You’re Mine by Penny Brooks

Chapter 167

Harper

Ever since my breakdown with Easton the other night, I feel like a complete idiot.

It's not like he can help where he gets accepted.

He's brilliant and rich on top of that.

I just had this oh shit moment of what happens to us along with the panic of how far we've come and what happens if everything gets stripped away? I'm not in the best mood when I get to school the next day, despite Easton's encouraging texts all night long and me apologizing, it just feels off.

I still haven't heard from any school, and no matter how many times you refresh your email on your phone, it's not like the colleges go, oh cool, she's finally ready for us to email her.

Despite all that, I still refresh my email once I'm in the parking lot of the school.

My hands shake as I stare down at the screen.

I have new emails.

And one is from a college, I panic, then get excited, then panic again.

I probably wouldnt even notice if Aisha was breathing down my neck like a dirty little dragon whore.

I click open.

And nearly drop my phone.

I got into San Jose State.

Granted, it wasn't my first choice, but I'm at least going to be going to a college and not having to explain to people that I wanted a year off or that I wanted to go to a community school.

God, that would have been horrible.

I smile down at my phone again.

"Looking at porn?" a deep voice asks.

“Hilarious.” I turn and throw my arms around Easton.

"Whoa!" He hugs me back.

“What's this for? The naked dudes you were just looking at or—" "—Shut it!" I squeeze him tighter then whisper into his ear, "I got into San Jose State"

His body tenses, then relaxes as he squeezes my body and rocks me back and forth.

“I'm so fucking proud of you"

except for the fact that he's not there and I've come to rely on him the way you rely on air so you can breathe— and not in a needy way—but a way that's

to press his mouth against mine and make me feel wanted

"This is epic"

"I know"

Tears fill my eyes.

was so worried.” “I wasn't," he

roll my eyes and start to move away, but he grabs my arm and

"I wasnt," he repeats.

girl I've ever known, of course, any college would want you? Hell, they should be crawling on their hands and knees,

smile as I answer

that mean you'd be willing to get on your hands and knees?" He immediately moves away

"NO!" I laugh.

He shrugs

Oh God.

starting to

whole Dirty Dancing moment but the opposite where Jonny's on the ground

I hiss his name again as

they're

I dig it.

I really do.

slowly rises, his body sliding

clothes could send us to Hell because damn this

I get so lucky? "About the crawling...” he

kind of liked acting

don't want to

my head

out of

Stanford"

crawling toward her?"

students, do not crawl my

the minute

Ryan realizes it as he looks between us, then forces

me, right?” Easton sighs and reaches into his bag, handing over notes that just prove again why

bell rings, I swallow the lump in my throat and start walking while Easton jogs ahead, swearing that he forgot one of his

then I wonder, are these the last moments we're going to have? With us flirting in the parking lot, him running to class, and me watching everything pass us by in a blur? I want to breathe

what if this really is the end of

me in the back of

bang me over the head with Easton's notebook,

out of the way

that look, fuck I've had to live with that look and the fact that my sisters getting

this;

I roll my