Ren

When Gio picks me up for school on Valentine's Day morning, I watch his mouth fall wide open as I walk out of the house... in a dress. I know I said I never wear dresses to school, but I've decided to make an exception today.

It's a short, black-and-white plaid dress with a flared skirt, heart-shaped neckline, and spaghetti straps, and I added a black cardigan over, black tights under, and my black Converse hightops. I don't think he's seen me in a dress since the school dance in eighth grade, and I giggle to myself since I'm pretty sure I just made his day already.

He's waiting for me like a gentleman, holding the passenger door open, and I'm staring at him, too. He's just had a haircut, which he's gelled and styled into a wet look, making him look different—somehow even more handsome, if that's even possible. He's wearing khaki chinos and a short-sleeved button-up green and cream plaid shirt with his black jacket over.

He lets out a soft whistle, "Smokin'," he says under his breath. He recovers himself slightly, but his hazel eyes are still glued to my thighs. "Wow, babe, that dress looks hella sick on you."

My cheeks pink slightly, "Thank you." I walk down my porch steps to meet him." You look hot too with this new haircut," gently petting backward up the nape of his neck where it's nearly shaved.

He closes his eyes, "That's giving me amazing shivers. Keep doing it." 

After petting him a few more times, I lay a soft kiss on his lips when he's not expecting it. A smile curls his lips, and he puts his hands on my waist and pulls me back for another. After his sweet kiss, I pull back, unzip my backpack, and find what I'm looking for.

"This is for you," I say, passing him a pink card and a pretty heart-shaped cookie with red frosting and sprinkles in a plastic bag.

It took me all afternoon on Wednesday to find him just the right card. Not too general and not too lovey-dovey. It just had a big heart with an arrow through it, and on the inside, it read, 'The best is yet to be.' 

"I have one for you, too," he grimaces. "But it's not as nice as this." He pulls out a red paper heart from his pocket and hands it to me.

It's a handmade card, so I already love it. He tears into his envelope, so I open mine. On the inside, in his nicest handwriting, he wrote, 'Lauren, I'm so happy you're my Valentine this year, love, Gio.'

Love! He wrote love!

My heart explodes and comes down as rain, reforming into a gigantic soggy puddle in my chest, and I fall into his arms. "I love it, Gio! Thank you! Thank you!"

♡♡♡

Every year, the week before Valentine's Day, you could pay five dollars to have the kids in the school choir (who practically got the morning off of school) deliver a single rose and sing a short song to whoever you named. Ever since I was a freshman, I had yearned to have a boyfriend on Valentine's Day just to get that rose at school. Last year, I found out Ryder was given five dollars for this express purpose, and instead, he spent it on snacks and a soda for himself. Would I be disappointed this year, too? I tried not to get my hopes up, just in case.

Several roses were passed out in first and second period, and every time the door opened and I saw a choir member come in, my heart stopped beating for a second.

At break, I try to steel myself against my disappointment, but it's hard seeing girl after girl in the hall with their roses. In my third-period Algebra class, I'm working on a sheet of radical equations, focusing hard to get through it, when the knock I've been waiting for sounds loud against the door, and my finger freezes on my calculator, still pressing a number down.

I bite my lip and hold my breath as two choir members come in with two roses, one of which is Zack! Of course, they hand the first one out to Kelly in the front row, she's the prettiest girl in my grade. Who will the next one go to?

Zack makes eye contact with me and smiles. My heart starts to drum loudly as Zack walks toward the back of the class where I'm sitting. My eyes grow larger by the second as he arrives at my desk and hands the rose to ME!

I can't believe it. I'm dead.

My body reacts and quickly overheats, sending firey blood into my face as everyone's eyes fall on me. I'm surprised by how embarrassed I feel, knowing I've been wanting this very thing to happen for three years now.

The duet begins a shortened version of For the Longest Time by Billy Joel, switching singing to Kelly and me at each verse. The first part was sung to Kelley, and Zack sang the second and fourth verses to me, which he did with extra flourish. He even got down on one knee at the end. The lyrics hit a chord within me, and even though I was thoroughly blushing, I was on cloud nine.

"I had second thoughts at the start. I said to myself, hold on to your heart.

Now I know the woman that you are. You're wonderful so far, and it's more than I hoped for."

At the end of the song, the entire class claps, and Zack and his classmate bow and leave the room. The teacher asks everyone to get back on task, but I definitely can not concentrate on radical equations after that!

A feeling of being truly loved sparkles inside me.

I'm going to tell Giovanni I love him tonight!

After the bell rings, I feel an urgency to get to Gio as quickly as possible. I race to the top of the stairs first, holding the rose in my hand, and searching for him amongst the crowd. Suddenly, I jump as I feel someone's hands snake around my waist from behind.

"Hey gorgeous," he says smokily. "I see you got my rose."

I spin around and throw my arms around his neck, nearly choking him as I yell, "Thank you!!!"

He laughs at my exuberance and grins, "You're welcome," pulling me down into a more comfortable hug.

"Oh, Gio! I wish you could have heard it. That song was the best."

"I heard it sung to someone else in second period, so I imagined it being sung to you. I'm glad you liked it," he says, beaming.

"I loved it!" I emphasize. My hands are still around his neck as I kiss him, and for once at school, we make out in the open quad for as long as we want.

"Get a room!" someone yells, but we don't stop or care.

After school, we jump in his car and, with the stereo blasting, practically peel out of the student parking lot. We stop at 7-11 on the way, grabbing some snacks and a Slurpee to share, and then he drives me straight out to the beach. 

We ditch our jackets, my tights, and shoes, and after walking the beach and collecting shells, we play in the ocean—laughing as I jump into his arms as the waves playfully lick his khakis, rolled up to his knees, or shrieking as I run away from him, my skirt blowing up in a wild gust, giving Gio a glimpse of my red panties underneath.

He chases me into the dunes, where he finally grabs me and makes my mouth his. We find a secluded spot, spreading out our jackets as a blanket, and we kiss and touch for over an hour, listening to the crash of the waves. He loves the access the dress gives his hands, the dune grass blowing softly around us, tickling my legs, and screening us from the other beachgoers. 

At dusk, we watch the sun go down, kissing sweetly as the last little golden spot blinks out into the ocean.

So far, I couldn't have asked him for a better day, and dinner was still yet to come...

https://youtu.be/ZIA2GmNOuR4

••• A/N •••

Thank you for reading!

If you liked this chapter, please vote for it by tapping the star :)

Did anything special happen at your high school for Valentine's day?

This rose and the song was a tradition at my school, and I never had a boyfriend on Valentine's Day to get one, so I wanted to give Ren this moment ❤️

The last spicy chapter is coming up next, and we learn another of Gio's little secrets.