Free Guarded Hearts by L.A. Corvill Page A

past few weeks.
    “Oh, about the taking advantage part, yeah, we will get to that,” he smirks. His smile stays on his lips as he starts with his questions. Yeah, I think I just sat on the sun with all the heat I’m feeling.
    “So what is your major?”
    “Law. I wanted to go into social work first because I want to help abused children who don’t have a voice to be heard. But then I realized that maybe I have a better chance fighting for them in the court of law, since social workers still have certain limitations in the cases that they manage. And I have a problem with restrictions. I don’t like them,” I respond, which surprises me because of how truthful I am with my answer. Everyone thought that the reason I wanted to be a lawyer was because of the prestige and power that came with the title. “You?”
    “I want to be a doctor. I want to save lives. Just knowing that I can help someone and give them the chance to live, even if it just one person, would fulfill the promises I made to myself,” he answers me with sadness in his eyes.
    “Well, it seems we have another thing in common. Who would’ve thought? We both not only want to save lives, we also want them to live a life,” I say.
    “Yeah, way to keep it so impersonal with my first question,” he says with a laugh. I have come to like that sound. The guarded look in his eyes has gone away. Hopefully for good. It makes me feel warm inside knowing that I might have had something to do with that. I don’t know why he keeps himself so guarded, but I hope he can let me in. What am I thinking? I have to let him in too, and that is something that I am not ready for. I want to try to be in this relationship without him having to know my past.
    “So, do you live around here?” I continue with the questions.
    “Yeah. My parents live an hour away from school. I have dinner with them about once a month. It’s actually a requirement for them to pay my tuition. I don’t mind eating with them. Sometimes it does get out of hand, like when my mother starts talking about girls and safe sex, but I love her,” he says, turning to look back at the road. He has that frown again. I see the sign mentioning the exits for the pier out by Myrtle Beach. So I’m guessing that’s where we are going.
    “Nix, are you taking me to the carnival?” I ask him with a goofy smile. He remembered one of our conversations in class when I mentioned that I have been living here a year and I had not gone to the pier and that it was something that I have been wanting to do all summer. Kylie said only teens went to the pier, not college woman.
     

    E ver since Olivia had mentioned in class that she wanted to go on the rides, I got the idea to bring her to the pier. I have never had an actual mature date before, so I really didn’t have many options. So I was taking all the clues from our conversations these past few days to see what she liked and didn’t like.
    “Yeah, I kind of got the hint from you earlier this week, since you mention the pier about hundred times. I can take a hint,” I joke.
    “What? No, I didn’t. I only mentioned it once when Mandy mentioned that some of her customers never shut up about it. I just never had time for carnivals growing up, and I always wanted to go on the Ferris wheel. Sorry if you thought that you had to bring me here. Anywhere you take me will been fine,” she says with a pout.
    “I didn’t mean to make it sound like that. I just wanted to do something that you would like. I didn’t want to screw up the only chance I got to make you want to give us a try.” I take her hand from her lap and bring it to my lips to give her a little kiss, and I set our entwined hands on my lap. I look her way and she has a sweet smile on her face. That’s when I knew that this girl is going to breathe life back into me, and even though I know it’s going to hurt taking those first few breaths, it will get better. She will make it better.
    I turn into the