Fate (18 page)

When her computer finally powered up
,
her fingers typed away frantically
,
and she signed on to Facebook. To her surprise and enormous relief the picture and post were gone. But she had a private message from Ben. She opened it and read:

Rosie, I’m not sure if you saw it or not
,
but in case you did I want to apologize. It was stupid and immature of me to do that. I was worked up
,
and after mentioning to my friends that I should do it, they egged me on. Like an idiot I gave into peer pressure and did but felt like a dick almost as soon as I did. It was only up for a few minutes (a picture of me and you at prom last year, in case you don’t know what I’m talking about) I hope your boyfriend didn’t see it. If he did and he’s mad
,
I’m truly very
,
VERY sorry. I promise I won’t do anything like that again. Am I forgiven?

Ben

Rose smiled
,
so relieved that she wouldn’t have to block or even unfriend him.
This
was the Ben she remembered.

Her
response was quick, short and to the point:

Yes
,
I saw it
,
and thank you for removing it. As long as you’re promising it won’t happen again
,
you’re forgiven. I wasn’t just angry, Ben
.
I was hurt because we both knew what your intentions were. Please never do something like that again. I’d hate
to have to block you.

With the weight off her chest she showered in a much better mood and walked out to meet Vincent. He met her just outside in the hallway. Glancing back once, he pulled her to him then took a few steps forward
,
pinning her against the wall and kiss
ing
her deeply. Stunned, Rose pushed her hands against his chest. “Vincent, did you forget where we’re at?”

“They’re all outside eating,” he said quickly. “You love me
,
right, Rosie?”

“Of course
.
” She stared at his eyes. They had that hint of wo
rry she’d seen in them earlier.

“
Why?
Why do you love me?”

He searched her eyes. Rose could see it his
;
he wasn’t just asking, he really wanted to—
needed
to know.

She caressed his face with her hand as he waited intently
,
still staring deep into hers. “You make me happier than I’ve ever been in my life. Do you know that feeling in your stomach? That craziness you
felt
the day you first held my hand?” Vince nodded
,
his eyes brightening. “Then again when you first kissed me?”

“And every kiss after that,” he whispered.

She smiled
,
nodding glad that he got it, too. “Exactly
,
I love that I feel that way
all
the time now especially when I’m with you but even when you’re not around. Even when I’m just thinking of you or my phone beeps or rings and I know it’s you. And it’s
such
a good feeling. It’s like that feeling of being in heaven never goes away,” she said
,
leaning into him and kissing him softly. “And not just because you turn me on either, okay?” She smirked. “But because since day one you’ve always made me feel like a princess. I never even knew that I’d love that
,
but I do. You always treat me as if I’m something so special. I almost believe it sometimes.”

“Believe it, Rosie. You are special
,
”
h
e kissed her lips softly
,
“
v
ery
special.”

She tilted her head
with
that intense feeling inside that only he could make her feel even stronger now. “Oh yeah? So tell me why am
I
so special?”

“I think you were born that way
,
and anyone that doesn’t see it is insane and not worth your time.” He moved her wet hair away from her face. He hadn’t said it
,
but she
knew what he meant—her mother.
“I want you to know something
,
Rose. I’ve never tried so hard in my life to change
,
to prove to myself or to anyone that I’m better than this
,
n
ot until I met you.
I
t’s not just because I don’t wanna chance getting in trouble and not be able to see you. That would be reason enough, but there’s an even bigger reason. The most
important reason is I want to…
for
you
. I wanna be worthy of you.”

Rose shook her head ready to protest. He
was
worthy of her—completely. But before she could he went on with conviction. “You deserve better, Rose
,
n
ot some lowlife thug, selli
ng drugs and tagging up walls.”

“But you’re not that guy anymore.”

“Only because of you. Yeah, I’d started to make an effort before I met you
,
but obviously not a big enough one.” He pulled her closer as if her body already pressing against his wasn’t close enough. Raising his eyebrows and looking very serious again
,
he asked, “Wanna know why
I
love
you
?”

She nodded
,
already feeling the lump in her throat.

“
B
efore you my future didn’t matter to me. I’d never given it much thought at all.” He shrugged. “I’d get a job somewhere or continue to work at the factory with my dad. I’d play it by ear. Who cared? Ever since I met you, all that
’s
changed. All I ever think about is my future now
—
our
future
,
and I’m excited about it. You inspire me
,
Rosie. Inspire me to shoot for more—so much more
,
t
o be that man you deserve.” The conviction in his eyes suddenly fell
,
and he looked troubled again. “I just worry
,
you know?”

