Until I Met You

chapter forty-nine

Warren

"No," she argues, her voice muffled from beneath the pillow she has pressed to her face. "I am not getting out of bed, and you can't make me."

Running a towel over my wet hair, I chuckle. It's been three weeks since the wedding ended on a note of perfection. It's now August twenty-fourth, the day we have to fly back to Vancouver. East and Julia left two weeks ago because of their jobs, so it was nice just having Nova with my family. One night, when it was just me, Nova, and my parents, we sat them down and told them the whole story. Like I figured, my mom was appalled with me for using someone like Nova. Dad, however, laughed, saying that he knew both kids couldn't be perfect like their mother was during the university days. Apparently, my dad had been a rebel like me. Go figure.

Anyways, after the moment of truth, a tension I didn't know I'd been carrying on my shoulders lifted. Maybe I should have started this truth-telling shit earlier. Definitely would've saved me a lot of stress. With that said, I don't regret about ninety-eight per cent of what happened during this trip. Getting to know Nova Elliot for who she really is has changed me, just like her getting to know me has made her different.

But, sadly, our time here has come to an end.

I figured it was going to be difficult for Nova to leave this place when she's developed such a strong attachment to it, but I can't let her skip out on the program she worked so hard to get into. I can't imagine what her parents would think of her at this moment. In the amount of time she's been under the sheets, I've showered, shaved, gotten dressed, and packed up the suitcase.

Throwing the towel down, I sit on the edge and reach for the pillow so I can pull it away and talk some sense into her. I, surprisingly, fail. Damn, she's got a good grip on that pillow.

"Novs," I say, "c'mon. We can't miss the flight. Remember how excited you were for Monday? The day we go in and sort out the paper with Julia about our dorm room situation?"

"Bribery will get you nowhere, Warren," she says, her voice still muffled. "Why go back to Vancouver when we could stay here together forever? Doesn't that seem like a better alternative?"

"You're acting like a hypocrite," I say. "You're now attempting to bribe me."

"Yeah, so?" she asks. "It usually works on you."

"Ouch, baby," I do my best to sound severely offended, like the words she's just said have harmed my poor heart. Even though it's so far from that. I know she's joking. I just need to find a way to get that damned pillow off her face.

And it works.

I feel a rush of triumph as she tosses the pillow to the side like a piece of garbage and props herself up on her elbows to look at me. "Warren – I wasn't being serious. I was – " She frowns at me as my fake-hurt look turns into a wicked grin. Shifting her weight to one arm, she lashes out with her free hand, slapping me hard on the shoulder. "You are such an asshole sometimes," she says. "You knew I was kidding."

"Obviously," I laugh, flopping down beside her. I tilt my face. "But I was just trying to prevent you from accidentally suffocating yourself."

She rolls her eyes. "Always exaggerating."

"Nope. Just stating the facts."

Nova looks up at the ceiling. "I don't want to leave," she says. "It's too beautiful, and I think I'm going to miss your family."

"More than you miss yours?" I ask, poking her in the ribs.

She grabs my hand, lacing her fingers with mine. "Maybe not that much. I just don't want to go."

In an instant, I know something else is bothering her. She's biting her bottom lip and there's this look on her face that tells me she's withholding information.

"Novs," I say, tipping her chin so she's looking at me again. "We talked about this. What's bothering you?"

The next words come rushing out so fast I can barely catch the meaning of them. "I'm just worried that something's going to happen because we haven't been on campus the whole summer. You haven't been around girls that are prettier and more athletic than me. Hell, I don't know why I'm obsessing over this, but I don't know if I can handle girls throwing themselves at you every day. And what about your reputation you were so interested in keeping afloat? Huh? What do we do about that? What are people going to say when they realize we're a couple?"

I almost laugh. Her words sound childish. It's almost like we're in high school again. Nova's never been one to really care about what someone thinks of her. But I hold back the laughter because I know she's being serious. She's concerned that I'm going to go back to my old ways. Yeah, old habits die hard in some cases. This won't be one of those situations – that I can guarantee. I'm not going to fuck this up after working so hard to get to it.

"It's all about us," I say. "I don't care what other people think about me. I want them all to know that Nova Elliot stole my heart all by herself. Maybe a little inadvertently at first, but still." I plant a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'm a changed man, baby. You know, I didn't want to fall in love at all, but at some point, you smiled, and holy shit, I blew it."

That last comment brings a smile to her face.

"So," I continue, squeezing her hand. "Will you get out of bed, get ready, and then come downstairs for breakfast before Greyson takes us to the airport?"

Sighing and giving the room one last glance, she finally nods her head. "Yeah. I guess I will. But, Warren?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me we'll come back here one day."

Smiling like a fucking idiot, I nod. "Yeah, Novs. I promise we'll come back here one day."

"Okay, good," she smiles, kicking the covers off.

One look at her body is an instant turn-on. She's wearing one of my t-shirts and it looks like a baggy dress on her. It's hotter than hell. And I almost want to pull her back into the bed, but I resist. If I do that, we're going to end up missing our flight.

So I get to my feet and tell her that I'll meet her downstairs at the breakfast bar.