I Just Need To Let You Know

~*~Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.~*~1

Mae Westfield sat stiffly in the hard, wooden pews of St. Mary’s Church. Everyone around her was listening intently to the father’s sermon. Mae wasn’t interested; she never was. The only reason she was even out of bed so early on a Sunday was because her super-religious family forced her to attend morning mass. She would much rather be lying in bed dreaming of destruction.
That was the type of person Mae was, destructive with no religious beliefs to speak of. Her mother and father, Mary and John Westfield, were always forcing Catholicism on Mae, telling her constantly that she would go to Hell if she refused God. Mae didn’t care. Wherever she ended up was fine with her as long as she could get away from her insane family. Her younger sister Sally wasn’t as bad as her parents, but she was still a nuisance. Mae never imagined that a ten-year-old could be so God-this and God-that, but that was how Sally had been brought up. It was annoying nonetheless. Damn Mae disliked her family.
Jostled awake from her apparent nap Mae let out a loud snore and slouched down lower in the wooden bench. Her parents shot over disapproving glares then focused their attention back on the father. Mae shifted around, trying to find a more comfortable position for sleeping but gave up; deciding that there was no way a wooden bench could be comfortable. Instead she focused on the details of the church, thinking that maybe she could use the setting in some Goth writing or something.2

Tiny candles were lit along the inside perimeter of the huge building giving off a warm, comforting glow. Small chandeliers hung from high above the many rows of pews, their light glinting off the tall stained-glass windows, each depicting a different scene from the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Three long aisles led up to the altar where the pastor was pacing before the offering of bread and wine, the basket of money sitting at the foot of the offering table. On the wall behind the table was the standard figurine of Jesus nailed to the cross. In the front just inside the doors was the Font of Holy Water where everyone revisited their baptism. Wow, St. Mary’s was so original… NOT!3

Suddenly everyone stood and started exiting the pews. Finally! Church was over and Mae could go home to sleep away the day. She jumped up and fidgeted impatiently as people slowly filed out of the narrow pew, kneeling before Jesus and crossing themselves as they exited like good little Catholic clones.4

Mae followed behind her family as they walked out of the church and through the crowded parking lot to their car. She sat next to Sally in the backseat of the old Toyota and tried to block out the horrible worship music emanating from the stereo up front. Why did her parents have to confiscate her iPod? It was her only source of sanity on trips like these and now she didn’t even have Alice In Chains to comfort her. Damn!5

That was probably why they confiscated her iPod in the first place. They said the music Mae listened to was by the Anti-Christ and that her favorite bands were Satan worshipers trying to steal her soul. Whatever, Mae would just shrug them off and continue listening. On recent outings she kept her sanity by visualizing the car stereo exploding and thereby silencing the annoying God music.6

They pulled into the driveway of an elegantly decorated Victorian home. The front lawn was a lush green and perfectly trimmed with small, picture-perfect rose bushes planted along a stone walkway. A small spruce tree was planted in the yard and surrounded by round rocks to make a perfect ring. Everything about the yard and home’s appearance screamed perfection.7

“Ah, home sweet home.” John said. He got out of the car and stretched his long arms. “Mae, would you please clean up after Marty in the backyard and then give him a bath?”8

Mae rolled her bright green eyes in exasperation and threw her arms in the air. “God dad! It’s nine in the morning! Can’t I just go to sleep?”9

“Mae Anne Westfield! How many times have we told you not to take the Lord’s name in vain! No dessert for two days and you have dishes duty for a week young lady.”10

“Whatever.”11

Mae pushed past her father and stormed up the walkway to the front door. Inside she kicked off her motorcycle boots and tossed her heavy leather jacket onto the coffee table, the many chains and studs clanging on the glass, threatening to scratch the surface. Mae hoped it did. It would serve her parents right for always treating her like she was the fucking Devil.12

She trudged through the living room and kitchen to the sliding glass doors that led to the backyard and slid them open. Her huge Siberian Husky Marty bounded through the yard toward her and attacked her with slobbery kisses.13

“Okay, okay! I surrender!” Mae laughed, pushing Marty off of her. He stood on the patio, smiling and panting with his pink tongue lolling out of his open mouth. Mae considered Marty the only family member that truly loved her because he didn’t try to force religion on her or tell her she was going to Hell every minute of every day. Another reason Mae loved Marty so much was because he didn’t like Mary and John.14

