This beautiful moment was ruined when my phone rang. I pushed myself off his lap, my cheeks turning pink.

Romeo cleared his throat. "Well..." He trailed off.

I checked the caller ID. It was my mother. I quickly answered the call.

"Mom," I said, my voice coming out raspy.

Mom didn’t say anything really important. She just called to ask about my welfare and to let me know she’d be late tonight.

"Bye, Mom," I muttered, then hung up.

Silence reigned in the room, and it was uncomfortable. Neither of us spoke for a few minutes.

"Get a shower, we're going out," Romeo told me.

"Where are we going?" I questioned him.

He shot me a wink. "Just get a shower, pumpkin. I'll be waiting for you."

After taking a shower and putting on some clean clothes, it took me a really long time to gather the courage to get out and face Romeo. What the heck just happened earlier? I could still feel the lingering effects of the intimate moment. I’ve never felt like this before. Is this what sex feels like?

When I stepped out of the bathroom, Romeo was no longer in my room. I looked around, maybe he was in the closet, but everywhere was empty. He must have gone downstairs.

"Romeo!" I called out when I couldn’t find him downstairs either.

Where could he have gone? His backpack was still on the sofa where he’d left it earlier, so he definitely hadn’t gone far.

I finally found him outside, talking to someone on the phone. He wasn’t just talking, he was practically yelling. He looked really angry, his fist clenched tightly. He caught me looking at him and flashed me a smile.

"It was an emergency," he mumbled when he got off the phone.

I nodded. "Where are we going?" I asked as I entered his black Audi.

"Just shut that sweet mouth of yours and watch silently," he instructed me.

The drive was about ten minutes long. I could only see a few houses and lots of woods.

"Where is this?" I asked.

I hadn’t found a place like this since my mom and I moved to this town.

He didn’t respond but led the way into the woods. I had no choice but to follow him. He surely wouldn’t get me murdered.

"I'm going to fall," I groaned as we walked along some rocky paths.

"Good," Romeo muttered without looking back.

I frowned. "Asshole, I could die."

"Actually..." My foot slipped, and I lost my balance, but Romeo’s strong arms quickly caught me, wrapping tightly around my waist.

I could only focus on the heat radiating from where his hands connected with my waist. Somehow, his hands felt so warm and safe.

"Watch where you're going, nerd," he said, jolting me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry," I mumbled and continued walking.

By the time we emerged into the open air, I realized where he had actually taken me. The cliffside behind my house. I had always watched it from afar but never found a way to get to the top.

There was a little lake too, and it seemed inviting.

"Come on, Ivy, let's get wet," Romeo grinned as he started pulling off his boots and then his trousers.

I watched as he stripped down, leaving him only in his briefs. He got into the water and dived in. I couldn’t help but stare at the way the water glistened over his perfect body. I was attracted to him, I had to admit.

"Fuck, you're missing out, Ivy," he called as he surfaced.

I watched him swim for a while. I moved closer to the shore of the lake and dipped my legs in. I watched slowly as the water touched my feet, and I let out a screech.

"It's cold," I moaned.

Romeo spoke from where he was in the water. "Just because you have a pussy doesn’t make you a woman and doesn’t mean you can act like one."

"Language!" I shouted, stepping back when the water splashed me again.

Romeo swam over to me, about to say something, but instead, he dragged me down into the water with him.

"I'll kill you, Sparks!" I yelled at him while he laughed, obviously enjoying himself.

"Enjoy the water before you do that," he laughed again.

Romeo swam over to me, and I froze. He moved slowly behind me and wrapped his arms around my chest. I inhaled sharply as he planted a kiss on my neck. I blushed, closing my eyes to savor the moment. I was still hot from the kiss we shared earlier.

"You look hot, Ivy," he smirked.

My heart raced. I felt weak in my knees as my skin tingles from where he was touching me. I wished this feeling could last forever.

This asshole had turned me into a mess.

And I hate messes. Romeo ruined the intense moment by scooping me up and throwing me back into the water.

We ended up playing a water fight game, and of course, Romeo overpowered me.

~

The corners of my mouth turned up. "You’re being nice today," I said to Romeo.

We were laying down our towels after the game in the water.

"Am I?" He shrugged. "I only want to make our one month together memorable." He smiled, looking up at the sky.

Our one month together.

Somehow, it pleased me that I got to spend this time with Romeo, even if it’s just for this one month. Behind the arrogant and bad-boy persona, there was a pure soul. It just took time to see that side of him.

"Why do you think Samantha made that dare?" I asked curiously.

I’ve always known Samantha didn’t like me; that much was obvious.

Her crush in 8th grade had a crush on me, but luckily I didn’t like the guy. Ever since then, she had always been bitchy towards me. I think the dare was just a way for her to get back at me.

