“I can’t do this, Logan!” she shouted at me, and the tears ran down her face more quickly this time, smearing her mascara. “I just can’t do this. Please. You hurt me. You are so quick to think the worst of me. I will do anything for you. But I just can’t do this. What you did to me the other night, it hurt me more than I’ve ever been hurt in my life. You crushed me. Do you understand that? You crushed me!”

“Your dad used to be best friends with my dad.” The words coming out of my mouth sounded robotic. “Your dad was upset because my dad was smarter and got my mom. Your dad set my dad up with the police. My dad’s life was never the same.” I knew I was mumbling and not making sense, but I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted her so badly to understand. “I grew up hating your dad because my dad hated him for ruining his life. We came to this house every week for years and just sat outside, and my dad would tell us about his dreams and his goals before your dad screwed him over. And then we would go home to our squalor, and we’d lay in bed hungry and cold, and we hated the family that lived on Manor Road.” I paused to see if she was listening, and I saw the dismayed shock on her face as she stared at me. I continued and lifted up my shirt, “You see this scar? My dad stabbed me one day when I asked him to take us home. I was fed up of hearing the story about what your dad had done. It consumed his life. He was a drunk. He is a drunk.” I paused and banged my fist against the steering wheel, unable to look at her as I spoke. “I hate him so much, I hate who he is. He’s a sorry drunk who hit his wife and his kids, and I hate your dad for making him that person. I’m a jumble of emotions and I don’t even know what to say.” I turned to look at her to see how she was reacting, and she ran her hands down my chest and over my scar. She looked up at me with more tears welling in her eyes and I continued, this time, grabbing her hands and talking. “My whole life has consisted of hating your dad, stealing cars, and trying to make a better life for my brothers. I never wanted to meet a girl and fall in love, and I certainly never wanted to meet you.” I rubbed the tears away from her face as she cried. “When I saw you that night, I wondered who you were, this calm, cool and beautiful car thief, and I took you to the field because we had instant chemistry and I just liked how I felt when I was around you. And then you were so spunky and confident, and I was intrigued by you. When we made love, I felt like my body was on fire. But then you told me who you were, and I hated you. I hated myself for being with you.”

“That’s why you hurried me home.” She spoke softly, and I nodded. “I think I understand it now.” She sighed. “I’m glad you’re finally opening up to me. I guess I understand why you wanted to hate me.”

“But I couldn’t stop thinking of your sweet smile and confident manner. And you kept coming back for more, and you seemed to get me, to understand me, to know and like me. You saw the real me. The me inside of the shell. You saw the real Logan Martelli, and I couldn’t stop myself from falling for you.”

“I thought it was the sex.” She made a little joke and I felt my heart leap as she finally cracked a smile.

“Well, the sex was amazing, but that was just a bonus. You made me start to believe that there could be a happy ending for someone like me.”

“But you didn’t really believe it.” She shook her head, sad again.

“No, a part of me didn’t believe it.” I sighed. “And when I got to the party, with my heart in my hand, and you told your dad I was a ‘friend’ after everything, I thought to myself, it was all a lie. She doesn’t love me, she’s not going to always be there for me. And I just couldn’t take it. I needed to make you hurt, as you had hurt me.” I paused and closed my eyes. “And I regretted it as soon as I saw the look in your eyes when you realized I had opened the door.”

“You wanted to hurt me.”

“No.” I shook my head. “I have never wanted to hurt you.”

“And you didn’t trust me.” She bit her lip. “I would do anything for you, Logan, and my heart is broken about my father. I’m shocked and devastated, but I—”

“Do you love me?” I interrupted her, not wanting her to reject me again. She nodded and my heart soared. “Do you think I would hurt you on purpose?” She stared at me for a long time and shook her head. “Do you believe I love you?” My voice cracked as I said ‘love’ and she nodded, her eyes darkening. “I think we deserve to give each other another chance.” I stared at her, hoping to convince her to give me one last chance. “For the sake of love, give us one last chance.”

“Okay.” The sound was so low, I wasn’t sure that I had heard her properly.

“What?” I asked, not daring to believe the words I had heard.

“Okay, I’ll give you another chance.”

“No more dating Joey.” I grinned at her and she rolled her eyes. “And no more kissing him either.”

“I didn’t kiss him.” She laughed and I pulled her towards me.

“I saw him kiss you tonight.” I frowned at her, as I started to get jealous again. “You didn’t say no.”

“He pecked me, Logan.” She giggled. “That’s hardly a kiss.”

“Don’t let him do it again.”

“Okay.” She smiled and stared into my eyes. “I’m sorry about my dad.”

“You believe me?” I looked at her with a worried expression, scared she doubted what I had said.

“Yes.” She nodded. “I know you wouldn’t lie to me. And from some things my mother has said recently,” she sighed, “well, I think she was trying to tell me that my dad wasn’t or isn’t the man I think he is.”

“What did she say?” I looked at her curiously.

“You can ask her yourself.” She smiled at me. “We’ll go to lunch and she can tell you everything she knows, if you think that would help you.”

“I’d love to know more.” I nodded. “I feel like I don’t know everything. Maybe she can help me piece it together.”

“I don’t even know what to think about my dad.” She bit her lip and looked at me sadly. “I still love him, and it makes me feel so guilty. I just don’t know what to do.”

“I don’t want to talk about him.” I kissed her. “I still hate him. I don’t think I’ll ever stop hating him, but I’m not going to let that stop me from loving you with all my heart.”

“Do you really love me?” She grinned happily.

“If you love me.” I laughed easily now.

“Tell me again,” she whispered against my lips, almost shyly.

