The front cover of my textbook was opened, revealing the place my mother made me put my name at the beginning of every semester.
"That's me, but you can just call me Grey." He shut the book, put it away and looked back my way.
"I think I'll call you Greyson Rose. I like that. It's beautiful and suits you perfectly."
I tucked my hair behind my ear out of nerves as I glanced up into those enchanting eyes. "Well, you can't call me anything if I don't know your name."
He smiled at me and nodded. "Touché, Greyson Rose. I'm Stefan."
"I like that," I admitted.
"So, what do you say we get out of here?"
I nodded. "But aren't people going to recognize me, see me leaving and tell the teachers?" He bobbed his head and held up a finger; he dug around in his locker and produced a Red Sox baseball hat and placed it over my head. It was a little big, but I loved it anyway.
"There, now you can hide under this." He pulled the brim of the hat down a little, shielding my face. "Now this isn't going to work if you don't trust me and follow my instructions."
I nodded in understanding. What was I doing? My heart thudded against my ribcage as I waited for Stefan to give me instructions.
"So do you trust me, Greyson Rose?" A sigh exhaled past my lips as I scanned the planes of his face, the curve of his lips and the depths of his eyes.
"I do," I admitted whole-heartedly.
Those beautiful lips spread from ear to ear as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side.
"Then let's go."
He kept me to his side until we reached the steps, then released my shoulder and grabbed hold of my hand, lacing our fingers together without hesitation. I wasn't sure what was causing my heart to race faster; the fear of being caught or the feeling of his hand holding tightly onto mine. We raced down the steps, through the hallway and out to the parking. We ran full speed until we reached an old Cadillac convertible with the top down.
He opened the driver's side door and let me slide in first, with him close behind me. I should have scooted all the way over to the far side of the cab, but I was loving every second of the rush of being near him. He slipped the keys into the ignition, revved the engine, and sped out of the parking lot as if we had just robbed a bank.
A loud squeal escaped my lungs as I held onto the hat so I didn't lose it in the wind. Stefan looked my way, absolutely beaming. He let out a laugh, replacing his arm around my shoulders, pulling me even closer into him.
"I like you, Greyson Rose. I don't remember the last time I had this much fun, and our day is just getting started."
Without second guessing myself I leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Same here."
He smiled down at me. It was almost impossible to explain but there was something in that moment between us that rocked me to my core. And in that instant I felt that I was looking at my future.
"Where'd you go, Greyson Rose?" I was snapped back to reality and away from the memory of simpler times.
I shook my head to disregard it, but I couldn't get the image of high school Stefan out of my head. I think I knew that day that I was in love with him.
"Do you remember the day we met?"
The same enchanting smile spread across his face that I saw that very first day. "Of course I do. Up until that point it was the best day of my life. Why do you ask?" I shrugged my shoulders, downing the rest of my beer in one gulp.
"I was just thinking about it. You know, when I was waiting in class, I was afraid you weren't going to be there."
His lips twitched up to the side; his hands slid across the table and lifted mine, lacing his fingers between mine. This touch, the feeling, it was something I never thought I'd feel again. Nothing about the way it affected me had changed. I felt the world around me slip away; my eyes slid shut as the air in my lungs escaped me. A gentle squeeze against my hands made me focus again on the man in front of me. I hardly registered a few tears building behind my eyes until they fell down my cheeks.
Stefan's ever-changing, ever-incredible blue eyes held mine as if he refused to let go.
"From the second you ran into me I had no choice but to go back for you." I focused my eyes on the wall directly next to his beautiful face. There was no way I could watch him and keep hold of my self-control.
"Look at me, Greyson Rose." I did. I couldn't resist him no matter how much I knew I should.
"I will always come back for you."
Those words. They were ones I needed to hear many years ago, but they never came. In the moment, when I needed my husband, my best friend, he wasn't there. He didn't come back for me-he left me alone, and that's why we were here in this very place. I pulled my hands from his and placed them over my eyes as the waterworks began. My chest heaved and my body shook with the onslaught of memories and of moments that once were.