Marty followed Mae around as she cleaned up his crap and then sat patiently as she gave him his bath. When she was done she ran inside to get her hairdryer so that she could make Marty as fluffy as a cloud. Damn how she pampered that dog!15

Mae put the finishing touches on Marty’s bath, tying a black bandana around his neck, and stood back to admire her work. Marty strutted across the grass, stopped, twitched his curled tail, turned, and strutted back in the opposite direction like he was on a runway. Satisfied, Mae motioned for Marty to follow her and she went back inside. 16

In the kitchen she grabbed a can of Coke and two packs of pop-tarts then took the stairs two at a time up to her room.17

Mary and John would never let Mae put up her numerous band posters that she got from concerts and stores, so the mundane white walls had black blankets tacked to them. Rope lights of many different shades were strung around the walls and blinking in the darkness even though it was so early. A computer monitor sat glowing in the far right corner next to a window with drawn curtains and in the dead center of the room, the main attraction, was Mae’s bed; always messy and unmade, completely comfortable and welcoming.18

Mae collapsed into her swivel chair in front of the computer and deposited her food on the desk. Tearing open the first pack of pop-tarts she ripped off a piece and stuffed it in her mouth, letting the crumbs fall on the keyboard. She looked through the list of her friends on the IM list and clicked on her best friend Sam’s screen name. The screen came back to say that Sam was away.19

“Fuck you Sam!” Mae shouted and punched the keyboard. What in the world was she supposed to do at ten in the morning on a Sunday?20

Mae took her time eating her pop-tarts and drinking her Coke, surfing the internet for something to keep her occupied. Judaist Priest blared through the computer’s speakers, the music coming out craggily from the ancient piece of machinery. As Mae came to the end of her meager meal she left her sanctuary and went down to the front door where she shoved on her boots and grabbed her jacket.21

“Where do you think you’re going?” Mary asked from the doorway of the kitchen. Mae let out an exasperated sigh, her hand poised over the doorknob.22

“I’m going out.” Mae answered vaguely and slightly snotty. She was more than fed up with her parents this morning.23

“Don’t take that tone with me young lady. God says to treat your elders with respect. And did you ever stop to think that maybe you should consult a parent before you just ran off?”24

Not that shit again. Mae spun around to look at her mother, blond/blue/pink hair whipping her in the face and getting caught in her piercings.25

“I’m sorry Mother,” Mae said in a sickeningly false tone, batting her eyelashes. “I thought that my being nearly eighteen entitled me to more freedoms. I’m sorry for thinking that. It’s apparent that it means I’ve become more of a child somehow!”26

At that outburst Mary nearly dropped the plate she was cleaning. It took her a moment to get angry; she was so shocked that a child could actually talk to their parent that way!27

“Mae Anne Westfield!” Mary exclaimed, getting red in the face and shaking slightly. It was the second time her full name had been used that day; a new record.28

“You will not be going out today.” Mary continued no less calm. “That is no way to talk to your mother and I do not appreciate being spoken to in that way.”29

“You know what Mary? I don’t really give a flying fuck. I’m going to do what I want and you can’t change that.”30

With all of that said Mae bolted from the house. Tears were threatening to spill over but she refused to cry over a stupid fight with her mother.31

Mae continued to walk briskly down the street without thinking. After an hour of aimless wandering she came to a park about five miles from her house. She sat down on a bench and finally let herself breakdown. She cried and cried, tears staining her face and causing her mascara to run in thick black lines. Her whole body shook violently with each sob. What was she even crying about? It wasn’t the first time she’d gotten into a feud with one of her parents, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last time, and it had never bothered her before so why now?32

Someone sat down on the bench beside her. She raised her face to momentarily glare at the stranger and found a beautiful pair of crystal green eyes watching her.33

“What?” Mae snapped.34

“Nothing.” The man said. His voice was deep and husky. “Are you okay?”35

“Why would I tell my troubles to a stranger?” Mae was no longer crying by she was still sniffling.36

The man smiled sweetly, showing a row of gleaming white teeth. He extended a hand to Mae. “I’m Guy Halicaster, and you are?” 37

Mae shook Guy’s hand. “Mae Westfield. It’s nice to meet you. So you want to know my story? I hate my parents and they hate me even more.”38

