Page 145 of Unloved

“Because I messed up your internship—your whole plan for grad school, everything. And, Ro, I promise, if you want to work with her, I would never be mad at you for that—”

“Be mad?” Disbelief sinks into her beautiful features. “Matt, no one who cares about you would ever want to be around that woman again. I would never—God, I don’t even know how I’m going to manage being in the same room as her until the end of the semester. Of course I’m withdrawing my application to her program.”

Admiration swirls with affection, my breath catching at the fierce determination on her face. It’s the same look she had in my adviser meeting, facing off with tenured professors twice her age and experience, not batting an eye in the face of their frustration or doubt of her.

I love her.

I do—and it’s more than that; I admire her, every piece that makes her my Rosalie.

“Okay,” I say, nodding stupidly.

“I’ve already started my application to Khabra’s program. And she’s actually going to be a much better fit. I’d picked her first anyway, before Tyler messed with my plans.”

“Ro—”

“And you won’t need a new tutor next semester. You’re passing, you’re fine. And if you need help, you’ll ask me. So we don’t even need to worry about that being a factor in January, and I can just tutor privately.”

She usesweso casually my chest tightens, making it hard to speak.

“Ro?”

“The guys in my program are just”—she shakes her head with an eye roll—“just terrible. A horrid work environment that I wasalready worried about. Besides, I feel much more confident that Dr. Khabra’s entire curriculum is better suited to what I want. And—”

I cut her off. “You’re doing this for me?” She stops, blinking wide hazel eyes across at me.

“And, for, like, all the reasons I’ve said. But… yes,” she says softly.

A grin bursts free, my heart turning to a pile of goo in my chest because it’s the most selfless, protective, incredible thing anyone’s ever done for me.

“You’re doing this for me.” I repeat the statement, to her or to myself I’m not sure.

The three steps it takes to get to her feel too long. Having her in my arms has always been healing, like something soft pressing away the lingering cuts that I’ve never managed to patch.

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

“Please,” she whimpers, barely getting the word out before my lips are on hers. I try to be gentle, but the freedom to really be with her makes me frantic, needing to touch every part of her.

We trip backward into the wall, giggling a little into the kiss. And I breathe a sigh of relief. There’s no pressure to perform, to be what Ro wants me to be, because what she wants isme.

With or without the sex. With or without the hockey. She thinks I’m smart and kind and a good person. And, as hard as it is to admit, she’s the first one to really see me like that.

If I’m honest with myself, this is the first time I feel comfortable and excited to give myself over entirely.

Ro pulls back, pushing firmly on my chest for a second as I break the kiss. This time, it’s her eyes searching mine, lips freshly kissed, cheeks pink. She’s so distracting, and yet my focus is best when it’s onher.

“You’re not going home for Thanksgiving?” she asks.

I shake my head, and she smiles shyly.

“Are you?” I ask, rubbing my hands up and down her bare arms beneath the big sleeves of her oversized T-shirt.

She shakes her head and I grin, scooping her up into my arms.

“Great, then we can spend the entire break together.” I nip at her neck and gently toss her back into her disheveled bed, basking in the warmth of her laughter as I follow.

CHAPTER 52Freddy

We spend our first day of the break watching a ridiculous number of YouTube videos, napping, and eating in bed—which is only after I letChef Roboss me around in the kitchen and snap at me for my continuous attempts at distracting her.

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