Page 103 of Until We Meet Again

My heart is hammering against my chest, threatening to break free. Every instinct tells me to stay at home tonight, lock myself up, and forget that the last ten minutes ever happened. My mind is screaming at me not to screw up this tiny amount of progressthat I've started to make, warning me to protect my heart at any cost.

However, I'm fully aware that I'm about to make a stupid decision. I'm going to the Cordova Lounge tonight, and we both know it.

Chapter 47

Zane

It’s been six weeks since I last touched her, consumed her, and felt the warmth of her skin against my lips. Six weeks since I saw the love in her eyes and denied her like the fucking coward I am, but not anymore. It’s been a month since I last saw her face when she was smiling on stage while people she loves and who love her looked on with immense pride, just as I did, but hidden like the secret I’ve always been.

For the past month, I've been trying to face my demons and heal what's been broken inside me. It hasn't been easy, and I'm still not all the way there, but I knew I had to do this. Even if she never speaks to me again, even if she can't forgive me, it's worth it, even for that tiny amount of hope I still have. Because she's the one. She's the one who made me feel again, so how could I ever want to feel anything like this for anyone who isn't her?

While I was at my parents, I opened up to Callum and his fiancée, Zoe, about Tessa, even though I knew they were going to judge the hell out of me for being such an asshole. But theywere nothing but supportive. They know what I've gone through—hell, they've all been through it with me.

But there's no excuse for hurting the woman who was brave enough to fight for us.

The woman whose smile burned into my soul since the very first time I saw it.

A smile that I stole and turned into tears.

But now I'm home in Chicago, and I'm here for one reason only, and that's for her—everything I do now will be for Tessa.

For the first time since we met, I’m driving to her house with every intention of knocking on the door. Even though I feel calm and confident in my mind, my heart is saying otherwise as it pounds against my chest. One last thought of "screw it" enters my head before I walk up the three steps and knock twice. I wait for my beautiful blonde to answer the door, hoping she won’t slam it in my face.

"You!" A furious little brunette greets me instead of Tessa, scowling up at me as if I were the devil himself.

"Is she here, Jen?"

"How dare you? How dare you come back here? Do you realize what you've put her through, and then you show up here and say, "Is she here?" She mimics me, and it's honestly the worst impersonation I've ever heard. "No, she isn't here, and even if she were, she wouldn't see you because you broke her heart, and she's only just started to piece herself back together."

She's moving on.

"I never wanted to hurt her, and I need to tell her that. I need to talk to her, and I'm not leaving until that happens."

"She doesn't want to see you."

"Then she can tell me that herself. Now, where is she?" She rolls her eyes and huffs before narrowing them and pointing at me, her finger practically pressing into my chest.

"I swear, if you hurt her again, I will end you. Slowly, painfully, and I'll enjoy every second of it." I nod, trying not to smile at her threat, and while I'm absolutely sure she means it, she's only a tiny little thing. "Café Luxe. That's the only place she goes anymore."

Our first date.

"You're a good friend to her, Jen. She's lucky to have you," I say as I move away from the front door, not wanting to spend any longer here, and I turn to walk back to the car.

"I mean it. Tessa had better not come back here with one single tear." I hear Jen’s voice pierce through the air from behind me. Turning around, I smile at her before sliding back into my car. I drive straight off to where I first laid eyes on my girl, thinking back to that day and never imagining that the moment she walked through that door would be when I met the woman I was meant to spend the rest of my life with.

I pull up outside and immediately find her through the coffee shop's wide glass windows. For a moment, I sit here staring at her. She has an undeniable beauty that's impossible to ignore, and my heart feels so full of her that I can no longer call it mine. It belongs to her.I belong to her.

Her golden hair flows down her back, and I become lost in a memory as I remember how it felt between my fingers and the way her body would tremble when I moved it across her shoulder before tracing my tongue down the curve of her spine.

As I shake off the memories, I reach for a pen from my side door and head into the coffee shop. Inside, Tessa sits at a table, typing away on her laptop.

Suddenly, she pauses, not turning her head, but it's as if she feels my presence, just as I always feel hers.

Reluctantly, I turn away from Tessa and address the waitress. "Good morning. What can I get for you, sir?" Her voice is obnoxiously loud, and her flirty tone immediately irritates me.

I lean closer to the counter and speak softly. I grab a white napkin and pull my pen out of my pocket. After writing down a message, I hand it to the girl serving me. "Just a bottle of water and a vanilla latte for the girl with the smile that could light up the night sky," I say, and her gaze goes past me toward the back of the cafe. "The blonde at the back with the laptop in front of her," I add, smiling, and the girl nods, understanding my request.

Standing here, with my back to Tessa, I can feel her eyes on me. I’ve always been able to feel her gaze—it lights me up from the inside out, caressing my soul and igniting a flame inside me. The longer I stand here, the faster my willpower fades, and the urge to turn around and face her becomes almost unbearable.

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