Chapter One
âPeter! Stop that right now!â I giggle and he continues to nuzzle his nose against my neck. I try to push him away, but his intense UVA lacrosse practices had bulked him up a bit more. His biceps, though they were impressive in high school, had doubled in size and seeing him shirtless was always my greatest secret thrill.
âWhat? You love it. Plus you smell so goodâ I scrunch up my nose and this time he lets me push him away. Though a perfect puppy dog pout rests on his face.
âI wish I could say the same for you stinky. Look at you, messing up my sheets!â He frowns and wipes at a grass and dirt stain that would probably never come out of the pristine white ruffles of my bedspread.
âOops. Sorry⌠Baeâ I cringe. We were trying out pet names to spice up our long distance relationship.
âTake that one off the listâ he kisses my neck before smiling almost devilishly.
âSure thing, babycakesâ
âEw!â He laughs, standing up from my bed. Itâs then that we both notice that we had more than a few grass stains to worry about. A green imprint of his ass stared back at the both of us.
âOh fuck Lara Jean Iâm sorry I-â I wave him off and stand up too. I strip off the bedspread and crumple it into a pile on the floor.
âItâs fine. Really, it is. Stormy once told me how to get grass stains out of white clothing. Itâs likely the sameâ Peter laughs recalling the helion of an old lady that I used to keep company.
âWhat? Donât tell me Stormy played football!â I blush and shake my head before bending over and picking the bedspread up to throw into the hamper labeled âLJâ.
âOh, no. She slept with a lot of the players though⌠On the field.â Peterâs eyes go wide the way they do when anyone anywhere even hints at sex.
âLegendâ he praises before attempting to sit down on my bed before I yell a quick,
âNo!â He holds his hands up in surrender before peeling off his jersey and tossing it across my room. Iâm terrified when it lands neatly on top of my roommate Leighton Blairâs pristine monogrammed pillow.
âShit!â I squeak, racing over to grab it and toss back at Peter. Leighton wasnât in the room of course, though she never was. Her boyfriend Chad Wellworth was in town visiting from Harvard and sheâd, unbeknownst to her parents, rented them a gorgeous bed and breakfast in the vintage area of North Carolina.
âHas she uh, calmed down?â I shrug. I was a little distracted by the way his muscled flexed and moved as he walked towards me sans shirt. Was it hot in here?
âShruggy Coveyâ he teases and that get a (drool filled) smile from me. He folds his jersey and stuffs it into the extremely nice team athletics bag that all players received before kissing my cheek and abruptly dropping his pants.
âPeter!â I screech, naively covering my eyes as if heâd whipped out his junk then and there.
âWhat Covey? Iâm in my undies see!â I peek through my fingers and sure enough there he stood in tight compression short underwear that left a speck to my imagination. My eyes followed the cutouts of his abdomen before focusing on the trail of hair that disappeared into the shorts.
âI feel like a piece of meatâ he jokes before I shake my head and push past him to grab a towel from my dresser so he can shower. I hand a huge blue fluffy one that I had bought just for him because his body was so wide and long I couldnât imagine him ever getting dry with the small child size ones I used.
âJoin me?â Heâs only half kidding when he says this, but the 50% is enough to make me blush. We reached a huge milestone a month or so ago. That milestone? Boobs. We were making out in his dorm room and in a rare showcase of boldness I took off my top then I reached behind to unstrap my bra and once it fell heâd looked like a kid on christmas. Not bad for a B cup.
âI already showered.â I say biting my lip and he pulls me in for a kiss.
âDonât bite your lip like that Covey. Drives me wild.â His voice is husky and deep and I feel the blush spreading all the way to my toes.
âYeah?â I whisper and he makes a sound in the very back of his throat.
âThis will be the fastest shower ever I swear.â He promises racing to my bathroom and shutting the door with a loud bang.
âHey! Keep it down!â Someone yells from the room nextdoor and I shrug, smile, and sit down on my bed.
âFresh as hellâ Peter boasts once heâs out of the shower and dressed in only a pair of loose fitting flannel pants. I grab a smaller towel and motion for him to come towards me so that I can towel dry his hair. He spreads out on my bed and rests his head in my lap. I bend down to sniff at him and let out a sigh of relief when the smell of sweat and grass is missing.
âMuch better,â I say as I dry his hair to the point that itâs a little damp and a lot wavy.
âShould I join a sorority?â I blurt out. He had been thinking about joining a fraternity on his campus and a few days back Leighton and I had been all but ambushed by girls in matching t-shirts.
âYouâd be such a hot sorority chick oh my god.â I press the towel across his face until he gasps out âmercy!â
âIt would look really good on my resume and I mean⌠I could always use more friends.â Peter scoffs.
âLara Jean youâre the most popular freshman hereâ I blush. College had already proved to be different from high school. Iâd started my baking club during my first month here, joined the Asian American Association, and even taken up ballroom courses. John Ambrose Mclaren was my partner, but that was something I neglected to tell Peter.
âOfficial recruitment starts next Wednesday. I was invited. How prestigious is that?â He wrinkles his nose and looks up at me.
âInvited? For the frat events you just⌠show up. Doesnât even matter if youâre wearing clothes or notâ
âFraternities are kind of gayâ I admit teasingly and for a minute Peter gets serious.
âEveryoneâs a little gayâ he says and I look down at him with questioning eyes. He only shrugs before rolling over like a labrador retriever.
âHey. Letâs watch a movie. Your pick.â
âI choose⌠Clueless!â Leighton and I had already watched/ bonded over it a few times.
âIs that the one with the hot white and black chicks?â He asks bluntly and I swat his arm and press my index finger to my nose so that it mimicked a pig snout.
âWhat! Theyâre smokinâ. Hey be one of them for Halloween weâll get you a short plaid sk-â I get up from the bed to turn on the tv and DVD player.
âGot snacks?â Peter wonders before shaking his head and scolding himself.
âNevermind. Meat only diet.â I donât question him. I never do when it comes to lacrosse. He must be doing something right to have had won âMost Valuable Rookieâ his starting week. He grabs a blanket from a chair and drapes it over both of us before starting to pepper kisses all over me. I giggle and he laughs and before he relaxes he lets out a sigh.
âWhat?â
âIf you join a sorority and I join a fraternity we will have even less time togetherâ here it was. The vulnerable side of Peter Kavinsky.
âNot true. Weâll have formals to go to and parties to hit upâŚâ He smiles lightly before leaning in for a kiss. Itâs urgent, the kind I like the most from him, and with a strike of boldness I swipe my tongue against his lips and initiate a french kiss. Weâd done that before, but recently Peter had brought up how âsexyâ it was for girls to make the first move. I didnât forget anything easily, or ever. We pull away for air just as Cher begins to make her opening monologue.
âFuck my diet. Just for today. Letâs get a pizzaâ
âPeterâŚâ But he is already dialing.
âIâll get a meat lovers. Same thing as a big ole steakâ I shake my head.
âI want mozzarella sticksâ I say in defeat and he smiles and nods.
âThatâs my fucking girl.â
