Chapter 32 Back to The Grounds

I felt like I had tossed and turned all night with our last kiss replaying in my head on a loop. I felt squeamish and giddy, my whole body filled with flutters every time I thought of our kiss.

The next morning I felt like an exhausted mess from the lack of sleep I had gotten. Wes and I were acting as if it never happened, neither one of us saying a thing about it.

Wes looked like he had no intention of bringing up which made me keep quiet myself, not wanting to bring something up that Wes wasn't even thinking about.

I had said that it was our last night being a couple so it made sense to seal it all with one last kiss for everyone to see.

It just didn't feel like it was for show. It felt like it was more, something so much more. Filled with so much passion and affection that it literally felt like it had taken all my oxygen away.

Goodbyes with my mother were very quick, like expected. My father on the other hand seemed much more relaxed than usual. He actually seemed a little sad to be saying goodbye to both Wes and I.

"It was great meeting you, son." My father shook Wes's hand firmly. "You are welcome to come by anytime you want with Fia."

Wes smiled politely. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate you allowing me to stay at your home. I had an amazing time."

My father placed a hand on Wes's shoulder, giving him a pointed look while still grinning. "Take care of my girl."

Wes smiled warmly, glancing at me for a quick moment. "I always will, sir."

Sage pouted out her bottom lip as she wrapped her arms around me. "I am very sad to see you go, cousin. We hardly spent any quality girl time together."

I laughed as I hugged her. "I'll see you soon, Sage."

Wes shared some goodbyes with my cousins before him and Stefan started bringing our bags out to the car.

I turned to look at my father, smiling softly. "Bye, dad."

My dad surprised me when he wrapped his arms around me to hug me, placing a soft kiss on the top of my head. "I'm proud of you, Fia. Remember that."

I looked at him, surprise flashing across my face. "You are?"

My father chuckled softly. "Of course I am. You're doing what you're passionate about and it may not be at my company but you're where you're supposed to be and I'm glad you're making the choices you want."

I leaned into my dad to hug him again, exhaling deeply. It felt like a big weight had been lifted off me. "I'll miss you."

"Now," he pulled away from me, holding onto my arms to look at me pointedly. "You take care of yourself. Weston's a good one, from what I can see. You two are good together."

My face flushed as heat creeped up my neck. I scrunched my nose, nodding. "Love you, pops."

He smiled, patting my back as I headed out to meet Wes by the car.

"All packed up," he tapped the trunk of the car before walking over to the passenger side door and opening it for me. "Ready to hit the road?"

I nodded slowly, exhaling deeply. "Let's go."

The car ride wasn't awkward, per se. We hadn't spoken a word about the kiss or anything to do with the fake relationship and we were nearing campus shortly.

Part of me felt anxious about where this would lead us. I didn't want things to be awkward with Wes but it sure as hell felt like there was a cloud lingering over both of our heads, neither one of us making a move to speak of the kiss or anything else that was said or done while we 'dated'.

"So..." Wes drummed his fingertips over the steering wheel, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. "We made a good couple. Everyone bought it."

I exhaled deeply, leaning back in the seat as I stared out at the road ahead. "We pulled it off very well. Thank you for doing this, Wes."

He smiled softly. "No need to thank me, Fi. I had fun."

"My dad really likes you," I turned to look at him, grinning a little. "That's surprising. He's hard to impress."

Wes's lip turned upwards in a smirk. "I guess I have some charm, after all."

I rolled my eyes playfully. "I suppose I can't deny that."

Wes heaved out a deep breath, pausing for a long moment. I could tell there was something on his mind but he was reluctant to speak his thoughts.

"Back to campus, huh?" I let out a weak chuckle, trying to get rid of the elephant in the car. I'm not entirely sure what exactly was the elephant.

Wes nodded his head slowly, his tongue slightly poking out of his mouth as he kept his gaze trained on the road. "I'm assuming that resumes us back to the no hand holding or... kissing." He turned to look at me, his eyes narrowing in a mischievous manner. "You know what I'm going to miss the most?"

Surprise flashed across my eyes, not expecting that question. "What?" I asked softly, almost hesitantly.

He grinned cheekily. "The late night snuggles. I don't mind a cuddle buddy and you make a damn good one, Fia."

I gaped at him, laughing before I could stop myself. "Consider me flattered, pretty boy. Here I was thinking nobody could meet your standards."

