Walker Pride

  ****

  Two Days Later

  “So…do I get to see what you bought?” Jason rubbed her shoulders and breathed heavily into her hair just above her ear. Shivers travelled down her spine, melting each vertebra in their wake. They were propped on his bedroom floor, Stevie sitting between his thighs as the DVD played to itself and the popcorn lay untouched.

  His voice was low and tinged with a kind of sadness. Trying to lighten the mood, she slapped his leg playfully. She glared over her shoulder at him. “You certainly do not, Jason Reynolds.” She smiled and leaned up to nibble his chin.

  He pouted and fluttered his eyelashes. “Pretty please.”

  She turned fully in the space between his thighs and kissed him on his protruding bottom lip. She adored him. There was no other way to put it. He was the centre of her universe. And she was his. He was every bit the stunningly gorgeous bad boy with his collar length, scruffy, thick, dark hair and a chiselled jaw. His dark eyes held a kind of mystery that she vowed one day to get beneath. He’d been blessed with the looks of a male model and—from the ridges and striations of his abdomen tangible through his T-shirt—he had the body to match.

  He’d been a little quiet and sullen lately, like the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. She put it down to all the pressure of finals and revising. Add to that the stress of college applications and the prospect of several years of university apart from each other, if things didn’t go according to plan, and you had a recipe for one unhappy Head Boy. Tonight, however, he was hers again. He was the playful Jason she had always loved and had known for what seemed like forever.

  It felt good.

  She reached up and ran her fingers through his luscious, messy hair. “You’ll see it next Friday when you pick me up for the Leavers’ Ball and not a minute before.” His gaze dropped as he picked at a thread on the hem of his duvet cover. “What’s wrong?”

  “Ah, nothing. Just a little sad that it’s all going to be over soon.”

  “Jace, we’re leaving school. We’re not lining up for a firing squad.”

  He smiled and rubbed his nose on hers. “Duh…I know that… It’s just…well, it’s the end of an era, that’s all.”

  “Yes and the beginning of a whole new one. And if I get into Brunel, we’ll still be close to each other and not too far from home.”

  Jason clasped her hand in his. There was an almost pained expression in his eyes. “Have you ever thought about…oh, I don’t know…not going to uni?”

  She frowned at his question. “No…never. It’s what I’ve always planned. It’s what you’ve always planned too. You’ve studied so hard. Don’t worry. I just know you’ll get the grades the Oxford board is looking for.”

  He huffed the air from his lungs. “Yeah…I know…I just…I don’t know…I wonder what it would’ve been like if I’d been an average Joe. You know…average intelligence. There would’ve been a lot less pressure on me.”

  She kissed his nose. “You’ve just got pre-results blues, that’s all. One day, you’ll be a doctor without a doubt.” She leaned her forehead on his. “Your mum and dad must be so proud of you. I know I am. And you’re the best role model for Dillon.”

  Jason nodded but his eyes were filled with sadness. “Thanks. I just get a bit tired of having to be the best at everything. There’s no room for error. Failure is not an option.” He spoke as if quoting someone. “It wears me down, Stevie.” His jaw clenched.

  “Well, you shouldn’t be so bloody talented then, eh?” she teased.

  He dropped his gaze again. “That’s just it though…the more I do well, the more people expect from me. It’s getting ridiculous.”

  Worried about his current train of thought, she crawled into his lap and looked into his eyes. “What’s brought all this on?” She stroked his cheek lovingly.

  He gazed up at her, tenderly tucking her hair behind her ears. “Oh nothing…just ignore me. You’re probably right about the pre-result nerves.” He pulled her down and kissed her until she melted into him once again and forgot what they had been discussing. And then he whispered her favourite words, his mantra. “Hmm, Stevie…my soul mate.”

  She smoothed her hands down his chest to his tight stomach and his muscles flinched beneath her touch. “I could always…help you take your mind off things…if you’d let me try.”

  He lifted her and placed her beside him. His eyes were pleading a message, but she couldn’t quite read it. “Stevie…not here…not yet. It’s not that I don’t want you…and I do love you…but…can we wait? Please?”

  Once again, he had rebuffed her advances and she felt foolish. But she smiled and nodded, tucking herself into his side as she turned her attention back to the DVD on the screen.