"Nate," I groan. My feet dangle over the side of his bed and my hair hangs over the other side, cascading down to the floor. I flip over and prop my hand under my chin and look at him. "I'm bored. Let's take a break."

"No breaks," Nate warns, his fingers tapping away at his computer.

"Please?"

He shakes his head and I fling my pencil at him lightly, hitting him on his slinged shoulder. He flinches in mock pain which sends my eyes rolling. His shoulder was bothering him again and he was instructed to use the sling for another week. To all of our misfortune, he is rather grumpy about it.

"I really need coffee, at least." I roll over on my back and look at him, upside down and grinning. His lips look harsh just by doing so, the healing skin stretching around the cuts as he laughs at me. But he still looks beautiful.

"Bring me one while you're at it." He's taunting me and I love it. I love how comfortable he has become with me. I finally know where we stand together and that information alone is life changing.

"You're no fun, boyfriend." I pout, acting like a ten year old. But I am going stir crazy sitting in Nate's dark room.

Nate's smile grows. It usually does when I call him this. Because that is what he is now. My adorable, funny, sexy, nerdy boyfriend.

We were about done with this project for Faunt's class and I almost didn't want to finish it because that would mean Nate would soon not be my bio partner. Just the thought of being paired with someone else made me wish college would come sooner so I didn't have to deal with unmotivated teenagers. Because no one was as motivated as Nathaniel Haynes.

"How far are you on the paper?" Nate asks, eyes lifting towards my face.

I hum as I skim my document. "Closing paragraph and that's all that's needed. How about you?"

"Just one more slide and I'm finished on my end, too."

"Alright." I sit back up and look dreamily out the window. The sun is shining and the cool wind is refreshing compared to the rain the passed few days. "Can we agree to disagree on taking a break. Maybe take Hannah on a walk? We're sure to finish this once and for all today. Please, Nathaniel?"

Nate's fingers pause over his keyboard and he seems to be thinking this over. I crawl over to him where he sat in his computer chair, still too shy to share the bed with me, and brace my weight on his knees.

When he doesn't answer, I lazily lean up and kiss his face with every plea. "Please, please, please, please, please." His eyes scrunch close when my lips hastily press just below his right eye and down to his nose, finishing with a peck on his chin.

"Fine," he groans right back. "You win. Grab the leash, woman."

I smile triumphantly and applaud his cave in with a swift kiss on his lips.

I jump off the floor and call for Hannah who is waiting patiently outside Nate's bedroom door, tail wagging and an equally enthusiastic smile on her face as well, as I hook the red harness around her.

Once outside, the fresh air cleanses my overwhelmed brain of all things midterm and homework related. Nate seems happy too as he bravely slips his hand into mine. I love that he did this because it was nice to know I wasn't the only one who craved contact whenever I can get it.

He's sporting his usual attire, blocking my view from his twinkling eyes as he grins down at me. His thumb contently rubs against my own as we are dragged by Hannah, who is as happy to be out of that house as Nate is.

"So, I got accepted into the NASA space program," Nate says out of nowhere. His head angles my way as he speaks.

"You're kidding!" I exclaim and bump his good shoulder with mine. "That's amazing! Congratulations."

"Thanks. I'm excited. Only a handful of undergrads get accepted into the aerospace engineer program at the end of the summer. I almost didn't think I was going to get in until I got the big envelope last week."

"You've known for a week and you're now just telling me?" I try to hold back my accusing tone by placing a kiss on the back of his hand. "Why the waiting game? Scared I'm going to hide in your suitcase and come with?"

Nate shrugs and gives Hannah's leash some slack. "I know that you are still waiting for Dartmouth's answer and I didn't want to rub it in your face."

"Nathaniel." I stop us and turn his body towards my own. Hannah lets out a sniff and pads over to the lawn beside us to sniff the grass. "Stop that right now. This is a big deal! Don't worry about me. I'm a big girl. If Dartmouth doesn't pull through, there are plenty of other really good schools. You shouldn't be afraid to tell me these things. I'm very happy for you."

Nate sighs and I can tell I am making him feel guilty. To ease his discomfort, I lean up and kiss his cheeks. When I pull back, he is smiling bashfully.

"We should celebrate," I suggest and tug on the dog's leash to make her walk again.

"Oh yeah? What do you suggest?"

I tap my chin and think. "Something involving food. Definitely food."

Nate laughs and the sounds seems to make the sun burn brighter. "Should have guessed. You know, for such a small person, you eat like one of those sumo wrestlers."

"Ha ha." My laughter is on the tip of my tongue, fluttering to come out but it is pushed back at the sound of a large truck coming down the street.

We live in an upscale hicktown in North Carolina. Trucks are the bread and butter. But this wasn't just any truck. The truck revs its engine as it moves closer to us down the street.

You know when you see something that your brain just can't comprehend, it slows itself down as if to dumb it down for you so it makes sense? That's what my brain was going as Danny drove past Nate and me.

His arm hangs out the window and his piercing blue eyes lock on mine as I stand there frozen in place watching him right back. He doesn't look mad, he doesn't even look surprised to see me. This is a small town. You can't even go to the grocery store without bumping into your pastor and second grade teacher.

He simply looks straight through me as if I am a stranger walking her dog on this beautiful day. But I know Danny. Or at least I used to. That unreadable expression was deadly. Preditorial.

"What's wrong?" Nate asks. I didn't notice that my hand was gripping his in a snakelike grasp until he retches himself away from me. In return, he reaches up and brushes my hair behind my ear. He rubs my earlobe with his thumb and that snaps me out of my transe with Danny who revs his engine one more time before disappearing down the road and turning the corner.

