Only You (Stevens Book 12)

Chapter 3

16 years ago, Savannah, Georgia

"Where are we going?" Mave shouted over the pounding music as Sam wove his way through the crowded room to the back door of the beach house.

He stopped short, and Mave bumped into him as his arm snuck around her waist, pulling her close. All her senses were on high alert. She was in Sam Evers's arms. It was all her schoolgirl fantasies come true.

"Let's go down to the beach!" he yelled into her ear, his warm breath caressing her ear, making her shiver.

Mave and her family stayed at the Stevens family home in Savannah for the summer. She and her twin sister, Beth, were eighteen, and Beth was about to leave home and head for college, so her parents felt that they needed an extended family vacation where they all stayed in one spot for longer than a week.

Mave's father was the famous journalist Rainer Stevens, who was constantly traveling, and her mother, Alice Stevens, taught English at a college in New York where Mave and Beth had been raised. Mave and her sister had been homeschooled because they traveled with their father whenever possible, and both sisters were excited to break away and spread thier wings finally. While Beth had decided on the path of higher education, Mave was going to go to Los Angeles and become an actress like her grandmother and uncle.

But that wasn't for a few more months. Currently, she was in Savannah at the local beach, attending a party of one of Sam's college friends.

Unable to speak because of Sam's nearness, Mave nodded and let him lead her through the house's back door and down the steps to the beach. He held her hand the entire way even though the crowd of the party had thinned, and losing her wasn't a problem.

"That's better!" Sam said, taking a deep breath of the sea air. "It was too noisy and crowded in there." He still held her hand as they walked down to the water's edge. "Thank you for coming with me. I know it's not the most exciting party ever. In fact, it's just a bunch of drunk frat guys." He shrugged in apology, which made him look adorable to Mave.

"It's fine," Mave assured him. "Thank you for inviting me. I mean us," she corrected. She didn't want Sam to think she was making too much out of their casual outing when he invited both her and Beth.

The only reason her sister hadn't joined them was because Mave had threatened Beth with bodily harm if she agreed to go. Thankfully, Beth had only smirked and claimed she had a new book to read anyway. She was so much like their mother, Alice.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Sam asked, stopping and looking down at her. His suddenly serious expression concerned her. Was he about to admit that he had a crush on Beth?

Sam's eyes captured hers as he lowered his face to hers so she could hear what he was about to say. Mave licked her lips, wanting him to kiss her. "Sure," she whispered, unable to resist his nearness.

Sam watched her mouth for a moment before turning his attention back to her eyes, and Mave knew in her gut he didn't like Beth as much as he liked her. "I really only wanted you to join me, but I felt like I had to invite your sister too, or your parents would have been suspicious."

Mave's heart danced happily in her chest, but she forced herself to turn away and start walking again, pulling her hand from his. She needed to play it cool and not throw herself at him. "I'm sure you would tell her the same thing if Beth were here and not me." Mave flirted, wanting him to reassure her teenage heart that it wasn't true.

Sam reached for her hand, stopped her short, and pulled her back toward him. He was only twenty-one, but he was so confident and sure of himself. Mave wished she could be that way. He pushed her long red hair off her shoulder and cupped her cheek.

"I don't want to kiss Beth," he insisted, letting his eyes wander back down to Mave's lips.

"But you do want to kiss me?" Mave breathlessly asked.

Something in her voice caught his attention because he glanced up at her eyes again. "I'm crazy about you, Mave. I have been since I first learned how great girls were. I've always thought you were extra great." It wasn't the most romantic speech, but it was honest. He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her against him. "Your Dad would shoot me if he could see me holding you like this."

Mave nodded in agreement. "My uncles, too, and maybe even your parents." Mave let her arms go up around his neck, pressing against him, returning his interest as her heart fluttered and her tummy rolled in excitement at his nearness.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Mave whispered back as the sounds of the ocean waves crashed in the background. It was a moment she would never forget.

"Yes," his voice was hoarse with anticipation.

"I've been crazy about you since I first saw you," Mave whispered the admission.

Sam looked at her in disbelief.

"Girls mature faster than boys," She informed him with a grin, her confidence growing.

He grinned back. "Thank goodness."

Mave stood in the circle of his arms, thinking about what their admission meant. What she had said about their families objecting to their romance was a real worry. "Maybe we shouldn't tell anyone we're crazy about each other yet?" Mave bit her lip, worried about what Sam was thinking, as he frowned at her suggestion.

"Do you honestly think they would object?" he asked.

"I think they would say we were both too young and have our entire lives ahead of us. I also don't want my father to kill you, and I don't want an audience as we figure this out." Mave watched as he looked toward the water where the moon hung low, considering what she said.

"Are you mad?" she quietly asked, afraid he would say yes.

"No, I get your point, but I've never really hidden anything from my parents. It's not my style." Sam turned to look down at Mave, taking in her beautiful hair, face, and eyes.

"If this becomes serious, we have to let them know," he insisted.

"If it becomes serious, we will," Mave agreed, pushing herself against him in a silent message that she was ready to move on from talking.

Sam took a shaky breath, pulling her tighter against him. It was as if there was no way they could ever be close enough. They both wanted more.

"Can I kiss you," Sam asked with an urgent tone.

"Please?" Mave begged.

When his lips took hers in a tentative first kiss, Mave felt her heart stop. As his hands moved up her back and tilted her head back so he could deepen the kiss, her legs gave way, and they sunk to the sand together.

"I think this just got serious, Mave," Sam whispered before his lips stole her breath again.

All Mave knew was that she didn't want him to ever stop, that she never wanted the night to end.

How could she possibly know that she had found the love of her life at just eighteen years old?

As the summer continued, she and Sam found secret ways to meet and be together, and Mave kept throwing up reasons not to tell their families about their relationship.

Sam never fought her on it, and the guilt of what she had asked weighed heavy on her.