“Oh well I highly doubt that.” Guy said.39

“Haha of course you wouldn’t understand.” Mae chuckled and looked at her lap. “If you wish, I will tell you the whole story.” She was hoping he would refuse.40

“I have plenty of time.” Guy slouched on the bench and made himself comfortable. Mae couldn’t help but notice his long muscled body as he stretched his arms behind his head of sandy blond hair. To her he looked sort of grungy and Mae liked it.41

Heaving a sigh Mae dove into the life-long story of how Mary and John had constantly tried to force Catholicism on her and told her she was going to Hell. She explained how she herself had no religious beliefs and how she really didn’t care where she ended up or even if there really was a God out there in the vast universe. It took Mae half-an-hour to fully tell Guy her story and by the end of it she was in tears again and leaning into his broad shoulder.42

“And now, for some inexplicable reason, I’m sitting in a park, upset about a stupid fight I had with my mother.” Mae finished on a sob. She felt odd telling a stranger – even a cute stranger – her whole life story, but at the same time she was oddly comforted that she finally got it all off her chest.43

“Well,” Guy stretched and Mae sat up. “I feel as if I should at least try to cheep you up. Let me take you out to get ice cream.” 44

Mae wiped her puffy eyes and nodded to say to Guy that ice cream would be okay. They vacated the bench and walked into town a mile away, coming to a nice, old-fashioned ice cream parlor. Guy paid for two large cookie dough ice creams and joined Mae at a table by the windows.45

“Thank you.” Mae said around a mouthful of freezing ice cream. Then she thought about how unattractive that was and how cute Guy was, swallowed, and apologized. Guy smiled that bright smile from earlier and Mae nearly melted like her ice cream. Damn, he was so perfect!46

“So…” Mae was so nervous to even talk around this man anymore. “What about you? I just basically told you all about myself….”47

Guy just flashed that brilliant smile again. “I’ll tell you what…. I’ll tell you about only part of my life.”48

“Why? That’s not cool! I just told you all about-“49

“You didn’t let me finish.” Guy smiled, cutting Mae off from her rant. “I’ll tell you a part of my life today, another part tomorrow, then the next day, and so on. What do you say to that Miss Mae Westfield?”50

Mae was astounded. Guy wanted to see her again! Every day! She couldn’t believe it. All she could do was nod.51

“Awesome. Well… I guess I should start at the beginning.”52

Mae sat listening intently to Guy’s story. He was nineteen and going to college, majoring in computer technology. He’d lived in New York until he was ten with his parents and two sisters, both younger than he. Guy mentioned that he never really had many friends – except for a few really close ones in high school – because he didn’t like to open up to people.53

“So why tell me all of this?” Mae asked, interested.54

“I’m telling you in segments. Kind of like a weekly television show.” Guy smiled over his ice cream. He did that a lot but it was exquisite! Mae stared at his wonderful smile.55

“Also,” Guy broke her stare and brought her back to the world. “I feel a strange sort of connection to you. Like I was supposed to meet you in the park today or something.”56

“How so?” Mae leaned across the table, intrigued.57

“I’m not exactly sure. I just… feel some connection. That’s the only way I can explain it for now.”58

Mae accepted his words without a second thought. She wasn’t sure why. There was something about Guy that just made her want to believe everything that he told her.59

They talked for a few more hours about random subjects that just came up and it was five in the evening before they knew it. Mae had to get home before the sun set. Guy walked her all the way to her block.60

“Same time and place tomorrow?” Guy asked. He watched Mae’s actions while he waited for her answer.61

“Of course!” Mae exclaimed before she actually thought about what day it was. Monday. “Oh wait. I have school tomorrow.” The disappointment in her voice was evident.62

“Well what time do you get out of school? Maybe I’ll come pick you up.” Guy offered.63