I watch and wait until Danny is out of sight before I feel like my brain will function again. My heart is beating against my ribcage in a frantic thumping and for a second I am afraid that I have forgotten how to breathe.

Everyone knows about Nate and I. We have made it tastefully obvious when I sit with him at lunch instead of my usual table. My friends didn't even bother to ask me why I wasn't sitting with them anymore because they knew the reason.

Alyssa has tried to talk to me and I appreciate her efforts but I can't tell if she is doing it because she claims to be my best friends or if she is doing it to get pathetic information to go back and tell the rest of the group.

I don't speak about Nate and me to anyone anyway. Our business is our business. I like that the most. There is no agenda.

"Nothing," I lie, the shock of electricity from such a simple touch jolting me forward to move again.

"Kelly, seriously, what was that?"

"Nothing," I insist, mostly trying to convince myself more than him. "Let's keep walking. We have a project to finish."

Nate stands his ground for a second before debating against himself and allowing me to pull him down the sidewalk.

I suddenly want to be back in his bedroom where the curtains are drawn and we are back in our own little bubble. Having Albert Einstein making a face at me is more appealing than a certain ex boyfriend doing so.

"I want you to tell me," Nate insists. He is sure persistent today.

"I was just thinking how much I am going to miss you once you're gone for the summer and then off to university after that." It's a lie about the timing but my words are true. It has been haunting me since our date.

I am so far gone when it comes to this wonderful boy that I can't imagine not seeing him everyday.

"You know," Nate says while he stops me again. His hands go to my shoulders and gently brings them up and down my arms. The gesture is welcomed as it calms my shaken nerves. "Not meaning this as demeaning or rude in anyway, but if Dartmouth doesn't work out--which it will. They would be stupid not to take you--Maybe you could enroll in pre med courses close to WSU. I applied to do my undergrad program there. It's my top pick."

"Wichita State, huh." The relatity of our future is now sinking it's inky tendrils into me. Not even a few months ago I was so excited and ready to leave high school. Now, I wanted to go wherever Nate goes. And that is dangerous.

I have always had one goal in mind: Dartmouth, med school, residency, and work alongside my father. The last part is still in limbo considering I wanted to go into pediatrics. But still. Nate isn't the only one with a plan.

"Kansas isn't too far from New Hampshire." Nate is still talking, trying to make sense of all this as if thinking of it logically will ease the distance.

I roll my eyes because, let's face it, we would be a freaking twenty-four hours away from each other by car. It is like losing an entire day. "I don't want to talk about this right now. Sorry I bought it up. We have high school to think about. And prom. And your birthday."

Nate groans and it's enough to make him slow his pace. "I don't want to talk about that."

"'Come on!" I grab his hand again and swing it between us. "Birthdays are the best!"

"I've never liked them much." Nate stops as Hannah roams to a tree.

"But you're going to be eighteen. That's an adult."

"Really? I didn't know that." A dimple pops in his cheek as he smirks down at me.

"Zip it. What I mean is, you're celebrating your birthday. And if you want to celebrate it with me I would gladly make it as awesome as I can. And if you want to celebrate it with your friends, then I will celebrate with you another day. Either way, you're not getting out of this with me." I loved birthdays. I have never met anyone until now that didn't. Nathaniel would be part of the minority.

"Can it just be you and me?" Nate asks. His other hand is shoved into his jean pockets and that stance makes him seem unbalanced.

"If that's what you would like." Heck, I would love that. I hated sharing Nate. Any alone time with him is enough to make me feel elated.

"I want to spend my birthday alone with you." Nate blushes which is a pleasure that I have missed so much. Lately, it has been me with a body on fire. My heart speeds up inside my chest. "But only if you keep it simple. I don't want a big fret over something such as my birthday."

I smash his lips down on mine and kiss him longingly, molding my lips with his in a way that I can taste the peppermint of his toothpaste on the tip on my tongue.

"Whatever you want," I say against his lips. I feel his turn up against mine and with one final peck, Hannah marches us back towards the house.

We have a project to finish and I have a new one to start. Operation Nate's birthday is a go and I want it to be as perfect as him.

When we reach his front door, I hesitate.

"Kelly?" Nate moves to my side and his large hands massages my lower back in a way that makes me sway towards him.

"You know what? I forgot my mom wanted me to take a few of her old clothing items to the church rummage sale in the circle. I should go do that really fast before I forget about it completely. I'll be back to finish the paper in an hour or so. Does that sound good?"

"Yes, I suppose." Nate leans down and kisses my cheek. It makes me feel worse for lying to him. "Just don't be too late. I would like to summit this tonight so we can do more interesting things with our free time."

I squeeze his hands that lays at his sides. "Yeah, like plan you're wicked birthday party." If only he could see my wicked smile...

"Kelly Henderson, you will do no such thing." He points his finger at me in a way that makes me want to lean forward and playfully bite it. I don't of course. Instead, I grab onto his face and kiss him again. I don't think I will ever get tired of kissing him.

His arms wrap around me in a way that makes me feel safe and warm and he slants his mouth over mine. The kiss is enough to make me feel like my feet aren't even touching the ground. But I needed to do what I needed to do before I chickened out.

"Okay, then stop stalling me so I can get to it," I taunt against his mouth. He kisses me once more before placing me back on my feet and giving me a little push out the door.

"Be careful," he says as I make my way down the lawn. He always says this when I leave him.

"Always am," I say back and blow him a kiss.

I round the corner, far enough to be out of earshot, so that Nate doesn't hear my voice as I pull out my phone and dial the number that is all too familiar.

They pick up on the second ring.

"Meet me at Linc's." And with that I end the call and get into my car.