Page 149 of Silver Fox Puck

It means trusting that this won’t just be another thing I lose.

And I don’t know if I’m ready for that.

My phone buzzes.

Talia.

I hesitate, then swipe to answer.

“Tell me you’re not still sitting there overthinking this,” she says without preamble.

I sigh. “I plead the fifth.”

She groans. “Kenzie, what exactly are you afraid of? Because this man clearly worships the ground you walk on.”

I bite my lip. “I just—what if this doesn’t last?”

She scoffs. “What if it does?”

I blink.

Because I didn’t expect that.

“Babe,” Talia continues, softer now. “You’ve spent your whole life running before something can hurt you. But what if this time, you don’t have to?”

My chest tightens.

Because I want to believe that. I really do.

But fear is a funny thing.

It sneaks in when you least expect it, whispering in the back of your mind, reminding you that good things don’t always stay.

That people leave.

That love can turn into loss.

I don’t realize I’m silent for too long until Talia sighs.

“I get it,” she says, her voice softer now. “But at some point, you have to decide. Do you want to keep protecting yourself from something that might never happen? Or do you want to actually live?”

I swallow hard.

Because she’s right.

And that’s the scariest part of all.

Because I’ve done this before—fallen for the wrong person, convinced myself it was nothing, and let it all blow up in my face. And when it did? Jake was the one who helped me pick up the pieces. He didn’t say I told you so. He didn’t push. He just sat with me while I broke, then reminded me how to stand back up.

But this? This doesn’t feel like that.

This doesn’t feel like falling.

It feels like choosing. Like trusting. Like opening the part of me I’ve always kept locked up—and handing it to someone who might actually deserve it.

And that? That’s a hell of a lot scarier than falling ever was.

I’m still sitting on the couch, Talia’s words looping in my head, when there’s a knock at my door.

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