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steer Cher back to the party, my arm snaked around her waist. Fuck, she looks like pure eye-candy tonight. A walking, talking dick-tease.

Her skin - deeply honeyed from the Cuban sun - looks so delectable. I imagine her in my bed, naked, legs wrapped around my sweaty hips as she lets me look my fill, lick my fill.

She chose the itty-bittiest dress she could find, knowing what kind of effect it would have on me. It's working. I'm trying to keep it together - especially the semi inside my slacks. It takes everything within me not to pant after her like one of Pavlov's dogs.

We're good. Those words are playing inside my head like a broken record.

Damn right, we are.

It feels like every moment since she's landed back home has been building towards this. These last few weeks, I've worked on myself, without feeling like I'd fully fulfilled a gaping void inside of me. She was always the missing puzzle piece.

I finally feel complete with Cher Anderson rightfully in my arms.

Understanding dawns upon me as I glance down at her upturned face and realize that she's always been my sanctuary.

Before any girls had flocked into my life, there was Cher and Cher was still here.

When you want something so damn bad - even when you don't realize it - the universe aligns itself with your thoughts until the thing you've sought is suddenly right there in front of you.

I wasn't perfect by any standards. I could be rude. A brooding bastard. Sometimes impulsive. Shit I had been towards her. But she was the only one who'd ever seen past my bullshit. I was perfect to her, when I'd never thought of myself as deserving in her eyes. Not those years ago, but now yes. Fucking yes. This girl, she makes me want to be the best version of myself for me. For her. This girl. She was inside of me now. Had always been. There was no letting go. This time around I'd be making her mine. I'd never let go. Whether she fucking liked it or not.

Because there's no way I could yearn for her to this extent, without her reciprocating an ounce of it. The longing was all over her face when she'd seen me.

I was never alone in this fight for us. She was there all along, unknowingly. We were just a few years late, but we're here now. That's all that matters. This storming between us, it matters.

"What are you looking at?" she asks me softly.

I've been staring at her for Jesus knows how long, commemorating every inch of her to memory. Those alluring eyes, that perfect nose, the splay of her wide lips, lightly marked by teeth bites. I can close my eyes and envision her in this moment forever.

She's embedded inside my mind.

"You," I murmur honestly, leaning down to kiss her nose. "You're so beautiful tonight. You always are, but there's just...something about you tonight."

I wasn't kidding when I said I'd make her mine; I'd do it in front of all these people, no holds barred, and kiss her as just as the clock stoke midnight.

* * *

"Sara looks like she needs rescuing."

We are passing an area when Cher stops us and points in the direction swarming with party guests.

Sara's expression is irritable as she holds a champagne flute in her hand, grudgingly pressed against a hard surface. There are quiet a few people, but we make out a boy talking across her, plastered against the wall.

Cher tugs at my hand and we weave our way through the crowd until we reach her.

With relief, Sara's eyes widen. "Hi, friends. Wasn't expecting to see you. Hey, Trenty!"

A look passes between Sara and Cher. Some girl communication that I don't understand.

I reach forward to ruffle her hair. "Hey, Karate-Kid."

The boy in front of her chokes with a laugh. "Karate-Kid?"

"Shut up, Jamie." Sara fumes, downing the rest of the champagne. Damn, she drinks it like it's water.

I take a good look at the guy in front of her. He's young, roughly her age. I'd say eighteen or nineteen. Not staggeringly tall, lean build, and a hint of cocky in his brown eyes. There's a Celtic knot tattoo on his bicep, partially hidden under the sleeve of his black tee. However, he does look familiar.

"What's your name?" I ask him, folding my arms over my chest. "I think I've seen you around."

He juts his chin, air of confidence surrounding him. "Jamie. Jamie Callahan. You?"

"Trent." Then it hits me. "No shit. You're Bryce's brother, right?"

His demeanor shifts when I mention his older brother. "Yeah man. You know Bryce?"

"We met during the sports mixer and we go to the same gym. He plays on the hockey team, eh?"

Jamie grins proud and wide. "Yeah, he does. So do I."

"Freshman?"

