Foes & Cons by Carrie Aarons (i am malala young readers edition .txt) 📗

of my wildest fantasies, I never thought cozying up on her basement couch and studying together would be one of them. But I can see why companionship is so valued in relationships. It’s no secret that since we made up in the cafeteria, and I publicly declared my love for her, we’ve been getting naked as often as we can.

I’ve been more patient than a monk when it comes to hooking up with Blair, it’s been years of waiting, and although we haven’t had sex yet, we’re getting very good at every other base on the diamond. Exploring every part of her, figuring out which noise she makes when I touch her here or there, teaching her what feels good for me—it’s become my favorite subject.

But today my girlfriend put her foot down and said I could only come over if I keep my hands to myself. She needs to study. And so here I am, hands to myself, but head in her lap. It’s comforting, an intimate closeness that two people couldn’t share if they were just in it for the lust. What we have is deeper though, and cozying up together while we both do our own separate homework feels just as intimate as when I’m stripping her down.

I get it now, why love is all-encompassing. It isn’t just about lusting over a person or wanting to get them naked. There is an innate trust between you two, an understanding that this person will be around whether you’re at your highest high or lowest low. Blair and I might be young, but we have so much history together. She knows me; she knows who I truly am. And vice versa.

Sighing loudly, it’s obvious I’m trying to get her attention.

“Read your book, Sawyer.” She clucks her tongue disapprovingly without looking up from her book.

“I like it when you’re bossy.” I do the exact opposite and set my book down, then bury my nose in her abdomen.

She squirms, which causes her textbook to slip a little. “Sawyer!”

“What?” My voice is muffled. “Can you blame me?”

Inhaling her scent of cinnamon and peaches, I want to distract her to the point of abandoning her studying. Sylvia Plath is depressing, and we’re seniors, there shouldn’t even be a need to focus on schoolwork so much.

“I told you the rules when you said you wanted to come over.” Her amber eyes glitter down at me.

Donning my best puppy dog pout, I fire back, “But then you came down in yoga pants and you smell so good and your dad isn’t home …”

Blair swats me away. “I have to study.”

“Let’s go get food, I’m hungry.” I try a different tactic.

“There is food in the kitchen.” She points down the hall.

My lower lip pushes out in a pout. “But then I would have to make it, and I’m no good at that. How about we order pizza?”

“When I was in Haiti, we had to make every single meal. No Domino’s there.” She grins cheekily.

Sitting up on my elbow, I eye her. “I still can’t believe you went there. Or that you built a house. Although, now that I’m imagining you with a tool belt and hard hat, sweaty in the sun …”

Blair shakes her head. “You wouldn’t last one day there.”

“Yes, I would!”

“Okay, fine, you definitely would. But I’d school you so hard. We should try it one day, we’ll go volunteer at a Habitat for Humanity build around here. I can show you everything I learned. And next time I go to Haiti, you can come.”

“That would be great, actually.” And I mean it genuinely.

It’s a beat before I speak again, because I’m busy studying the lines of her profile. She’s always been beautiful, but there is something about her that’s changed. Not just her outside appearance, but a confidence that wasn’t there before.

“You’re just so different,” I tell her, because it’s true.

“I’m the same old Blair.” She chuckles, chewing on the end of her pen.

“Well, yes, you still have gross habits like that,” I point out, and she gives me a stern eyebrow.

“Says the guy who used to pull his pants down and pee in full public view at daycare,” she quips.

“I was seven, okay? It was the cool thing to do back then. Lest you forget, I’ve seen you freak out whenever someone suggests watching a scary movie.”

“Putting on The Exorcist when we were ten was definitely a horrible idea. Laura knew it too, we had nightmares for months.”

“I thought Glav was going to pee himself when we watched it.” I crack up, and Blair joins in.

We laugh until it peters off, and then we’re just staring at each other.

My fingers smooth a lock of mocha hair back behind her ear. “In a way, it kind of fits that we only just got our act together recently. Maybe we had to go through all the bullshit to be this good.”

“We’ve certainly both grown. I’m not sure we would have made it if we had shifted our friendship back then,” she agrees.

“That’s why this is so weird. It’s like, I know your past so well, but then we were apart. I’m just getting to know this new Blair, and it’s familiar yet exciting all at the same time.”

I reach up to cup her face as she speaks. “I’m glad we had time apart. It made me, shaped me. In some ways, I’m harder than I was. But mostly, I know how to stand on my own two feet now.”

“What are we going to do about college?” It’s the thought that’s been playing in my head since we became exclusive.

“I don’t know.” Blair’s voice is quiet.

“We could have applied to the same colleges, if we’d been together back then. I guess it also sucks that we didn’t start dating until now.” The thought burns in my chest.

I only just got her, and in a few months, I’ll have to let her go.

“Where did you apply? What’s your top choice?” I ask, knowing that neither of