Free Southern Belles, a Novel About Love, Purpose & Second Chances (9781310340970) by Sarah Anderson

with his thumb and forefinger.
    With my face glistening in the moonlight, I
answered, “Yes, are you?” I looked at him checking for his
reassurance.
    “Lucy, I’ve never met anyone like you.
I…”
    Waiting for him to finish his sentence, I
looked over his face, as he appeared to be searching for the right
words to say.
    “I’ve never felt like this before about
anyone. And I want you to know that I don’t act like this
normally.”
    “Act like what?” I asked, feeling all of a
sudden more alert.
    “I don’t go around meeting girls and falling
in love with them. I haven’t slept with anyone before and I am
sorry if I am talking too much. I just don’t want you thinking I’m
some sort of jock that gets around.”
    I had started to feel a bit self-conscious
before he spoke as I couldn’t discern the look on his face. But
now, I heard him say something about falling, no one else—it was
all muffled. Blushing, I looked up at Skylar and my heart started
to pound. I thought it was going to explode out of my chest. He
turned closer to me, lying on his side, now face-to-face with me.
Gathering enough breath to speak I said, “Skylar, I’ve never slept
with anyone and never considered it before you.” I paused, “I don’t
think that about you and thank you for that.”
    “For what?”
    “For helping me know that I didn’t just make
a mistake…and that there really are good guys out there.”
    I had never met anyone like Skylar. Even
though we were from different worlds, we connected. We laughed. We
got entrenched in each other’s stories. He drew me in with every
word and held me close. It was like a flowing stream. We went on
and on with no breaks—only wanting for more time as we saw the
early beginnings of the new day amongst us.
    “I don’t want this to end.” Skylar said,
with his arms wrapped around me as we watched the moon continue its
path across the sky.
    “I have to get back; my friend is going to
be worried if I don’t.” I said hesitantly.
    I turned and gave Skylar a kiss on the
cheek. Just hours before meeting Skylar I couldn’t wait to get to
Athens to start my freshman year at the University of Georgia. Now,
I didn’t want this night to end. I didn’t want to leave Skylar. I
knew we would meet up again but my heart was strongly bonded to him
even more with the coming of the new day and the goodbye’s we would
be saying, soon.
    Walking back to the beach house, things had
gotten much quieter than when we left it some hours ago.
Hand-in-hand, and wearing his cardigan, we entered the house.
    Quickly, one of Skylar’s friends found him
and insisted they had to get going because of one of the guy’s
curfews. I reached into my purse to look for a pen and paper.
    “Didn’t you say your friend is around here
somewhere?” Skylar asked, looking around.
    “Yeah, she’s here somewhere. She promised
she wouldn’t leave me.” I said, writing my phone number on the back
of a receipt.
    “Are you sure I can’t give you a ride home
or stay with you until you find her?”
    “Sky, we have to go.” One of his friends
called out.
    “I’ll be Okay; she’s around here somewhere.
Skylar, I have to see you again. Here’s my number.” I looked into
his eyes.
    He took my pen and ripped off a piece of the
paper with my number on it. He wrote his number down, folded the
paper up, and placed it in my hands.
    “I promise Lucy; I will see you again. Keep
my sweater and think of me till I see you next. Until then, your
beauty will haunt my dreams,” Skylar smiled and leaned in to kiss
me goodbye. Seconds later as he was ushered away by his friends he
shouted, “Lucy, you are the most beautiful girl in the world,”
before he disappeared out the door.
    As he walked away I grinned, feeling like
the most beautiful woman in the world. After he was gone I felt a
growing heaviness in my chest. I sat on one of the sofas, wrapped
in his sweater, feeling numb. I already missed him. I could smell
his