“I love you.”

“Why?” She looked at me in wonder.

“I love you because you’re spunky and brave. I love you because you’re the first person I think of in the morning and the last person I see before I go to bed at night. I dream of you and live my days thinking about how I can be a better man for you. I don’t know how I lived without you in my life, Maddie Wright.”

“I love you, Logan Martelli.”

“Why?” I held my breath as I waited for her response. A part of me still didn’t feel worthy of her love.

“I love you because you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen in my life. When you smile at me, a part of my heart explodes with happiness. When you look at me, I feel like you are seeing every part of me, and you care about what I have to say and what I do. I love that you appreciate that I’m a smart, loud, confident woman, but you also allow me to be your special someone, and you protect me, and keep me warm. I love that you like to take charge and dominate me, and when I feel you inside of me, I feel as if the world has stood still and there are only two people left.” She gasped as I slipped my hand up her dress and caressed her inner thighs. “When you touch me, I feel like my skin is on fire and only you can quench me.” I licked her lips and grinned against her mouth, laughing softly at her low moan as my fingers slipped into her panties.

“I love how wet you are for me, Maddie,” I whispered against her lips. “I love that I can feel your body trembling slightly as I touch you lightly. I love the way you press into me and kiss me back passionately. I love that when I am inside of you, I am on top of the world, and when we cl**ax, I feel like we are on top of a cliff, jumping into the waves together. And I never want to let you go. Not even if I have to drown. I want to be with you and in you at all times. I want to touch you and feel your heart race against mine. I want to see your big violet eyes light up with happiness when you see me, and I want to feel your soft kisses against my lips, waking me up in the mornings.”

“Oh, Logan,” she groaned as I continued rubbing her wetness and then slipped a finger inside of her. I groaned as I felt her tremble against me and clench against my finger.

“You’re mine, Maddie Wright.” I looked into her eyes possessively. “You’re mine and I am never letting you go.” I felt my phone vibrating as I spoke, and I pulled it out quickly with a frown. I saw Jared’s name flashing across the screen and put it back down without answering it. “I want to make love to you,” I leaned over and whispered in her ear, and she turned to me with a brief smile.

“Not in the bathroom.” She winked at me and I laughed. I laughed because I was happy to have found the love of my life, and I was happy that she was forgiving and had a sense of humor.

“Can I make love to you, Maddie?”

“Yes.” She grinned at me and I pushed my seat back as far as it would go. She climbed over the gearstick and straddled my lap, reaching down to unzip my pants, she pulled out my hard, throbbing erection and grinned as she leaned towards me and kissed me. I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down on me. I lifted her dress hastily and slid her panties to the side roughly before positioning myself at her opening. She moaned as I pushed the tip into her slowly and moved her h*ps so she was now in charge. She kissed me as she started riding me slowly, and I grabbed her butt and caressed it as she moved back and forth quicker and quicker. We kissed passionately and with abandon, and I tried to make her move more slowly as I felt my orgasm building up quickly.

“Slow down, Maddie,” I groaned. “I’m going to explode.”

“So am I.” She grinned and continued rocking back and forth, and within a few minutes I was exploding inside of her as she continued her movements. I felt her trembling and moaning as she starting to come, and I sucked on her tongue as she cl**axed on me. We sat there for a few minutes grinning at each other, and then her phone started ringing. I looked at her with a frown and she shrugged her shoulders as she reached over to look at her phone. She glanced at it quickly and stuffed it back into her bag, her face looking at mine anxiously. I was pretty sure it was Joey, and I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to ruin the moment with my anger and jealousy. I was still upset that she had gone on a few dates with him, even though nothing had happened, but I knew I just had to get over it.

“Do you want to come over?” I played with her hair as she lay on top of me.

She shook her head slightly. “I have to go in.”

“You can stay with me,” I persisted. “I don’t want to sleep without you tonight.”

“I want to sleep with you as well, but not tonight.” She looked at her bag distractedly. “In fact, I better get in before my parents start looking for me, and my dad catches me in flagrante with you again.”

“I’m sorry.” I bit my lip, and she shook her head.

“No. It’s the past. I don’t want to relive it.” She leaned forward and kissed me again before getting off of my lap. “Call me tomorrow?”

“You’re leaving now?” For some reason I was reluctant to let her out of my sight. A part of me was scared that she would change her mind and decide that she didn’t want to be with after all.

“Yes.” She nodded, and opened the car door. “Call me tomorrow.”

“Let me walk you to the door.” I jumped out of the car to escort her, and she smiled at me sweetly.

“You’re such a gentleman, who would have figured it.” She laughed and shook her head. “But no, this is fine.” She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me one more time. I felt myself growing hard again and pulled her into me and she pulled away laughing. “Not again.”

“Please?” I winked at her and she giggled.

“No.” She shook her head and I tickled her. She started laughing and twitching and her handbag fell to the ground, and her wallet and phone fell out. I helped pick up her phone and as I passed it to her, I decided to check out who had left her the missed call. I looked at the screen as I passed her the phone, and I nearly dropped it again when I saw Jared’s name.

“Why is Jared calling you?” I frowned.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Maybe looking for you?”

“Yeah.” I nodded slowly, not believing it but not wanting to question her. “Dream of me tonight?” I traced my finger along her palm as we walked back over to her house.

“Of course.” She smiled back at me sweetly.

“Then I’ll meet you in my dreams tonight.” I smiled at her. “You’ll be na**d and in a field.”

“And you’ll have some whipped cream.” She winked back at me, and my heart ached as I realized I wouldn’t be with her tonight. I hadn’t even left yet, but I already missed her.