"Yes. Sports mixer? You play for the school too, or something?"

"Yeah, football. Congrats for making it on the team. That's neat."

"Thanks; I appreciate it." He shakes hands with me, then glances at Cher.

She's quick to inform with a big, charity-ball smile. "I'm Trenton's girlfriend. My name's Cher."

Girlfriend, huh? I cock my eyebrow at her and grin playfully. Hell yeah she is.

She winks back.

Jamie is smiling at us, but his gaze keeps cutting towards Sara, who's steadfastly ignoring him. He looks like he wants to say something, but she's erected a barrier in front of herself and refuses to meet his gaze.

"So how did you first semester go?" he implores softly. "I didn't get a chance to run into you -"

"It was good. Thanks." Apparently, Sara's had enough of this exchange. She deposits her champagne flute with a big thunk in the tray of a passing-by waiter then claps her hands together. "Okay. Now that we've gotten this out of the way, I'm afraid I must get going. As always, Jamie, it wasn't nice seeing you."

The teasing look he'd been giving her instantly faded away, and in it's place came a crestfallen one. Only momentarily, before he'd masked it. "Yeah. You, too, Ainsley."

She glares at him and snaps, "Don't call me that."

"Whatever. Great catching up. See you around." Jamie pushes off the surface and nods at Cher, ignoring Sara. He gives me a sincere smile. "Nice meeting you, Trent. Maybe you'll come to one of our games?"

"Sounds good." I clap his back. "I'll be in touch with Bryce."

When he leaves, albeit reluctantly, Cher turns on Sara. "Okay, what in the world was that? You were so rude!"

Sara rolls her eyes and pushes past us, forcing us to follow her. "I really don't care. Him and his group of hockey friends have teased me throughout high school. Not sure if it has to do with my appearance or because I was a nerd. Jamie and I used to be friends, but I couldn't care less now."

Cher gasps in horror and I just kind of awkwardly flounder. Well, shit.

To me, it looked like Jamie had found her cute and couldn't stop staring. Sara was a pretty girl. I didn't understand what she was talking about. But honestly, I didn't know the full story.

The subject was dropped, and Sara wandered off to find Wyatt, her new boy crush.

"Dance with me," I whisper in Cher's ear. There's still fifteen minutes before the countdown begins.

"Okeydokey," she replies, snagging me around the middle as I walk us backwards into the makeshift dancefloor.

Some pop song is playing with a bass so loud, my heart thuds in unison. "So. I don't recall asking you to be my girlfriend."

She squeals in my arms. "Ouh. Ask me. Ask me now."

I pretend to ponder over it as I stroke her back in a downward motion. "Nah, I don't think I will."

"Trent, don't make me squeeze your nipples here in public. It's uncivilized. Just ask me the damn question."

I don't like my nipples squeezed.

Yet I don't falter. My response is to spin her around with a hand, and hers is to giggle. She's so infectious, that I find myself grinning and laughing along with her. I stop quickly when her dress flares around her hips and she's an inch shy of exposing everything down below.

She lands back in my arms, safely and where she belongs.

"I have your Christmas gift, by the way. It's in my car," I murmur into her hairline as I continue to sway us to the beat.

"I can't wait. Oh, I got you a souvenir too. Cuban cigars for you, Jared and Oli. I know you've been raving about wanting to try some."

My mouth opens. "You have no idea how fucking excited I am."

"I know." She wiggles her eyebrows. "Excited enough to pop the question now?"

"Nice try."

It's not long before there's only a minute left before the new year. Everyone gathers and we're surrounded in a bubble of friends. It's a chaotic blur. Jared and Oliver are roaring in amusement, arms twined like the lunatics that they are. Tara dances with Sara and Gabe, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"TEN...NINE..."

I cup Cher's face so she can see me and only me. "Be with me, Hermosa. Be my girlfriend."

"SIX...FIVE..."

For a split moment, no one exists but us. She smiles bright, eyes glinting. "I will, Trent."

My heart soars.

"THREE...TWO..."

"Then it's settled, you're mine."

Angling my head, I stamp my mouth over hers.