"She knows I’m not the dating type, and I dare not say no to a dare, so she wanted to make life miserable for me," he chuckled softly.

"I like the dare anyway," he gazed at me, then looked away.

There was an uncomfortable silence between us.

Romeo finally broke the silence. "Can I ask you a question?"

The look on his face told me that I should say "no," but I couldn’t help it. I said "yes."

"What do you want to do after school?" he asked me.

That was the last thing I thought he would ask. I assumed he would ask why I had never kissed anyone or why I was a nerd.

I took a deep breath. "Well, I want to become a surgeon. I love the idea of treating people, having the power to take away their illness. It’s like we have some superpowers."

I blinked away from his gaze. I probably shouldn’t have been honest with him. He’d only make fun of me.

"You look insecure," he whispered.

"Well, I have a little bit of trust issues and overthinking."

"Why?"

I hesitated, figuring if I could trust him or not.

"Freshman year, I got into an argument with my best friends, and they said some shit about my dad," I hissed.

"Where’s your dad?"

"He’s dead. He died of lung cancer, caused by smoking. They said I made him hate his life, and that’s why he got into the habit of smoking."

His brows snapped together. "That’s shit!"

"Yeah. After that, I just sort of stopped trusting people. I kept to myself and only studied until I met Joey," I rambled.

"I’m so sorry."

"What do you want to do after school?" I also asked him.

Romeo gave a half-shrug. "I don’t know," he said nonchalantly. "I’ve never really thought about it."

"What’s your favorite subject?"

He beamed a smile. "Probably P.E., because I get the chance to look at chicks in skimpy outfits. I guess I’m loving English nowadays too, because I get to see an ugly nerd’s face."

My clothes were almost dry by the time we headed back home.

"Thank you so, so much for bringing me here today," I smiled brightly.

"It’s okay, babe. We still have a full month," he smiled back.

*

Jake, Joey, Finn, Kyle, and of course, Romeo Sparks were already at the table when I got to the cafeteria.

It was Monday at school, and it was lunchtime.

I sighed before walking over to them. I almost forgot that Joey and Jake had been together—not really together, but just mini-courting. I have no idea what to call their relationship.

My eyes went straight to Romeo. He was wearing a smile, making him look much younger than he seemed. Today, he was wearing a black T-shirt with the buttons undone. If it was to show off his perfect abs, then it was working. He looked so damn hot. His eyes met mine, and he winked at me before waving me over.

"Hi, guys," I muttered as I took my seat.

"Ivy, finally!" Joey squealed. "You need to tell me about the date now."

Damn!

I’ve been avoiding this all day. I called her and told her immediately after I got home on Saturday—how Romeo showed up, the kiss, and all that.

But, Joey being the nosy one, wanted every detail. I can’t blame her, though. I bet I’d be doing the same if I were in her position.

"Later," I mumbled.

"No! You're telling me now!" she demanded.

"Yeah, Ivy. I can't stand the suspense; this dude here won't tell me," Jake chimed in.

Woah! It seems Joey met her match.

"We went to some cliffs, had fun, and then came back," I told them, avoiding Romeo's intense gaze.

Joey frowned. "You have to give me more than that. What did you talk about?"

"Joey, it was my first date with him," I glared at her.

"Just say it, what did you talk about?" she asked again.

She won’t back down until she gets her answers.

"Just stuff," I said calmly.

"Did you kiss?"

"Joey!"

God! She is unbelievable. How can she be asking all this right in front of Romeo?

"Oh yeah, did you?" Kyle asked in a girly tone. "Was it a French kiss? Did you get wild and fuck in his car?"

What? Unbelievable!

"Yeah, we did," Romeo finally said something while they all looked stunned.

I blushed and looked away.

Romeo raised my hand above the table and brought it to his lips. I kicked his leg under the table.

He gave a lopsided grin. "She got me hard with her look. I wanted to take her out there and fuck her so hard..."

"Romeo!" I kicked him harder.

"Just kidding, nerd," he laughed while the others joined in.

•

"My mom wants to meet you," Romeo said as he dropped me off at my house.

My mouth fell open. "What?"

"She actually saw your picture on my phone, and she wants to know more about you."

"Wait. You have my picture?"

"I took it when we went to the lake. I told her that we were dating. Innocent mom thought it was a serious thing." He paused for a while, then continued, "She seemed happy for me because I’ve never been in a real relationship, so I don’t want to disappoint her."

A real relationship? Even if this was all make-believe, his mom must be so happy to think her son is now committed.

His eyelids dropped. "It’s okay if you don’t want to go; I understand."

I smiled and took his hands in mine. He looked at me, and I smiled harder. "It’s okay; I will go," I declared.