, thick honey and his skin had a beautiful glow to it. He kissed my cheek and then said again, “You’re not going to give up on me.”

“I’m not going to give up on you,” I echoed, meaning it fully.

His expression darkened immediately and he pushed up into sitting. He stared at me for what seemed like an eternity of something secret, something I wasn’t allowed to feel yet and then he said, “I hate to leave you.”

“Then don’t,” I shrugged. “Play hooky with me and we’ll watch movies all day. My parents won’t care. And we already know how Jupiter feels about school.”

“Rain check?” he asked instead of agreeing to my awesome plan.

“Fine,” I groaned. “But I’m way better than high school.”

He chuckled and nodded his head, “That is very true.”

“So you’ll stay?” I asked hopefully.

“You know it kills me to leave you when you’re so anxious to spend time with me,” his smile turned sad. “But I have to go this time.”

“Fine,” I sighed. “Go, leave, betray me.”

“It’s nice to have your permission,” he teased, but there was something dark in his tone that caught my attention. “I’ll see you soon, alright?”