Free Love Struck by Amber Garza Page B

man. "You know what I think?" I run my finger along her jawline. "I think we're perfect for each other."
    "How do y ou figure?" Her voice is a soft, gentle purr.
    "You can teach me how to be more assertive, and I can teach you how to trust someone. How to give up some of that control, and allow someone else to take care of you."
    "You want to take care of me, huh?"
    I nod. "Oh, yeah, I do." Curving my hand around her face, I cover my mouth with hers. "More than anything. Will you let me?" After speaking the words, I hear a tiny gasp at the back of her throat. I choose to take it as a yes.
     

 
    11
    Lola
     
     
    "I wish I could go with you." Ryker runs his hands down the length of my arms. "I've always wanted to see California."
    "You've never been?" I lean against the wall in my dorm room and stare into his dark eyes. Funny how I’ve been so nervous about my trip back home, but one look in Ryker’s eyes and I feel calm. We’ve only been dating a couple of months, but somehow he’s slipped seamlessly into my life as if he was always meant to be here.
    "Never." He leans forward, brushing his lips over my cheek. "But I look forward to seeing it with you someday."
    I squirm, his words making me uncomfortable. "It's not that great. It's not like Star and I live near the beach or anything."
    "I bet Thanksgiving is a huge deal at your house, huh?"
    Nodding, I avert my eyes from his intense gaze. Star gives me a funny look from where she sits on her bed, shoving clothes into her suitcase. Even though we're leaving in a few minutes , she is just now packing. My suitcase has been packed for days. I hate doing things last minute. That's when you end up forgetting your underwear or mascara or something. Just the thought of forgetting something important causes me to break out in hives. That's why I've re-checked my bag numerous times to be sure I have everything. By the way Star is haphazardly shoving things in her bag, I'm certain she'll miss something. "It's a long day with a lot of food and even more people. I bet you'll have more fun spending a quiet day with your mom." I loop my arms around his neck.
    "I can't wait for you to meet her. I just know she'll love you. What do you think your parents are going to say when you tell them about us?"
    My st omach clenches. "Um...who knows? It doesn't matter." Releasing him, I head toward my suitcase. Star raises her eyebrows at me, and I know exactly what she's thinking. Taking a deep breath, I walk toward my bed and run the pads of my fingers over my suitcase. "Well, we better get out of here if we want to make our flight on time."
    Ryker comes up behind me, circling his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. "I'm gonna miss you, beautiful."
    I melt beneath his words. Spinning around, I kiss him softly on the lips. "Me too, Mr. Rockstar." Then I smile slyly. "Should I leave a tube of lipstick to tide you over?"
    "I thought I explained that it doesn't work like that. It needs to be on you." He bites my lips. "But you can give me a little fix before you head off."
    "I'll consider it my charitable act of the day," I respond and press my lips to his. My fingers play with the bottom of his coarse hair, while his tongue pushes into my mouth. His hands dig into my hips, causing a flush of desire to run through me.
    "Um..." Star's voice cuts into the moment. "We really do need to get going. So break it up, you two."
    Groaning, I pull away from Ryker. When I give him one last hug, I think about how I really am going to miss him. In my head I know he's all wrong for me, but my heart doesn't seem to care about that.
    After Ryker leaves, Star turns to me. "You're not going to tell your parents about him, are you?"
    I shake my head. "No way."
    "Didn't think so."
    "They'll never approve." I reach out and grab the handle of my suitcase. After pulling it up and hearing it click into place, I roll the suitcase behind me.
    "They don't even approve of me." Star snorts.
    "Don't take it