The world erupts around us. "HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

For the first time in so long, I finally feel like I've started the year right, with my girlfriend clutched in my arms, and our lips fused.

* * *

I park in front of Cheryl's childhood home with a drunk, passed out Jared in the back. Halfway through the drive, he fell down horizontally on the seats and we didn't bother to fix him.

He's fine, we think. At least, judging by the way he breathes through his open mouth.

"Some people look angelic when they sleep..." Cher trails off.

"Jared does not," I finish for her, and we share a mirthful look.

My girlfriend looks so perfect, sitting with her legs crossed, her small frame illuminated in the passenger side by the soft porch light seeping through my windshield.

I reach out to toy with a strand of bronze hair. "When will I see you?"

"I'm spending the day with my mom tomorrow."

"Same. How about the day after?"

"Deal." She leans her temple against the headrest, and gazes at me like she's drinking me in. "You said you had my Christmas gift."

I snap my fingers, remembering I stashed it in my glove compartment before driving over to Inga's party. When I pluck it out for her - complete in hideous pink wrapping because I know that's what she'd want - she frowns.

"Why is it so small?" she teases. "Bro, I gave you so many gifts and they were all bigger than this."

"First of all, I'm not your 'Bro' so don't even call me that," I say the word through clenched teeth. "Second of all, it's not about the size. It's the quality."

"Mhmm. That's what she said."

"Open it, you smartass, before I snatch it back."

She holds the gift to her chest like it's the key to everything and gives me a mock-gasp. Then my little opportunist tears into it and really gasps when she unlocks the gold velvet box.

"Oh, my. Trent, this is, wow." She gently skims her fingers over the necklace. "I'm speechless."

Cher used to have lovebirds as pets when she was young - I knew they were her favorite. A delicate little bird was in flight with a polished citrine - a gemstone meant to clear the mind and stir self-improvement - at his beak, all wrapped in gold 'cause nothing but the best for my girl.

She quickly fastens it around her neck. "It's sparkling. Oh, I love it. Thank you so much, Trenton."

"You better. If I showed you the receipt of that transaction, you'd fucking cry."

She doesn't laugh. Instead, the serious expression undoes me. She cups my cheek and draws me forward for our lips to meet in a sweet, tender kiss, in which my heart thumps embarrassingly.

She pulls away slightly, leaving a hairsbreadth of distance between us. "I loved that you remembered such a small detail."

To me it was a big detail. Everything about her was.

I squeeze her hip. "It's no big deal, baby. In fact, I don't even mind the price when it looks so stunning on you."

It's nestled perfectly at the base of her throat, so small and gentle that you have to lean forward to get a better look at what's there. Just like her.

Maybe it's a male thing, but I'm filled with pride at seeing her wear something I gave to her, something I provided for her.

She must sense the shift inside of me, because her expression turns playful. She bites her bottom lip, temptingly.

Before I know it, she's crawling over to my seat and inserting herself on my lap, the little minx.

I crush her to my chest, relishing in her sweet flowery scent, always lingering with a hint of berries. Her arm twines around my shoulders and the other teasingly dances up my nape, before disappearing into the back of my hair, holding me to her neck. I kiss her skin, the necklace, her collarbones, and anywhere my mouth desires. She lets me, feathering light kisses on my hairline.

I feel breathless when I pull away to behold her. "You're so beautiful to me. You don't even know it."

She melts as a soft sound escapes her, before she tilts my head up and kisses me with everything she's got.

It's rough, our teeth clashing. I capture her bottom lip and bite, while she writhes in my lap like a fucking wet dream. I'm growing hard for her.

Our tongues mingle, and my hands have a mind of their own as they dive under her dress and skirt over her thighs until they are grasping at her lacy underwear. I want it off. I want it gone. My dick-tease drags my hand to her pussy, so I'm cupping her over the material. She's soaked already.

"Goddamn," I groan.

Her head falls back and her kiss-swollen mouth gleams in the light as she uses the pressure exerted by my hand to get herself off. It's the hottest thing I've seen in my life. "Trennnnnt."