“That would be great! I get out at two-thirty from Del Monte High School. Do you know where that is?”
“I know exactly where that is.” Guy leaned his hand against the lamppost behind Mae, minimizing the space between them.
“Ah-awesome.” Mae stuttered. She was nervous with the proximity and even more so with Guy’s ultra-comfortable smile.
“Cool. I’ll see you at two-thirty then.” Guy caressed Mae’s jaw with the tip of his index finger, leaving goose bumps in his wake. Mae’s breath caught in her chest at his soft touch. “Goodnight Mae Westfield.”
Then Guy was gone. Mae watched the end of the street as if she thought he would suddenly jump out from behind a bush and yell “just kidding!” and run back to her. But he didn’t.
“Goodnight Guy Halicaster.” Mae whispered into the darkness. She walked the last few yards to her home in memorable silence, replaying the events of the day from when she met Guy. When she entered the front door Mary and John were waiting for her, but she ignored them and floated on past them to her room where she quietly shut the door and went over to the computer.
Sam was finally online. Mae could already envision her best friend sitting in front of his computer, all the lights off. His jet black hair would be completely straight, probably fresh off the flat iron, and the light from the computer would be glinting off of his three facial piercings – his snake bites (two in bottom lip) and his one other lip piercing. The only things that wouldn’t be visible would be his white gauges and his neck tattoos. Damn, Mae loved that kid.
Mae double clicked Sam’s name and quickly typed him a message telling him about her day. He wrote back even quicker.
“Mae has a new bf!”
“No I don’t!” Mae retaliated but she was smiling the whole time at the thought of dating Guy. He would be all hers to look at, to touch, to kiss…. She didn’t want to think about kissing him. She would probably drop dead at the computer due to imagination induced heart failure. But damn, what she wouldn’t give to know what it would be like to kiss those perfect lips!
The computer twanged and brought her out of her thoughts.
“U like this dude M. Admit it. U can’t lie to ur bestie.”
Mae knew Sam was right. She couldn’t lie to him! And he’d already figured it out so there was no point in trying to weasel her way out of a confession.
“Oh alright, I like him. R u happy now?”
“Very much so. Thank u 4 not lying to me like I kno u were planning.”
Wow, Sam knew her way too well. Mae laughed to herself and got off the computer; it was time for bed. The second her head hit the pillow she was asleep and dreaming of Guy Halicaster.64

