Chapter 94 Chapter 4: Anna

Chapter 94 Chapter 4: Anna
Anna:

The next morning, I wake up in Adrian’s bed. The sunlight from the window casts over my face, making me squint. I take in the surroundings of the room, yawning.

Fuck, I must have ended up falling asleep. I try to scramble out of bed to take a shower, but Adrian pulls me back, grumbling. “Stay.”

“I can’t.” I admit painfully. “I have to get back to the dorm today.”

“Who cares?” he says, his voice set on that morning tone. “It’s the weekend, we don’t have any classes today, hell knows where my roommate is, we could spend all day together, we could go to town, have a proper date, go sightseeing. Everyone already knows we are boyfriend and girlfriend.”

Boyfriend and girlfriend. The term seems so foreign yet so cozy. Last night was beautiful. Adrian and I came into his room in a rush of passion last night. We kissed slowly while undressing and the way his eyes took in my bare body. Goddess, it was wonderful. It was like he was worshiping and at the same time, memorizing every part of my body. Never in my life have I felt so seen before.

“The girls would be worried.” I add, even when I know they might not be. Elva and Nixie were present at the romance festival with Alex and Ivan and I am pretty sure that they are with them right now and that our dorm room will be practically empty.

Adrian can spot through my lie, he sits upright, dressed in only sweatpants, “We are spending this day together.” He leans in and gives me a kiss on the temple.

“Doing what exactly?” I watch as Adrian steps out from the bed, his bare back flexing. He has a tattoo of a dragon that runs from his back to his left arms. He said it was a drunken mistake years ago, but now he doesn’t regret it.

I love it.

Adrian and I step into the shower, followed by another steamy make out. Who knew dating could be so fun? We spend the first quarter of the day sipping coffee while spending time in the library, flipping through history textbooks. We share our facts, laughing and teasing each other. We went to the movie theatre; we went to the beach to watch the sunset. By the time the day has ended, we are excited, flushed and happy.

“Thank you for today.” I say to him, smiling. I tug at the hem of his sweatshirt (well, it’s his sweatshirt) but I like how it fits into me, it’s warm and it smells exactly like that. We are standing in front of my dorm room, staring into each other’s eyes.

Adrian just grins instead. “You have to write your re-write pretty soon. And funny enough, when I met with Professor Marrs, she asked me to conduct a resit for those who scored a C. Also, she gave me the honors of setting the questions.”

“No way.” I jerk his elbows playfully. “Are you going to take revenge and make the questions super hard?”

“Maybe.” He cheekily says, but then smiles. “No, I can’t. The questions have to be fair and square, Professor Marrs will kill me if I give you special treatment.”

“I should probably get back to studying.” I say, I have never felt like this before, spending my day with Adrian today was heavenly.

“You should.” Adrian studies me. “Okay, bye.”

“Bye.” Disappointment washes over me briefly, a cheeky part of me thought that he is going to kiss me goodbye, maybe it’s the hopeless romantic in me or maybe, I have read too many books. I turn, my hand lingering on the knob but then Adrian pulls my wrist back, leans in and kisses me.

I moan into his mouth, going into my tiptoes, kissing me back. When we pull apart, we are both breathing heavily.

“Did you in your right senses think I would forget that?” He asks and I nod. “Don’t ever think that ever again, alright?”

“Yes.” I nod my head, still feeling breathless.

“Goodbye, angel.” He kisses my forehead and I grin like an idiot. When I step into the room, I thought that I was going to be alone, but Nixie and Elva are on their beds, staring at me with earnest eyes.

“You look like someone who’s in love.” Nixie drawls out, raising a brow. “Wasn’t that Adrian Thorne’s voice we just heard?” She sneakily winks, and my cheeks betray me by flushing hard.

I lean against the door, covering my cheeks to hide the flame.

“I saw you guys at the kissing booth last night, you both seemed really busy.” Elva says next, winking. Since when did Elva become this mischievous?