I'm biting her neck, massaging her wet folds over her ruined thong, and loving every porn-star worthy sound she's releasing.

Suddenly she cries out, "Ouch! What the fuck?"

We stop, seeing a string of condoms landing in the passenger seat.

"I'm still here, shitheads," Jared's gruff voice rings out, completely slurred. "If you're going to make a porno, do it while I step out to take a piss, OK? Oh, don't forget to use protection."

In the heat of the moment, I forgot he'd been dozed off in the back. I grit my teeth, annoyed that I nearly let us get carried away. That shouldn't have happened. I try to shield Cher with my body, not wanting Jared to see her in such a worked-up-nearly-coming state. "Look away, asshole."

Cher's still focused on something else. "Um, you keep a string of condoms in your wallet... That's a little intense, don't you think?"

Jared cracks a yawn, then smiles drunkenly. "Gotta be prepared for anything, you know. The ladies love me." Cold air hits the inside of the car when Jared jerks open his back door. "Be right back, children. I really need to take a leak."

The door slams shut.

Cher and I look at each other, before we burst out laughing.

She holds my face and pecks me everywhere - forehead, nose, cheeks, mouth. "Now that I can kiss you freely, I never want to stop."

Now I melt. "I'm sorry I wasn't more careful, baby. That shouldn't have happened."

She shrugs. "I don't care. Jared's so drunk he won't remember this tomorrow morning, knowing him."

"Alright, Cherrycakes."

"Alright, Treasure-Chest."

I hold her chin in my hand; I have one more minute to make-out with her before Jared's done and I don't plan to waste a second of it.

However, Cher's eyes narrow at the last second and she breaks away from my touch, staring out my window in sheer bewilderment. "Jared is fucking watering my mom's lawn with his piss!"

True enough, with his eyes closed, Jared releases himself wherever he damn pleases.

Then he falls asleep standing.

* * *

"Bring her home, Trent. It's been forever and I want to meet her."

"I will, mamá."

"Officially, as your girlfriend."

I chuckle into the mouthpiece. "OK. I will. Now I gotta go. Love you."

Jared and Oliver are looking at me with smug expressions. I lean away from the balcony railing and join them on the chairs. It's a little bit cold outside. We're huddled in our jackets, but the winter sun hits just right.

"Inga's been acting weird," Oliver shares after a thoughtful moment.

Jared cocks an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Oliver runs his palms over his face in frustration. "She's herself, but something about her is just off."

"Maybe she's getting her periods?" I supply.

"Shit, you think she knows you're about to propose?" Jared says. "She might have seen the ring."

Oliver shakes his head. "No. The ring is hidden at my grandparents' house."

Another blissful moment falls upon us. My breath billows out white into the air. Jared's eyes are closed in relaxation. Oliver takes a sip of his coffee.

Looking at us like this, I realize it's been so long since we've hung out together with no distractions whatsoever.

I learned a long time ago that family isn't defined by blood, but the people who give you a sense of home.

Oliver, Jared and I might not share blood, but they are more than my best friends - they are my family.

"I'm going to the cemetery later today. Just park and sit outside," Jared admits. "I...dreamt of Quentin last night. I miss him."

My throat tightens with emotions. Oliver sets his cup down and clears his throat, his eyes stinging. A lone tear sneaks from the corner of Jared's eye, but he's quick to hide it. We act like we don't see it.

Oliver claps Jared on the back. "Why don't we all go?"

"We can visit Jayden, too." My voice is thick.

"Sounds good."

* * *

It's late in the evening and we've stopped by Danny's Grill after the cemetery to get something to drink. The guys have already gotten started on a quick game of pool and I'm at the bar, putting in orders.

I wave over a bartender and a guy named Cade comes over, slapping a towel over his shoulder. "What can I get you?"

"Two jack and cokes, and one sprite."

Fishing out my wallet, I slap on two twenties, just as my phone buzzes with a text.

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To those of you who don't follow me on social media, just letting you guys know that Oli and Tee's story is 4 chapters in :) I'll be posting it once this is finished. The description-teaser is on my twitter!