The whole next week was like something out of a dream for Mae. She didn’t pay attention at school, talked to Sam only during breaks, and saw Guy every day. He picked her up from school in his black Ford truck and always took her someplace new, and each day Mae learned something more about who Guy was.
Mae learned that Guy was basically a spoiled child, always getting what he wanted when he asked for it along with his sisters Jenny and Brianna. His parents, Scott and Rachel, were both described as the perfect couple and loving parents. They’d been married for twenty-five years and were still going strong, hardly fighting at all.
Guy attended a number of different schools during his childhood because he was always moving around New York. His father Scott was in some sort of business that required a lot of inter-state traveling, which also contributed to Guy’s lack of friends. When they moved here Guy was placed in a permanent school but still made no friends, reverting back into those days when he moved around a lot.
High school was a big transition for Guy. He’d never been to a real public school… and it was huge. It was a whole new, strange world to him. Guy had gone to Reed Nears High School for most of his freshman year, but was expelled in the second semester for being in a fight. When all the dust settled he was going to an all new school that Mae knew of – Del Monte High School. Guy finished out his high school life at DMHS and went on to college.
So far this was all Mae was able to learn about Guy. It had been a week and she had been told only the basics. She was ecstatic! If this was all she was able to learn in a week that meant that it would take another week to learn about Guy as much as he had learned about her. Maybe even more than another week!
Sunday rolled by and again it was the same old routine, but Mae wasn’t stressed about it this week. Sure she didn’t want to get up and go to church with a whole bunch of stupid Jesus freaks, but she figured it wasn’t worth the fight right then. Anyways, she was going to see Guy later so it was something to look forward to.
Church went on as usual with nothing even slightly interesting. The drive home was the same. Marty’s bath was the same. Mae went up to her room thinking she was in a rut and found a message flashing on her computer screen. It was Sam.
“M, I need ur help 2day. Come over ASAP! S”
Mae couldn’t respond. Sam had already signed off and he never had his cell phone on him. She had no choice but to cancel her day with Guy and to go over and help Sam with whatever was going on. Mae sadly cancelled her plans with Guy and walked the four blocks to Sam’s house.
The first time Mae had visited Sam at his house she thought she’d take the address down wrong. There was no way her buddy Sam, the same Sam with the bad boy reputation, could live in a clean-cut suburban home with rose bushes. The two images just didn’t fit together.
Mae knocked on the forest green front door, always the perfect young lady for Mr. and Mrs. Strycaster. As soon as Mrs. Strycaster opened the door the smell of freshly baked peanut butter cookies flooded over Mae. She inhaled deeply and exhaled with a sigh. Damn, she loved Mrs. Strycaster’s cookies!
“Why hello Mae!” Mrs. Strycaster said in her cheery voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Sam said he needed my help with something.” Mae told her. She was hoping that she would be offered a cookie.
“Oh of course! How silly of me! Well you know where Sam’s room is. I’ll be right in with milk and fresh cookies.” There it was.
“Thank you Mrs. Strycaster.”
Mae walked though the beautifully decorated house until she came to Sam’s room at the end of the back hall. The door was closed but she just opened it and walked in like she owned the fuckin’ place.
Sam was sitting in the center of his bed on his laptop. When he heard his door open he looked up and smiled his familiar smile at Mae that said he had been waiting for her. He jumped up from the unmade bed and came over to her.
“Well finally! I’ve only been waiting for about two hours!” Sam joked. He playfully punched Mae’s arm and then gave her a giant bear hug.
“I had to go to church. You know that. So what was so important that you needed me to come over and help you ASAP?”
Sam smiled and held up both his index fingers, looking between them with his dark brown eyes.
“My parents are finally letting me paint my room. I need your help deciding what colors to paint it and designing what exactly is going on the walls.”
“That was your big emergency?” Mae was pissed. She’d cancelled her day with Guy to help Sam pick out paint colors? “Couldn’t you have discussed this with me at school? I had plans to hang out with Guy today that I cancelled because I thought you were in trouble!”
Sam’s expression was downcast. His eyes flashed a menacing anger and a frown grew on his mouth. He was angry.
“What’s with you lately?” Sam spat. “Where’s the Mae that I used to hang out with all the time, huh? Ever since this… Guy came into the picture you’ve been ignoring me!”
“What are you talking about Sam? I’m the same person I’ve always been.”
“No you’re not, Mae! We used to be super close, but now I can’t even talk to you! All I ever hear about is fuckin Guy Halicaster and how amazing he is! I don’t fucking care Mae!”
“Why are you being such an asshole about this? So I have a new friend and I like spending time with him, what’s the problem with that?”
“Because it’s like we’re not even friends anymore Mae!”
Mae stumbled back as if Sam had literally hit her with his words. How could he say that? Of course they were friends! They had been ever since he helped her out in her freshman year at DMHS. Was this really what he thought?
“Sam, what do you mean?” Mae’s voice shook with her confusion. She was close to tears and she would not let them spill over, not in front of Sam. He didn’t deserve the right to see her cry at that moment.
Sam sighed as if taking on a large burden. “I’m saying that if you’re going to act like this, avoiding me for some guy you like, then I don’t think we can be friends. Maybe we should just spend some time apart.”
Now Mae let the tears fall. She didn’t care who saw at this point, she just didn’t want to lose her best friend like this.
“Sam no, please don’t say that. I don’t want us to not be friends…”
“Please Mae, just go.” Sam turned his back to Mae and let his words fall. That was it. Their friendship was over, just like that, so easily.
Mae turned to leave the room but before she did she took off her leather jacket with the chains and studs and left it lying on Sam’s bed. It had been his last birthday gift to her and she loved it more than anything, he knew she did, and her leaving it with him would show how much it was hurting her that they were done with each other. At least, she hoped it would.
Mrs. Strycaster was coming down the hall with a plate of cookies and two glasses of milk when Mae streaked past and ran out the front door. She couldn’t stand to see anyone at that point. No one could make her feel better, not even Guy.65