“For pete’s sake, you are my sister-in-law.” I say playfully but Elva rolls her eyes. “And yes...” If I have to tell them, I might as well tell her right now. “Adrian Thorne and I are kinda dating now.”

“Kinda?” Nixie almost bounces off from her seat, clapping. “Shit, you’re dating a senior.”

“He’s not a senior yet, he’s still a junior, he’s graduating next year.” I say defensively, “Are you guys against me dating a junior?”

“Not at all.” Nixie walks over to me, her champagne blonde hair is tied in a ridiculous bun and she’s wearing a full body robe on a Saturday evening. “You do need someone older.” She winks.

“I smell love here,” Elva says, being realistic. “Are you in love with him?” The two girls keep their gaze focused on me, it’s surprising how one gaze can make you feel comfortable.

“I don’t know....maybe.....yes?” I groan, “It’s very hard right now, and I have no idea, but I really like him, girls. I like him so much it hurts.”

Elva sighs. “That’s how love is supposed to feel like.”

My phone pings with a text and I hurriedly fish it out. It’s from Adrian.

Adrian: You okay? Do you need anything?

“Look at those tons of stickers.” Nixie peers into my phone which makes me scream out loud; doesn’t anybody value privacy in this world anymore?

I roll my eyes at them, stepping into the shower. As the cool water flushes against my skin, I think about Adrian and how we spent our day together, a smile can’t help forming. The moment I step out of the shower, I pull out my phone and send a text to my brother, Enrique.

Me: News flash.

It is our signature sentence whenever we really need the other to reply urgently.

Enrique: I am here.

His reply comes a minute later.

Me: How did it feel when you knew you were in love?

His reply comes in.

Enrique: Seriously? This is why you message me when I am having the best time of my life with Irene? You can do better than that (inserts hundreds of eye roll emojis)

I don’t know who thought my brother the usage of multiple emojis at once. Four emojis at once are crossing the line.

Me: Just please, tell me.

Enrique: Are you in love? Is he responsible? What does his father do for work? Is he kind? 

Me: Come on. Don’t drill me with words.

Enrique: I trust you to make the right judgement. Nixie and Elva are dating; it’s high time you jump on the wagon too.

Why do I have a weird feeling that they keep gossiping about us and our love lives back in the pack-house?

Enrique: Anyways, when you’re in love. You just know, you feel safe with that person; you can be your awkward self around that person. They’ll take you for who you are, there’s no pretending in love.

Me: Thank you, big brother.

Enrique: Are you still not going to tell me the mysterious person?

Me: Nope.

As I come out of the bathroom, I reach a concise statement, I am in love with Adrian Thorne.

\--

Adrian:

Two weeks pass by in a blur, between prepping for exams, practising football and spending time with Anna, things have been going pretty well. Today is the faceoff between our team and the team from the east. They have been winning three years in a row, today is the day we finally claim that victory.

I woke up feeling indifferent about the match, there had been a text waiting for me from Anna, all it said was ‘Good luck, you got this, soldier.’ With a bunch of emojis, it was just a text but it was enough to fuel the excitement within me. I had shoved the half burnt toast hurriedly into my mouth, before running to the locker room.

The locker room is a furnace of nerves from the guys. They are hyping each other, growling, snapping towels, pounding fists, Henry mentions something about the cheerleaders being ‘smokin’ hot’, which earns him a round of laughter.

But I don’t laugh.

My head is somewhere else.

Her.

Professor Marrs made it compulsory that Anna and the other students had to take the re-sit today, which means she is not going to present to see the match. She had wanted to skip it for me.

‘The C negative doesn’t really affect my total grade, if I study harder for the exam, it will cover the total grade.’ She had said but I told her not to skip it.

The history test really means a lot to her and I will not be an asshole by denying her that, she deserves that re-sit. But still, a tiny part of me hopes that she’ll make it, even though it’s ten minutes to the end of the game. I just want to spot her among the crowd, even if it’s just for a second, just so I can breathe.

The ref blows the whistle and I hurriedly give the team a prep talk. We jog out into the courtyard stadium where it is bursting with noise, the crowd is wild, banners flying around, flags waving in the air. The other teams are already in formation.

