Love Me
Table Of Contents
Other Books by Jillian Dodd copy
Other Books by Bandit Publishing
Jillian Dodd
love
me
The Keatyn Chronicles
Book four.
Bandit Publishing
Copyright 2013 by Jillian Dodd
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Bandit Publishing
Flower Mound, TX
Edited by Rebecca Peters-Golden
Cover by Okay Creations
ISBN: 978-0-9892109-4-2
This book is for
Kenzie.
This book series is similar to a television series in that there is no recap of what happened earlier.
This book starts the day the last one finished.
If you haven’t read the first three books, you probably won’t know what’s going on.
Click
here
to read book one: Stalk Me.
Click
here
to read book two: Kiss Me.
Click
here
to read book three: Date Me.
When we last saw Keatyn, she was lying in bed and Katie told her to open her eyes. Below are the last few lines of
Date Me
.
Our entire ceiling is covered with hundreds of little glow-in-the-dark stars.
“They’re beautiful,” I tell Katie. “When did you find time to do that?”
“I didn’t do it. That’s why I asked if you did it.”
“I didn’t do it,” I say again.
“Who do you think did?”
“I have no idea. Unless it was Annie. Is that why she was so adamant that we come to her room tonight? Is she trying to cheer us up?”
“Could be. But she was with us the whole time.”
My mind drifts to Aiden handing me a little star today in French. Me getting mad at him and tossing it back.
Then tonight. The cake. The peace offering.
Could Aiden have done this?
But that doesn’t make sense.
They were for the dream girl.
But in class he said something about my sisters liking them. About how they reminded me of home. Was he just trying to get rid of them?
"I think I might know,” I whisper to Katie.
I grab my phone from my bedside table and call Aiden.
“Hey, Boots, what's up?” he says, in his smooth delicious voice. “Get it? What’s up?”
“Aiden, did you . . .”
He doesn't let me finish. “The answer to your question is yes. I did put stars all over your ceiling.”
“They’re beautiful. But I don’t understand why you did it.”
“I did it because I think it’s time you finally knew that the stars were always for you. Always. Only. Ever. For you.”
Monday, October 17th
Lie here and swoon.
11:25pm
“But why?” Tell me, Aiden. Tell me that you fell head over heels in love with me when I kicked a soccer ball at your head. Tell me that when we kiss it feels like I'm kissing your soul. Tell me that your heart beats for me. Tell me that I was made for you.
“I just thought you should know that
you
were the person I wanted to ask to Homecoming.”
“But then why did you tell Riley what Whitney did? Why did you help keep Dawson and me together?”
“Because I don’t like to see you hurt. And, honestly, I didn’t think he’d come back right away.”
“I cut my knee.”
“I know you did.”
“I thought they were for someone else.”
“I know that too.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Once Dawson asked you, it was like
boom
you were dating, then
boom
you were saying I love you. What was I supposed to do at that point? But I think it’s for the best that it worked out this way because I feel like I’ve gotten to know you better. I'm glad were getting to be friends.”
Friends? Friends?! FRIENDS!?
I don't want to be his freaking friend. I don't even like him that much.
Shit. But still.
“It was sweet, Aiden. Whatever your reasons.”
“It's not all sweet. Every night when you go to sleep, I know you’ll see the stars and think of me. Sweet dreams, Boots.”
I end the call and look at my ceiling, remembering how sick I felt when I thought they were for someone else. How perfect it would’ve been. How he had touched my pinkie. How just his touch causes me to react in a way I've never experienced. How I would’ve said yes, then rolled to face him, and kissed him.
Maybe I would have even given that boy some tongue.
I want to lie here and swoon, but . . .
I sit up and flip on my lamp. "Katie?”
"So, Aiden did it?"
"Yeah." I tell her about the stars. About all that happened. About how I was wrong. “But there's something else."
"What?"
"He told me he's glad we're becoming friends."
She frowns. “Friends? He wants to be your
friend
?”
“I don’t know. Do you think I was just friend-zoned?”
“Do you really think he'd put up all these stars for
just
a friend?”
“Um, I don't know for sure.”
“Turn your light back off. They’re pretty,” she says sleepily.
“Yeah, they are.”
I lie down and wait for them to start glowing again.
And I keep reminding myself.
They are just stars.
Just
stars.
They don't mean he loves you. They mean he was going to ask you to Homecoming. As a friend.
My mind goes to the dream girl.
I so wish I was the dream girl.
But I’m not. He said
friends
. He wants peace and friendship.
He doesn't love you.
It can't happen.
You have to be smart.
But as the stars start to glow across my ceiling, I can’t help but lie here and wish he'd put up a moon.
Tuesday, October 18th
The mark of true love.
7:40am
My phone vibrates with a text from Grandpa. I can picture him sitting at his desk, overlooking the rosebushes in his back yard.
But wait. Grandpa always emails me. When did he learn to text?
Grandpa: To answer your question about the difference between love and true love, I have a simple answer. True love leaves a mark. Sometimes with a frying pan. LOL
And when did he learn what LOL is?
Me: Grandpa, this is serious! Ask Grandma if you don’t know. And HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW?? You’ve been married to the same woman for 39 years!!!
Grandpa: True love is a crapshoot. Sometimes you get lucky and hit the jackpot. Sometimes you’re left wallowing drunk and broke.
Me: You are not much help.
But as I’m walking to class, I’m thinking about Grandpa’s message and wondering if true love
does
leave a mark. Like the way Aiden’s kiss seared my skin that very first time he kissed me. Is that what it was? The mark of true love. Some sort of invisible hickey?
Speaking of hickeys.
Riley’s neck is covered with them.
“What? Did you get in a fight with a vacuum cleaner last night and lose?” I ask him.
He flips his collar up against his neck. “You know what they say,
True love leaves a mark
.”
“My Grandpa just told me the same thing. That’s so weird you’d say that. But somehow I don’t think that’s what the great philosophers had in mind.”
“Philosophers said that? That’s funny. I always thought it was something my dad made up.” He grins naughtily at me. “You should see my chest. She wrote her name in hickeys.”
I laugh. “I take it you and Ariela are back together? Did you sleep with her?”
“Naw, we’re having too much fun doing other stuff right now.”
His words burn in my brain.
We’re having too much fun doing other stuff.
That’s what I missed with Dawson. I’ve never sucked on his neck long enough to give him even one hickey. Let alone written my name on his chest. I went way too fast with him. And I think because I did, we can’t really start over. I can’t take it back.
I feel like I should make a public service announcement over the loud speaker in school.
Note to all you daters out there:
Enjoy making out for hours.
Enjoy the way his lips feel on yours.
Enjoy embarrassing him with hickeys.
Enjoy holding his hand.
Enjoy the way he says your name when he tells you goodnight.
Enjoy when he shows up to walk you to your next class.
Enjoy how he licks hot fudge off your face.
Enjoy staring at the stars with him.
Enjoy feeling crazy in love.
Like you will die if you don’t see him.
Like you will die if you have to stop kissing him.
Enjoy letting him romance you.
Revel in the slow pace.
Let your relationship build.
Then
fall in love.
If only I could actually do that myself. I think of Aiden’s sex survey. Since I broke up with Sander, all of my relationships have happened really fast.
My mind flits to my mom saying,
You need to love yourself.