Page 13 of #PhiThetaForever

This is my Declan. I don't know how or why he planned this tonight. But this is the Declan I fell madly in love with. He’s sweet and amazing and has made me feel safe all night. Among other things, thinking about makes me blush. I agree with him that there are moments I wish we could fast forward to our wedding. But, I also know how much sweeter everything will be for us waiting. God wants us to do this the right way. We both believe that. So no matter how hard it is, we're sticking to it.

Declan and I share dessert at Salare, and it might be the best thing I've ever eaten.

"You licking things off a spoon is very distracting," he says with a deep need in his tone.

I stop moving, my spoon in my mouth with my lips firmly around it. Declan licks his lips as I pull the spoon from mine and set it down on the table, the heat from blushing spreading down my neck. He really knows how to put a girl on the spot. It's strange how much his accident made us both grow up. When I first met Declan, the first time he kissed me, it was like every form of light in the world exploded.

He was the first person who ever made me actually want to be intimate with someone. Now he can make me think about sex with a single look, and it's both wonderful and terrifying. "You've got to stop looking at me like that."

He chuckles and reaches across the table to take my hand in his. I study his hand as he rubs his thumb back and forth across my skin. "I can't help it."

"Can we get out of here?"

Declan's eyes go wide for a moment, and he never takes them off me as he raises his hand for our waiter's attention and then hands him his credit card for the bill. It amazes me that Declan doesn't even have to look at his wallet to put the damn card away or that he hasn't realized his cell phone vibrates every two seconds for the last four minutes. Standing, he holds his hand out and leads me out of the restaurant.

As soon as we take a few steps from the door, the wind is knocked out of me as my back hits the brick wall of the building, and Declan's lips cover mine. Sweet Je— he's never been this aggressive. It's frightening but at the same time . . . amazing. I'm lost in him for what feels like hours until his cell phone starts buzzing again. I try to pull away, but Declan grabs the side of my neck and keeps kissing me.

"Ignore it." He's out of breath, and so am I as he trails his lips down my neck.

"Declan . . . Declan, slow down."

He stops moving but doesn't take his lips off my neck. His arms are planted firmly on the wall on either side of me, encasing me in his body. My breathing is so heavy, my chest heaves with each inhale. Slowly and very gently, Declan kisses up my neck until he stops just below my ear. "I don't know what's gotten into me tonight. I'm sorry."

I can't explain why my hands are shaking, but they are. I cup either side of his face and make him look at me. The hunger and lust in his eyes are new, and they make my breath catch. "Don't apologize. I want you just as bad, believe me. But we made each other a promise. And I don't want to break that."

Finally, he runs his hands through his hair before reaching over to tuck mine behind my ears. "I know, baby. I'd wait a thousand lifetimes for you, you know that, right?"

I nod and take his hand. "Now, let's start walking, and you can check your cell phone because it's starting to get on my nerves."

We're silent for a while as we walk together, and he goes through his text messages. When he finally shoves the phone in his pocket, he lets go of a frustrated huff. I know Declan well enough to know that means something is up, and he doesn't want to say anything, but at the same time, he wants to say something.

"Spit it out." I look over at him as his head snaps up, his eyes wide with surprise.

"It's nothing, babe. Just stuff with Bo." He squeezes my hand, which is nice considering I wish Bo and Declan had never met.

Sighing, I tuck his hand until he stops walking. "Just tell me whatever it is. Your phone’s been blowing up for almost an hour, so obviously, it's not nothing."

Declan rolls his eyes. "He's saying I need to come to the frat house for a surprise pledge event. I told him, no, and he had some choice words."

I'm getting better at hiding my anger, and I promised Declan that I'd support him. Once he gets through pledging and his first semester as a new member, we can go back to normal. At least, that's what Declan keeps telling me. "Do you have time to walk me home and then head over?"

"Lena, I'm not going. We agreed weekdays were for you and school. It's Wednesday."

I move closer and put my hand on his chest. "I also said I'd support you pledging. I've had an amazing night, and I love you so much, and this means the world to me. I'm okay with you taking me home and then going over there. Just be careful. Plus, I'd rather not walk home alone."

Declan leans down to kiss me softly, making the butterflies in my stomach wake up. Retaking my hand, we start walking, and he pulls out his cell and hits a few buttons before putting it to his ear. "Yeah. I can be there in an hour. I'm finishing my date with Lena and taking her back to her dorm first." He listens for a few minutes and then barks a laugh. "I'll see you in a bit, brother."

When he looks back at me, I paste a smile on my face, hoping that it fools him. Just the mere thought of Bo makes me uneasy and nervous. I keep hoping that Declan will realize that he is brilliant enough to make connections after college without the help of a fraternity like that. But I can't force him to see that. He has to see it on his own.

Lord, help him see it on his own.

15 Declan

The frat house is deserted in comparison to how it usually is.

I really don't want to be here. I want to be curled up in bed with Lena, which is exactly where I'd planned on talking myself when our date was over. But maybe this won't take long, and I can talk my way there anyway. We won't see much of each other this weekend. She has an away game on Friday, and I've got an away game on Saturday. It's not likely that get to spend any real time with her until Monday, which is annoying, but we're determined to make this work.

Entering the kitchen, most of the upper classman are drinking beer and chatting. Matt, Rog, Seth, and Mike—the other pledges— are there as well, standing behind a long fold-up table placed in the center of the room. Bo looks up and sees me, letting out a loud whistle.