Weeks went by with no word from Sam. He was telling the truth when he said that he didn’t want to be friends anymore. Mae did spend every day with Guy, but Sam was always lingering in the back of her mind.
After three weeks Mae and Guy were officially dating, but Mae was still unhappy. Sure, she loved being with Guy, but Sam still didn’t want to be her friend. It was enough to kill her. One day Guy couldn’t take her melancholy woe-is-me state anymore and spoke up.
“Mae, honey what’s wrong?” Guy asked.
“Nothings wrong Baby.” Mae lied. She’d gotten good at lying over the years and especially over the past month.
“Don’t lie to me Mae Anne. I know something is wrong, now tell me what it is.” It was the first time Guy had ever used Mae’s middle name in that context and it startled her.
“It’s Sam.” Mae finally confided.
“What about Sam?” Guy was much more easy going once he got Mae to actually talk about what was bothering her.
“We’re not friends anymore; haven’t been for about a month now.”
“But that happened a long time ago! Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”
Mae was silent for a minute. Did she really want to tell Guy about why Sam ended their friendship? When she didn’t answer Guy told her that it was okay and that she didn’t have to answer right away. She could answer in her own time.
“I love you.” Mae said. It was so sudden that she didn’t even realize she’d said it until she saw the look on Guy’s face. Her own turned bright red and she turned away, muttering about a mistake and how she didn’t mean to say it.
Guy took Mae’s face in his hands and made her look at him. “It’s okay. I love you too.” Guy smiled and kissed Mae, letting her melt into him. Mae loved it when they kissed. It was always so exciting! But she always wanted more and she pushed to get it but he would never oblige. Damn, how it pissed her off! Sometimes she was sure that Guy would drive her to insanity with sexual frustration.66

That night Mae received an unexpected message on her IM. It was Sam.
“Hi.”
“Hey. Wuts up?”
“Nothin. U still with that guy?”
“Yes. He just told me he luvs me.”
“Congrats.”
Mae felt awkward with the whole conversation. This was the boy she used to stay up all night talking to and now she could barely say two words to him. Fuck, it was seriously depressing!
“Sam, wut r u doing? We haven’t talked in a month and now u suddenly decide 2 contact me? Wut gives?”
She waited for a whole ten minutes but never got any reply. Five minutes later Sam had signed off and their conversation – if you could even call it that – had ended.
“Fine, if that’s the way you want to be, then fuck you!” Mae flung herself on her bed and cried herself to sleep thinking about Sam.
The next day she told Guy about what had happened.
“I’m so sorry Honey.” Guy sympathized. He draped a muscled arm around Mae’s shoulder and she rested her head against his neck.
“I just wish I knew how to fix things between us.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Until then, I’ll pray for you.”
That shocked Mae. Guy had never said anything about religion and because of it she assumed that he just didn’t have any beliefs and didn’t question him. Now she actually wondered if he belonged to any religion.
“Why did you say that?”
“Well I uhh… I.”
“Guy are you religious at all?”
Guy didn’t answer and Mae pressed harder.
“Are you Roman Catholic like my parents?” Guy nodded. Mae couldn’t believe it. What the fuck!
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me that!”
“I just thought you wouldn’t want to know. You were so upset about your parents the day we met and I thought that if you knew I was Roman Catholic you wouldn’t want anything to do with me.”
“So you kept it a fucking secret! What, did you think I’d never find out? I can’t believe you would do that to me!”
“I just didn’t want to hurt you.”
“I wouldn’t have cared if you had just told me! But the fact that you kept such a big part of you a secret hurts me even more! I can’t believe I was so stupid! Do you want to know why Sam and I aren’t friends anymore? It’s because of you! I was spending too much time with you and ignoring him.”
Guy was silent. He didn’t know what to say.
“I can’t do this anymore.” Mae said in a whisper, almost to herself.
“Can’t do what?” Guy asked. He looked into Mae’s eyes and she found that he was crying. She was shocked to find that she didn’t care. It didn’t hurt her the same way it hurt her when Sam had ended their friendship. That’s when reality finally hit her.
“We’re over, Guy. I’m truly sorry, but I love someone else.”
Mae ran through the Strycaster’s door without knocking, knowing she would be let in either way. She ran straight to Sam’s bedroom and burst through the door. Sam was sitting at his desk on his computer.
“Mae, what the fuck are you-“
Mae ran across the room and silenced Sam with her mouth, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him tight to her. It was a quick kiss but it was enough.
“I love you Sam. I am so sorry.”
“What happened to Guy?” Sam was looking everywhere but at Mae.
“I dumped him. Turns out I loved someone else.” Sam finally looked at her and he smiled. Mae closed her eyes as Sam kissed her with so much passion it made her wonder what kind of feelings he’d been hiding. But that was a question for another time. Right now all she could think about were his lips on hers.
Sam pulled away after a while and caught his breath. He chuckled. Damn, he was so cute!
“I love you too Mae. I always have.” Sam whispered. He kissed her again and Mae was ecstatic. She had her perfect man, she could legally move out of her parents’ home in a couple of months and not worry about their stupid Jesus beliefs, and, most importantly, she was finally happy.