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tried not to notice Alex's tiny excuses to touch me. The way his hand landed on the small of my back to guide me through the crowd or when his beer was empty, and he reached for my hand still holding my cup and lifted it to his mouth to drink. How he threw his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him as we looked at each other and sang song lyrics in unison. I felt so relaxed with him, like I'd known him for years. Nothing felt awkward between us. Sometime later I looked around me to see that DeeDee was in a heavy lip lock with Alex's friend, Cole. We nudged each other and pointed to our friends before snickering together. I smiled and shrugged because I knew she could use some fun. She wasted no time in her forget-all-about-Joey plan.
    When the concert was over, we all walked together to the parking lot. Alex was holding my hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
    When we finally made it to DeeDee's car, we stood there trying to advert our eyes while she and Cole were making out some more by the driver's side door. Alex pulled me to the trunk of the car. He lowered his head and his voice just a bit while looking down at me.
    "I had fun tonight, Court." The way he said my name sent butterflies all through my body, not just my stomach. I also loved that he picked up on calling me Court and how it sounded rolling off his tongue.
    "Yeah, it was awesome." I nodded, not sure what else to say that wouldn't ruin the moment. He looked at me a little longer as if deciding what to do next. Then he let out a breath as if he'd made up his mind.
    "Do you want to…uh… go out… with me…tomorrow night?" He finally managed.
    I blinked up at him for a few seconds, trying to process the fact that this gorgeous guy with black curls tumbling over his forehead and suck-able bottom lip just asked me, Courtney Collins, on a date.
    Hell yeah.
    "Sure. I would love to." The answer came out with much more calmness than I felt. My heart was pounding wildly, and I worried that he could see my chest vibrating.
    "Cool." He replied with something that sounded like relief. His smile was so breathtaking that my eyes moved to his mouth automatically until his face started getting closer and closer. I'm not sure who moved first but suddenly our lips were colliding. The kiss was sweet and hot at the same time. His soft lips brushed mine, once then twice before he lightly sucked my bottom lip causing a soft gasp to escape my throat. My momentary surprise gave him the access he needed to glide his tongue into mine. He moved me until my backside rested against the car. With one hand on the trunk, the other curved lightly around the back of my neck as he deepened the kiss.
    I'd always heard people refer to kisses as toe-curling but until that moment, I'd never experienced it. I fought the urge to wrap one leg around his hip, so instead I threw one arm around his shoulder and the other around his waist. I was shocked that I could feel his erection through his jeans, and I rubbed myself against the bulge, shamelessly. The movement caused us both to moan softly into each other's mouths until Alex pulled away, his panting breaths mirroring my own.
    "Damn." He whispered as he rested his forehead against mine. Loud honking broke us out of our lusty bubble.
    "Come on, Alex. We're leaving!" One of his friends shouted from a car nearby.
    "Alright." He called back. "Give me your number, Court, and I'll call you tomorrow to get directions on where to pick you up. Is seven o'clock okay?" I nodded and pulled a pen out of my purse and wrote my number on the back of his hand. He smiled that dimpled smile and gave me one last delicious peck on the lips before backing away and getting into the passenger seat of a Jeep.
    Suddenly that old clichéd saying; "When you know, you know." made perfect sense, because that night I knew deep in my soul that Alex was meant for me.
     

Chapter Three
    Present .
     
    The sound of the doorbell jolts me awake. For a