Second Chance Romance - Page 43/137

Still, despite the weariness he could see, she was beautiful. The same soft, sweet Mandy that she had always been. There was an aura of strength in here these days, that was new. She'd always seemed so fragile to him. Her hair was cropped short, it suited her, but he did miss her long hair. The way it curled around her face, framing her. If he softened his gaze at her he could see her that way.

Her jeans hugged her ass, when she sashayed in front of him. He could have wiped the drool off his chin. Down boy, he told his cock as they sat down. She had been close to him when he opened the door, she smelled faintly of peaches and cream.

He had to figure out a plan how not to dive for a kiss at the end of the night. They ordered quickly and their menus were taken away. Leaving them alone to chat. There was one other couple in the dining room, it was Wednesday night, a slow night.

She looked uncomfortable as she did her best not to stare at him. Squirming under the microscope? Well, no time like the present. "Do you regret me going east? To play hockey?"

Her mouth dropped open slightly. She quickly caught herself and looked away from him. "Sometimes. But, I think that if you had stayed you would have regretted not going."

Obviously she had given that some thought herself. He nodded. "I though the same thing. What I regret is not begging you to come with me. You could have gone to school anywhere."

She nodded and was quiet, staring just over his shoulder. He let her be silent, just watching her. How could he not love her? She wasn't the same girl he had known. But, she had become so much more than he could have imagined. She was well-spoken, she was confident. She was decisive.

He could recall seeing her in the hallways, sitting in the library alone. She always slouched, trying to give the appearance of being shorter than her 5 feet 9 inches. Trying to blend in, to be unnoticed. He might have never noticed her, unless that English teacher had put up her impassioned words. He couldn't help watching her in their shared math class after that. He had to get to know her, to see just how different she was from all the other people he knew. So, when he missed math class, he finally had an excuse to approach her. To become friends with her.

The story of him having to pass math class wasn't entirely made up, he did have to do well to be able to play sports. But he wasn't having any problems.