Page 106 of Forever Cursed

Chrissy closes her eyes and snickers. “Paint me like one of your French girls.”

“Oh, you know about them?”

She opens her eyes, and I plop the mask on the tip of her nose, matching her laughter and wide grin.

“Rome Carter!” she squeals.

“I couldn’t help it,” I laugh while smearing the mask over her face. “Now relax. This is supposed to be calming.”

With a few mumbled remarks, Chrissy closes her eyes again and lets me finish applying the clay mask to her gorgeous face.When I’m done, she hops off the counter, and we look at one another in the mirror.

“We look fabulous.”

“Hottest couple on campus,” she deadpans.

Our composure cracks within seconds, and we start laughing.

I wrap my arms around her waist and haul her back into her room.

Once I place her on her bed, she grabs her phone and opens the camera. “Pretty please?”

“How can I say no to that face?”

We take a series of selfies, and it’s not long before the mask dries, and we wash it off, leaving us feeling refreshed with smooth skin. I turn the lights out, and she gets comfortable in bed. I didn’t bring a change of clothes, but thankfully I’m not wearing jeans today.

I watch her as she starts to play the movie I picked up for us to watch. With snacks in hand, she rests her head on my chest, and I wrap my arm around her. She sighs more than once, but none of them sound irritated, more like peaceful and content. As the movie plays, I run my fingers through her curls and close my eyes.

A lot has happened, and I haven’t had the time to process it. Chrissy and I had our first big disagreement, Malik is threatening my chance at being drafted, Dad hasn’t messaged me back, classes resume soon, and the first game of the season is a month away. If I could freeze time, I would. I want to stay in this moment forever. No outside influences or drama. Just us watching a movie about a princess, a man from the streets, and a genie.

“I think this may be my favorite movie.” Chrissy cuts through my thoughts.

“NotRapunzel?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

“No, this is my favorite.”

“Why is that?”

“They knew they loved one another and were willing to sacrifice part of themselves for the other. This is forbidden love at its finest.”

I trail my fingers from her hair to her bare arm, tracing random shapes. “And they got their happy ending.”

“They did,” she agrees.

A moment passes before she shifts. She scoots back and looks at me with a wistful look. “Do you think we’ll find our happy ending? Or is that only for fairy tales?”

With a gentle smile, I run my thumb over her jawline. Her skin turns pink under my touch, so I repeat the motion.

“I’m not sure if I believe in happy endings. Not because I don’t want to, but because they’re unrealistic. We’ll face challenges; the universe will always throw obstacles at us because she wants to see us grow. Humans are meant to change and adapt. What would be the point of continuing if we all had a happy ending? I think you and I are stronger than a happy ending. We’ll have our moments where we can’t stand one another, moments when we’re sad, but we’ll have so many moments when we’re happy and in love. And I’m going to remember each and every one of them because my time with you is nothing short of bliss.”

And I mean it. I want it all with Chrissy. The messy, the chaotic, the funny, and the happy. I don’t see myself ever growing tired of her. There is a before her, but there isn’t an after. There can’t be. I refuse to consider it.

She looks at me, her eyes shimmering as tears fill them. When they fall from her eyes, I catch them with my thumb and wipe them away.

“That’s all I want.” Her voice cracks. “You’re all I want.”

I weave my hand in her hair and rest my forehead on hers. “Even though I can be a prick?”

She chuckles and meets my gaze with nothing but love. “You’re not a prick, Rome. You just don’t know when to listen to me, but that will come with time. You’ll learn that I’m always right.”

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