Chapter 10

Two years later

Belly's POV

"Hey, Con, you know where my dress is?" I asked.

"Which one?" he asked from inside his closet.

"The blue one." I replied. He tossed a blue piece of fabric from out of the closet and I grabbed it quickly.

"Nice catch." he commented, stepping out of the closet. He wore a white button up shirt and black dress pants, but he was still barefoot.

"Thanks." I could feel myself blushing. "You clean up well." He smiled, continuing into his bathroom. I had just gotten back from my junior year of college and Conrad and I had met up at a diner the night before. We had rented a hotel room together that night, but we didn't actually sleep together. Conrad was wary about kissing me, so I doubted we would be sleeping together anytime soon. He just slept on the floor like that one night we had been with Jeremiah, except this time, the only one I thought about was Conrad.

I stepped around the corner so he couldn't see me and slipped on my dress, letting my hair fall around my shoulders. When I stepped out, Conrad was sitting on the bed. "Nice." he commented, standing up and placing his hands on my hips. He leaned forward and kissed me and my head felt light. It took all my control to pull away.

"C'mon, we can't just hang around here all day." I said, stepping away.

"Technically we could." he smirked.

"We can't miss Jere's graduation, Con."

"Were you this pushy about attending my graduation?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course." I rolled my eyes. Conrad had graduated last year from Stanford and was now working on getting a doctorate's degree. But he had taken the summer off to spend time together, or so he told me. "Come on." I insisted, picking up my bag. He picked up his and we walked downstairs to his car. We threw the bags in the back and drove off towards Jere's graduation.

When we got there, my mom was already taking pictures of Elle and Jere while Steven stood off to the side. I had met Elle two years ago around the time Conrad and I had become official. She was extremely nice and she made Jere so happy, and that's something that mattered a lot to me. "SAve some film for the actual graduation." Con said to my mom, kissing her on the cheek.

"Oh hush, Con." she rolled her eyes, glancing between the two of us suspiciously before turning back to Jere and Elle.

"I better get going." Jere said, kissing Elle lightly.

"Good luck." Elle grinned.

"Let's go get a seat." Elle hooked her arm in mine and led our group towards empty chairs. The graduation ceremony was taking place on a green lawn int he college quad. Jere stood tall above all the other in his class in his black robe. Conrad laced his fingers into mine and hummed softly until the ceremony started.

Jere's POV

I was so nervous for graduation. I was worried about tripping on the stage, or forgetting to shake my teacher's hands and then having to awkwardly amble back onto stage to finish. Or worse. Forget to pick up my diploma. But the worst part about waiting was not seeing my dad in the crowd. He was nowhere to be found, so I just focused on Elle.

She was wearing a white dress that made her look so tan. After two years of seeing each other, I had memorized the color of her eyes. Green with flecks of gold, blue, and brown. Her peachy lips parted into a smile when she saw me look at her. I smiled back and she gave a thumbs up.

Over our two year span, Elle had kept me at arms length. She wouldn't ever let me get past a meer kiss, but the chase made her so much more enthralling. She was such an interesting person and we had both studied abroad out senior year in Italy together, yet, even in the city of romance or whatever, she would only let me kiss her. But I loved that about her.

"Jeremiah Fisher." I heard my name and Elle gave a big 'whoop' as I walked onto the stage. Luckily, I didn't trip or forget my diploma. I shook my teachers hand and they said congratulations or something like that and then I went to my seat. At the end of the ceremony, I threw my hat up into the air as high as I could and let out a big sigh of relief. I was free from school.

"Where are we going for dinner?" Belly's mom asked. "Well," she glanced at Conrad and Belly who stood close to each other, staring lovingly into each other's eyes. Over the years I had learned to tolerate Con. After all, he was my brother. ", I'm sure you guys have your own plans, I'll head home and cook something."

"I'll take you to dinner mom." Steven offered. Over the years he had become quite the grown up. He was so polite and it kind of bothered me because it wasn't like Steven. I had even talked to him about it and he said his girlfriend was keeping him in line. I'd really like to meet her sometime soon because someone who can keep Steven Conklin in line was someone worth meeting.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked, glancing down at Elle.

"My parents wanted me back in Cousin's by eleven."

"Tonight?" I asked, a little disappointed.

"Doesn't mean you can't come." she winked. "They wanted me back in Cousins. Not home." she grinned.

"Belly and I are headed up to Cousin's actually. It'll be like old times! We can all stay int he house!" Con said. Nice. Way to ruin my hopes and dreams, Con.

"SOunds great." Elle smiled.

Oh lala. REVIEWWWWW