“About what?” She thought she’d seen the worry
and
felt it in the car on their drive home
.
N
ow he was confirming it. “You have
nothing
to worry about, Vincent. I promise you.”

“I trust you, Rose. I do. But I don’t trust myself.”

She pulled back
,
not understanding exactly what he was saying
,
but
hoping
she was missing something here. “What do you mean you trust me but not yourself?”

Vince pulled her back. “No
,
not like that. God, not like that.” He hugged her with so much emotion it made her nervous. Then he pulled back and stared straight in her eyes. “What I felt today, Rose, just seeing you with your
friend
Ben
…t
he disgusting way he looked at you
,
groaning like an animal
,
and the disrespectful way he spoke to you
…
” He squeezed his eyes shut. “And then he wanted to touch you? I wanted to rip him apart.”

Exhaling in relief
,
Rose nodded
,
“I know.”

“No.” He shook his head. “You
don’t
know. You have
no
idea. If it weren’t for the fact that I don’t wanna screw everything up
,
I would’ve beaten his fucking head into the ground. I was so close to blowing it—
too
close.”

That should’ve scared her. Instead it made her feel for him. She’d known he’d been upset
,
but she hadn’t realized how bad. She ran her hand up and down his arm. It seemed each time she saw him
,
his arms got even bigger and harder. “But you didn’t
b
ecause you’re not that guy anymore, remember? You don’t do stuff like that anymore. Nothing’s worth it.”

“
You’re
worth it.”

Shaking her head again
,
she stopped her hand on his forearm and squeezed. “I’m worth going to jail for? What good would that do if we couldn’t be together anymore?” He didn’t respond
,
and now she was eternally grateful to Ben for realizing the picture thing on her wall was a shitty thing to do. “I believe in you, Vincent. If you believe in me and trust that I would never let anything happen that would make you crazy, then you have nothing to worry about.”

Staring at her for a moment
,
his body finally eased up
,
and he pressed it against hers
,
kissing her until
they heard the backdoor open.

Vince

A week before school ended
,
Vince sat in the back of his
C
hemistry class. Forrest Gump was on the television in the front of the classroom. Not one person was paying attention
,
and the teacher couldn’t have cared less. She was busy packing up what was left in the cabinets. This was such a joke. If it
weren’t
because he could almost taste Rose
’
s kisses and knew that would be a daily thing for him in just a week when he went back to La Jolla for the summer
,
he wouldn’t eve
n have shown up this last week.

The last time Vince had seen Rose was just a few weeks ago. Incredibly the La Jolla Morenos had actually waited a few months after Sal and Grace
’
s baby was born to celebrate having him home. Rose had already mentioned babysitting for them. They’d get a lot of alone time when Sal and Grace needed her to watch the baby while they went out. Vince wasn’t about to blow this.

He could do this. It was boring as shit
,
and he’d much rather be at the beach like he knew most of the other seniors would be
,
spending this week
there
instead of showing up to class
,
but Rose was totally worth it.

They’d even started talking about
doing it
. Rose actually said she wanted to but not until the summer when she wouldn’t have to wait weeks to see him again. The anticipation made his pants tighten in an instant
every
time he thought about it. Things had gotten pretty heavy between them lately
.
K
nowing he’d been her first kiss
and
being mindful that
everything else they
’d done
was a first for her
,
too
,
he’d always been extremely gentle. He was actually a little nervous about it. Since he’d started seeing Rose last year
,
he hadn’t done it either of course
. He wondered if he’d be rusty.

He’d had plenty of
opportunities,
and Rose probably would’ve never found out
,
but if there was one thing he’d learned in life
,
karma was fucking bitch. Not only was he simply not interested in being with anyone else, he’d never do that to Rose. He always knew he wouldn’t
,
but especially after the day he’d felt like ripping that guy
’
s face
off. A
fter hearing the way
that guy
spoke
to
and looked at
Rose, Vince
wasn’t about to give her reason to do
anything
he knew might set him off
b
ecause judging by the way he’d felt that day alone
,
Vince knew he was now at her mercy. She wouldn’t have to try hard at all to get back at him.
Anything
he’d witness with her and someone else would set him off
,
and there’d be no holding him back. And once the dust settled
,
he’d be in deep
,
deep
shit.