"Hmm..." Wes squinted his eyes in thought, a playful look on his face. His eyes danced with warmth and admiration as he looked at me with the smallest little grin playing on his lips. "In defence, nobody could. Until I met you. You exceed them."

I knew Wes was only joking and being his usual flirty self but I couldn't felt the flutters that were let loose in my stomach. I exhaled shakily, forcing a small laugh. "You never fail to make me feel like a special girl, Weston."

Weston laughed softly, leaning further back. He licked his lips, thinking for a moment. "At some point I had forgotten that it was fake, you know. It all felt so... natural and easy." His voice was soft.

I nodded my head slowly, letting out a small sigh as I leaned my head against the window and stared out at the passing trees. "It was," I mumbled quietly. I felt too normal and natural. Maybe that's how I got so swept up.

Wes opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself, going back to driving in a comfortable silence. I wish I knew what was going on in his mind but he was always so cool and collected, I could never see if there was something deeper going on behind his eyes.

Shortly after that we had gotten back to the campus. Wes grabbed both of suitcases from the trunk, not allowing me to carry my own as he started rolling them both towards the direction of my dorm.

"You know, I can manage to bring my bags myself. You've done plenty, Wes."

He looked at me over his shoulder, sending me a bright smile. "No need. Let me take care of you while I still can, sweetheart." He sent me a wink as he continued heading to my dorms.

"Woah," I exhaled once we entered the building. "It's almost scary how remote this place is."

The whole campus was empty, not a single soul in sight. There were two or three kids walking here and there but aside from that, the place was almost completely vacant.

It was so weird to see the campus this empty because it was always crowded and hectic with students everywhere and always something going on.

There was still almost a week until classes would start up again so everyone was still gone for the break.

"Spooky," Wes sang out in a ghost-like voice, teasing me. "Lucky I hitched a trip with you otherwise I would have drowned in the quietness."

I laughed softly, rolling my eyes at him. "It's kind of peaceful, actually."

Wes scoffed softly. "You think so? I hate the quiet. You would think I'd be used to it considering how I grew up with my family. maybe that's why I hate it so much."

I smiled sheepishly as I unlocked my room door and pushed the door open for Wes to enter first. "I'm sorry. Maybe I find it peaceful because I was always being reprimanded in my house. Someone always having something to say about everything I did."

Wes laughed as he placed my bags down and turned to look at me. "I guess we balance each other out, Fi. Maybe that's why we work so well together."

My face flushed at his comment, although I wasn't sure why exactly. He hardly said anything but still managed to get a reaction out of me. "Right. A good match we are." I avoided his gaze as I walked over to the desk to pick up random things, a weak attempt to fidget and keep myself busy.

Wes plopped down on my bed, tilting his head to look at me. "Well, we have the whole campus to ourselves. Any crazy thing you want to do before our normal lives start up again?"

I turned to look at him, quirking my eyebrow. "What do you have in mind?"

A smirk slowly formed on Wes's face. "Sex. Everywhere. Maybe even in the dean's office."

I scoffed loudly, gawking at him with a blush frantically spreading across my face. Without thinking, I picked up a pillow and chucked it at him. "Wes! Manners!" My eyes were filled with horror.

"What?!" He laughed deeply as he caught the pillow, tossing it back to me. "You asked and I answered. Might as well make use of our time alone on campus while simultaneously burning off the wedding cake calories." He wiggled his eyebrows at me in a teasing manner.

I gaped at him, my face turned upside down in shock and utter bewilderment. I felt extremely flustered, not being able to find words. "No, no, no. I am not one of your... one-date stands. Or whatever you want to call them."

Wes laughed as he stood up, walking over to place his hands on my shoulders to calm me down. "Of course you're not, Fia. I would never think of you as anything like the billion girls I have had single dates with." He smiled warmly, his features softening as he peered at me. "You much more than that. You're... you. You know?"

I raised my eyebrows slowly, biting the inside of my cheek. "I'm not sure I do know."

Wes let out a breathy laugh as he looked down at me. His fixed gaze on me fluttered with a euphoric and lively look. "Don't ever think you're just like any other one of those girls to me. You're... my person, I suppose."

I let out a shaky breath, trying to fight away the tingly sensation that spread across my body. My stomach flipped, my heart pattering against my chest at high speed.

I gaped, unable to say anything.

He left me speechless. Literally.

What the hell is my heart doing to me?

Wes grinned down at me before taking a step back. "I should go unpack."

All I could think was that this fake relationship had brought me into very dangerous territory with Wes Hamilton.