Let Me Be the One by Lily Foster Read Free Book Online

school those two years while he was sick.  I couldn’t concentrate and I pressed my parents into letting me take days off so that I could be at the hospital with him or sit home by his bedside reading to him.  When he died there was a long stretch where I didn’t think I’d ever be happy again. 
    Darcy and I had something rare and awful in co mmon.  Knowing that she understood that kind of loss made me feel closer to her, like she could really, truly know me.  There weren’t many people who did.

Chapter F our
     
    Darcy
    Tom purposely “ran into me” almost every day over the next few weeks.  He was typically there in the quad when I came out of class, was at the gym at the same time, or stumbled upon me in the library.  I felt like I was being stalked—in a very good way.  As the days passed, spending time with him became a regular part of my routine.
    While walking to class one day, Tom was telling me about repairs he had to make on his truck and I casually mentioned that I had a permit but still didn’t have my driver’s license.  That cracked him up.  “What, Donovan?  Did I just hear you correctly? You can’t drive?” 
    “So?  I live in Manha ttan. I have no need to drive.”
    “Come again?  You definitely need to be able to drive, sugar.” 
    Okay, the “ sugar” thing—simultaneously made me swoon and made me want to rip his clothes off.  He stopped cold, took me by the shoulders and turned me to face him.  “I have to rectify this situation.”
    Amused, I shot back , “Really now?”
    “Yep, I’m going to teach you.”
    “Are you sure you trust me with your precious truck?”
    “Absolutely.  Anyway, this gives me an excuse to have you all to myself.”  He smiled and then reached down and took my hand as we continued walking.  He was holding hands with me?  There was something so intimate about it but at the same time, it was also a very public declaration.  Before he turned off to go to his class he squeezed my hand and said, “First lesson is tomorrow after your eleven o’clock class.”
    I was fighting the almost-dizzy feeling I was exper iencing but somehow managed to tease, “You’re pretty bossy, Tom. I hope you’re a nice teacher.”
    “No, Darce, I’m tough. You better bring your A-game.”
    “Hmm, what are you going to do to me if I don’t follow your instructions?”
    He leaned in, tapped me gently on the nose and whi spered, “Take you over my knee for a spanking.” He cocked one eyebrow and smiled knowingly.  “I think you’d like that.”
    With that he turned and left me standing there, breathless.  
    He knew the effect he had on me and I think he liked teasing me a little.   There were times he’d take my hand and stroke the inside of my palm with his thumb in the most crazy-sexy way.  When he did it I would lose my train of thought mid-sentence and he’d let out a low, husky chuckle.  Every touch was like foreplay and I was wound as tight as a top.  When we stood in a group he might put his hand to my lower back or put his hand on my shoulder.  Other times I would feel him come up behind me as I sat with the girls at lunch.  He would plant both hands on the table and lean down close pressing his rock hard chest into my back and whisper ridiculous things in my ear.  He meant to rattle me but also to make me laugh.  He made me laugh a lot.  Tom was funny, flirty and the more I got to know him, the deeper I felt like I was falling.  He was popular and he talked to everyone, but always seemed to have one eye on me. 
    That first weekend after the “Nick incident” he swung by my house before us girls were heading out and he tagged along.  By the second week he came by early on Friday and asked me to grab dinner with him before we hit parties.  By week three we were arriving everywhere together; we had evolved into a couple. 
    At night he’d always escort me home and laid some of the hottest kisses on me before saying goodnight.