‘Focus, this is our year to win.’ My wolf tries to make me focus, but my eyes scan the bleachers, hoping I will catch sight of her brown copper hair. 

There’s no sign.

“Adrian!” Someone calls out my name and hope punches into me. I turn hurriedly with a bright smile, but my smile dies down when I see Gina, wearing her cheerleading outfit, waving at me. “Good luck!”

I sigh.

We are down 2-0 by halftime. My shoulders ache. My lungs burn. Coach’s voice is distant, angry, yelling at us not to play football like a bunch of simps. I am trying, really trying, but my head isn’t in the game. It is in a classroom on the other side of campus, wondering if she remembered to have breakfast before the test. I am imagining her face as she stares at the questions that I set yesterday.

Are the questions too hard for her? Or too easy? Or is it everything that she had hoped for?

The second half started. Twenty minutes later, when we are about to take another hit-

I see her.

Top row, wind in her hair. Wearing my jersey. Number 7. My name on her back.

Yes, it is on sale in the gift shop. A couple dozen others are wearing it too, but none of that matter.

Because it is her, she made it and she is wearing my jersey with my freaking number on it.

Her eyes lock with mine, and in that moment, everything inside me sharpens. My claws ache to shift, my heart howls. I smirk and then, I play.

We score one. Then another.

The crowd is on their feet.

It is 2-2.

Final minute. I get the ball, dodge left, sprint, leap and then- 3-2.

We win.

The field explodes with roars, people are screaming. My teammates tackle me but I barely feel it because I see her, rushing past the sidelines.

“Anna!” I shout, grinning like a lunatic.

She runs so freely and jumps into my arms. I catch her, spinning her around as the cheers blur into a muffled roar. She’s laughing, breathless, cheeks pink, arms tight around my neck.

“I made it,” she says, happiness clawing at her voice.

“I knew you would.” My voice is raw.

Then I kiss her, in front of everyone. I kiss her like I have been waiting all day to do it and let’s be honest; I have been waiting all day.

“I love you.” I whisper against her lips. “Freaking obsessed with you. I don’t know what I would do without you, I would probably die.”

Her forehead presses to mine. “I love you too, Adrian.”

Our eyes lock. Her smile wrecks me, in that moment, it’s not just about the win or the game or the cheers. It is her, it has always been her.

I set her down. “How was the test?” I realize that everyone, including my own teammates, coach and perhaps even Gina is staring at me right now, but I don’t care. If a billion people were looking at me, I wouldn't care because all I need is just one particular eye on me.

“I predicted you. I was right.” She grins, smiling happily. “I am pretty sure I am going to get an A, and if I don’t, then I will probably hammer Professor Marrs until she asks me to take another re-sit.”

I arch my head and laugh so heartily, Goddess, what this woman does to me.

“How do you feel about winning the match?” She asks, gesturing at the whole crowd that’s looking at us.

“Do you want to get out of here?” I suggest and she raises her brows in disbelief.

“You just won a match. Don’t you want to stay and ravel in all the glory?” She asks and I nod my head.

“I rather ravel in glory with you by my side. Come.” I outstretch my arm. “Let’s escape from here.”

She hesitates before grabbing my hand. My coach calls on to me but I tell him that I need a minute with my girl. We walk through the academy garden, smelling the blooming roses and peonies.

“I feel....” I can’t explain this sudden feeling that is enveloping me, it’s weird, but in a good way, “Alive.”

She turns to faces me, and fuck it. She looks like an angel at that moment, with her flowing hair and bright smile.

How did I get so freaking lucky to have her? Who would have known that one C- would draw us together?

How did all of this even happen, I used to call her ‘Anne’ for goodness sake? It happened so fast and I love each and every moment of it.

I pull her closer, inhaling her.

“Cheers.” She grins.

“Cheers to what?” I grin back, sharing the same level of excitement.

“To happy-ever-afters.” She says.

And just like, I know, she is my forever.