LET ME HAVE YOU

The air in the Westwood High hallway always smelled like floor wax and teenage desperation, but to Leo, it just smelled like home. Or maybe a prison. It was hard to tell the difference sometimes.

He walked with his head down, his shoulders hunched in a posture that screamed *do not touch*. He was the ghost of the junior class. The weirdo. The guy who sat in the back of the library and stared at the spine of books without opening them. People moved around him like he was a rock in a stream—cold, unmovable, and best left alone.

But then he saw her.

Tiana was at her locker, struggling with a stuck combination lock. She was laughing, shaking her head, a strand of dark hair falling over her eye. To everyone else, she was just Tiana, the pretty girl who was nice to everyone but didn’t belong to any specific clique. To Leo, she was the only splash of color in a grayscale world.

She looked up and spotted him. The smile didn’t fade; it brightened.

“Leo!” she called out, abandoning the locker. She jogged over, her sneakers squeaking on the linoleum. “I’ve been looking for you. Did you finish the history outline?”

Leo felt his throat tighten, the usual lump of anxiety lodged there. He adjusted his glasses, pushing them up his nose. “Yeah. I, uh, I did. I have a copy for you.”

He fumbled in his backpack, his fingers brushing against the crumpled paper. He hated how clumsy he was around her. He hated that he had memorized the rhythm of her walk and the way she smelled like vanilla and rain. He loved her so much it physically hurt—a dull, constant ache in his chest that he had learned to ignore over the years. She was his best friend. She was the only one who didn’t look at him like he was a specimen in a jar.

“You’re a lifesaver,” she said, taking the paper. Her fingers brushed his. The contact sent a jolt of electricity through him, strong enough to make him flinch. She didn’t notice. “Mr. Henderson is going to fail me if I don’t get this in.”

“You won’t fail,” Leo mumbled. “You’re smart.”

“I’m distracted,” she sighed, leaning against the lockers next to him. “Everyone is talking about Prom already. It’s months away, can you believe it?”

Leo looked at his shoes. Prom. That was for people like Sam—the celebrity on every poster, the guys with nice jaws and clean fingernails. Not for Leo. He’d rather set his hair on fire than dance in a gymnasium.

“Whatever,” he muttered. “It’s stupid.”

Tiana laughed, nudging his shoulder with hers. “You’re such a grouch. Come on, we have English.”

They walked together, the juxtaposition striking. Him, tall and lanky in an oversized faded band shirt, hair falling into his eyes. Her, radiant and effortless. Heads turned as they passed. Whispers followed. *Why is she with him? Isn’t he that freak?*

Leo heard it all. He was used to it. As long as she didn’t hear it, he didn’t care. Her presence was his shield.

The bell rang, shattering the morning calm.

*Fourth Period. Mrs. Gable’s English class.*

This was where the axis of Leo’s world tilted off its center.

They were doing a “circle of trust” exercise—a cheesy attempt by Mrs. Gable to get them to open up. Leo sat in the back, wishing he could dissolve into the plastic chair. Tiana was three seats away, looking uncomfortable.

“Okay, everyone,” Mrs. Gable chirped, clapping her hands. “Let’s go around. Share a secret, a fear, or... a crush! Let’s keep it light.”

Groans rippled through the room.

A jock named Jason went first, bragging about his car. Then a quiet girl admitted she was afraid of spiders. It was mundane, boring. Leo let his mind drift, planning the fantasy world he retreated to whenever reality got too loud. A world where he wasn’t the weird kid. A world where he looked like the guys on the magazine covers.

Then, it was Tiana’s turn.

She shifted in her seat. Leo watched her closely. He knew her tells. The way she picked at her cuticles when she was nervous. The way her eyes darted to the door.

“Tiana,” Mrs. Gable prompted. “Come on, don’t be shy.”

The boy in front of her, a loud-mouth named Kyle, turned around. “Who do you like, Tiana? Bet it’s someone on the football team.”

“No,” Tiana said quickly. Too quickly.

“Come on,” Kyle pressed, grinning. “Give us a name. Someone famous?”

The class went silent. All eyes were on her. The pressure in the room mounted. Leo saw the panic rising in her throat. She was cornered. She needed a name. She needed an out.

She opened her mouth, and for a split second, her eyes flicked to Leo.

Leo’s heart stopped. He held his breath. This was it. This was the moment in the movies. She was going to say his name. She was going to—

“Sam,” she blurted out. “I mean... Sam Marzano. You know, the actor?”

The room erupted.

“Sam Marzano?” Kyle laughed. “The guy from *Midnight Run*? Damn, Tiana, you have good taste. He’s a legend.”

“Total bad boy,” another girl chimed in. “I heard he’s dating a model, though.”

Tiana forced a laugh, her face turning a shade of pink that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yeah. Well. A girl can dream, right?”

Leo felt the blood drain from his face so fast it left him cold.

*Sam.*

The most beautiful man in the world. The man with the tattoos, the smirk, the body that made women scream in movie theaters. The man who was everything Leo was not.

Tiana settled back in her seat, relieved to have survived the interrogation. She glanced at Leo, offering him a small, apologetic smile, as if to say, *Sorry, I had to say something.*

But Leo didn’t see the apology. He only saw the truth.

She didn’t want him. She would never want him. She wanted *Sam*. She wanted the danger, the looks, the confidence. She wanted a man who knew exactly what to do with his hands.

Leo looked down at his own pale, trembling hands. He felt sick. The safe little bubble he lived in, where he was content to just be her best friend and love her from the shadows, popped.

If she wanted Sam, Leo couldn’t compete. But he could become something else.

He stared at the back of Tiana’s neck, at the soft skin he had fantasized about touching for years. A dark, unfamiliar thought took root in his mind, twisting and sharp.

*I can change,* he thought. *I have to.*

The bell rang, but Leo didn’t move. He sat frozen in his seat, the noise of the hallway fading into a dull roar, as the first brick of his new persona was laid.

🔥 LIMITED TIME LAUNCH DEAL: Read ahead on Amazon for only $1!

“Let’s practice, Tiana. Just friends. It doesn’t count.”

. But when they step into a secluded cabin in the woods, the lines of their friendship don’t just blur—they shatter into a web of dark obsession and breathless reality. 🌍 Read a Great Story, Change a Life: For every single purchase of Let Me Have You, you make, 10% of the proceeds will be donated directly to help save and support a girl child in Africa. Get your copy today, dive into the suspense, and make a real-world difference

LINK IN MY BIO!!