Her beautiful brown eyes captivated me as she sat in the booth across from me.

“So . . . what’s good here?” she asked with a quiet voice.

“Everything I’ve tried is great, but my favorite is the ham and cheese omelet.”

“Oh good. Thanks.” She nodded.

After the waitress took our order, I looked up at Sam, her brown gaze staring at me. She startled when she realized I caught her and looked everywhere except at me.

“Will you look at me?”

She blushed a crimson red but focused those beautiful eyes on me. ”Why are you staring at me?”

“I don’t know,” I said in raw honesty.

“Oh.”

“You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.” I smiled as I watched her cheeks turn several shades of pink. The way her smile lit up her face was enough to make a sad man happy on his worst day.

“Thank you. You’re pretty handsome yourself,” she said with a coy smile.

Her eyes lit with curiosity. ”So why were you volunteering?”

“It was just something I needed to do, that’s all,” I muttered.

Damn it, I clenched my fists. I wished I hadn’t told her I wanted to know why she was volunteering. That was a quid-pro-quo type of question, and I wasn’t about to open that can of worms. But I was grasping at straws when I asked her out and had a case of verbal diarrhea.

“Let’s not talk about that right now. Tell me about you. What movie are you ditching your friends for me for?”

Her lopsided grin was perfect. ”Robert Downey Jr.’s new movie. But they’re waiting to see it with me. He’s one of my favorite actors. I kind of fan-girl over him.”

I cocked an eyebrow at her as an embarrassed look spread across her face.

“Oh my God. I didn’t just say that.” She covered her face with her hands. “Forget you heard it, please.”

“It’s okay, Samone. I like to know my competition ahead of time,” I teased.

One day, a couple months into our junior year, while we were waiting for a movie to start at the theater, Alec leaned over and put his arm around me. “Samone, I’d like to meet your parents.”

“Oh. Umm, okay,” I replied. “They asked to meet you, too, but I haven’t found the right time.”

“That’s okay. I’ve been meaning to ask for a couple weeks now,” he said. “I just want to officially introduce myself before we get much further into our relationship.”

“Relationship, huh?” I teased.

“Yes, relationship. We’ve been dating a few months now. You. Are. Mine,” he said as he looked directly in my eyes.

“Yes . . . I am,” I replied with a smile. I hesitated because he was always so closed off about his own family. “Alec, can I meet your parents, too?”

The set of his shoulders stiffened, and he let go of my hand, leaving a sense of cold behind.

“No. That’s not possible¸” he snapped.

I couldn’t understand his reaction. But I let the subject drop. I rubbed my hands together, wishing I could take the question back.

“You know, I want you to meet Alison and Tamron, too. They’re driving me nuts about meeting you.”

I saw him relax into his seat and breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t want to upset him.

“Cool. Maybe I could come in and meet your parents when I take you home later. And I’d love to meet your friends.”

“Yeah well, meeting my parents will be easy as pie. It’s the girls you have to worry about,” I teased.

“Nah, they’ll be fine. The way you talk about them, I am sure they’ve already stalked me around town to make sure I’m not a serial killer or something.” He laughed in a fake nervous way.

I smacked him on the shoulder. “They’re not that bad. Just . . . okay, well maybe borderline.” I giggled.

The movie started, and I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder as we watched. He held my hand in his and gently rubbed his thumb over mine. I relished in the feel of his touch.

When the movie was over, we passed a Starbucks on the way back to my house. Alec took the drive-thru and ordered us lattes before continuing on to my house.

Mom and Dad were sitting out on the front porch when we pulled into the driveway. Alec parked and dashed around to my door, helping me out of his truck. As we walked up the front porch steps, I saw my parents watching me with expectant eyes. I guess this meeting was going to happen whether we’d planned it or not.

“Hey, Mom, Dad.”

“Hey there, Princess,” Dad said.

As I leaned into Alec’s side, he gave my hand a light, reassuring squeeze. I felt relieved when I looked up at his soft smile, and turned back toward my parents.

“This is Alec Morris. I’ve been meaning to introduce you for a while. Just . . . you know me. I keep getting distracted.”

Mom and Dad smiled as I laughed nervously.

“He said he wanted to meet y’all tonight, so we came back early.”

“Yes, we’ve been wanting to meet him, too.” Dad looked at Alec and raised his hand. “Alec, it’s nice to finally meet you. This is Sam’s mom, Maggie, and I’m Vance.”

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Lang. It’s a pleasure,” he said, shaking my dad’s hand and kissing the top of my mom’s.

“Maggie and Vance is fine. There’s no need for formalities here,” Dad said.

“Okay, sir,” Alec said with a nervous smile. “I mean . . . Vance.”

We sat and talked with my parents as we sipped sweet tea and snacked on some Mom’s famous ginger snaps.

Gage came out and met Alec. He kept trying to sit in our laps while we sat on the porch swing. But it wasn’t working since he was eighty pounds of crazy puppy. He finally settled on lying at our feet.

“Well, Mr. and Mrs. Lang—Sorry . . . I mean, Maggie and Vance.” He smiled. “It’s been nice meeting you both.”

“For us, too Alec,” Dad said.

“Yes, come see us again sometime,” Mom added.

“Yes, ma’am.” Alec smiled.

My parents went inside the house. I walked Alec down to his truck wrapped my arms around him. “Thank you for a wonderful evening.”

“You’re welcome, Samone,” he said as he pulled me into his arms. His lips gently pressed against mine. His fingers wound through my hair. My mouth opened to his, the kiss was warm and caused shivers to run down my spine.

“I had fun, and your parents are really nice. I’m helping my Aunt with a few repairs around the house tomorrow, but I’ll see you at school on Monday.”

“Okay. Drive safe going home.” I lightly squeezed his hand.

“Will do,” he said then climbed into his truck and drove away.

The following Saturday, we made plans to meet up with Alison and Tamron for lunch at Reveille Café. I was excited for Alec to meet the girls. I loved him and hoped they would, too. He was that guy, the one you can’t help but like. He was sexy, funny, caring, and always made sure I was happy.

We got there early and had the hostess seat us at a booth. I slid in on one side and Alec scooted in beside me. He put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head.

“Relax, Samone. There’s no need to be so nervous.”

“Easy for you to say,” I murmured.

The waitress came and took our drink order while we waited for the girls to join us. I smiled nervously when they walked around the corner toward our booth.

“Hey, girls!” I called.

“Hi Sam, Alec,” Alison said, looking from me to Alec and back.

“Hey there,” Tamron replied as they slipped into the booth and got settled. The waitress returned with our drinks and a couple extra ice waters for the girls.

“Would you like anything else to drink?” she asked them.

“Yeah, I’ll have a Coke,” Tamron said.

“Do you have Diet Pepsi?” Alison asked with hopeful eyes.