Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
She’s my magic.
The bell rings, and without another word, I lead her to our next class. I pull us to the back of the room and sit in the chair next to hers. All of my buddies come over to say hi, and I introduce them. I’m aware of the looks I’m getting from my fellow classmates and teachers, but I don’t care.
All day, she’s right next to me. When I have to drop her off at her last class, I’m tempted to go to the office and ask to switch to home economics. Lena just laughs at my suggestion and pushes me down the hall as she enters the room without me. By the time the bell rings, I’m full of nervous energy. I jump out of my seat, rush two doors down, and wait for her.
“Hey.” I’m going for casual, but we both know I had to work to get through the throng of students to be here this fast.
“Stanley.”
“Lena.”
She grins, and it lights up her face. “I guess you’re going to walk me to my car?”
“What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t?”
“Not my boyfriend,” she tosses back with a lighthearted laugh. She glances over at Gail, the girl she was talking to. She’s a sweet girl. We’ve gone to school together our entire lives. I’m glad she’s being nice to my girl. At least she appears to be. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Gail flashes her a wide smile. “Yep, and you can bet we’re going to talk about this.” She waves her hand between Lena and me.
“Nothing to talk about,” Lena tells her.
“Uh-huh. Take care of my new friend, Stanley Riggins.”
“Always, Liz.”
“Not my boyfriend,” Lena says once Gail has walked away. There’s humor dancing in her eyes.
“I’m working on it, Lena. I’m working on it.” Throwing my arm over her shoulder, we make our way outside. She points out her Jeep, and we head that way. “Want to come over for dinner?”
She laughs. “No, thank you.”
“How about we hang out after? Work on homework.” I’m reaching here, but I’m not ready to let her go just yet.
“It’s the first day of classes. We didn’t have any homework.”
“Never hurts to work ahead.” We both know that I’m full of shit, but that’s okay. She’s smiling, so I’m taking that as a win.
“How about I’ll see you tomorrow?” she suggests.
“That’s a long time from now.”
“You’re going to be just fine.” She surprises me when she raises up on her tiptoes and presses her lips to my cheek. “Thank you for today. You made it so much better than I thought it would be.”
“That’s how every day will be, Lena.”
“We’ll see.” She opens up her car door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Stanley Riggins.” She climbs into her Jeep and drives away. I stand here, like the lovesick fool that I am where she’s concerned, and watch until I can no longer see her vehicle.
“What’s up with you?” Roger asks.
“That’s the girl I’m going to marry.” I point to where Lena just disappeared down the road.
“What did you take?” he asks, concern lacing his voice.
“What?”
“You have to be on something. Come on, man, you’re better than that.”
I can’t help it. My head falls back in laughter. “I didn’t take anything. It’s all about the magic, my man.”
“Magic? Right?” he draws out. “Magic pussy, maybe,” he mutters.
“Don’t.” My tone is stern. “Not with her. Don’t go there.”
He raises his hands in the air. “You do you, Riggins. All I’m saying is we’re too young to be tied down. We need to taste all the flavors before we decide on our favorite.”
“I already know my favorite. I’ll catch you tomorrow,” I say to my best friend, tossing my hand in the air. I make my way to my truck and head home.
“Finally!” I exclaim when my dad walks through the door from work.
“Talk about a welcome home.” He chuckles. “What’s up, kid?”
“Magic.”
Dad tilts his head to the side and studies me. “What about it?”
“Not it. Her.”
A slow smile tugs at his lips. “Her, huh?”
“All these years I thought you and Gramps were pulling my leg.” I run my fingers through my hair. I didn’t think he’d ever get home. I glance at the clock and see it’s ten minutes after five. He’s usually home at five. That was the longest ten minutes of my life. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but I needed to talk to him.
“All your eighteen years, huh?” he jokes.
“I’m being serious here, old man. She’s… everything.”
He nods. “Yeah, sounds about right.”
“She thinks I’m crazy.”
“That sounds about right too,” he says. “You’re going to have to tone it down, son. You can’t scare her away. The magic, it’s ours, but the women, you have to woo them still. It’s not the same for them. This is a Riggins thing,” he adds. “When we fall, we fall hard. I’m glad you’re smart enough not to fight it. You’re young, though. Are you sure?”