Page 75 of Pinky Promises

I run my fingers over the two words “yours always.” I set the letter down, bring the bouquet to my nose, and take a strong whiff of the floral scent. It’s doesn’t calm my nerves the same way Callum does, but since he was the last one to touch these, I try to siphon some of his touch to me. Maybe I’ve been watching one too many paranormal shows.

I wipe the tears filling my eyes and throw my shoulders back. I walk throughout the apartment and collect each card before sitting down on the couch. I bring my legs up under me and take another strong sip of wine before I begin reading them. Each card is handwritten from Callum and is signed with Yours Always.

I open the second card.

I had my heart set on yellow roses with red tips, which signified finding love from friendship, but then I saw these, and they made me think of you.

I glance up and see that most of the vases are almost tie-dye with bright colors blending on the petals.

The blue reminds me of your eyes. I’ve always been so fascinated with your eyes. Not only are they my favorite shade of blue, but I could spend every minute on this earth getting lost in them. They say so much without even talking.

The following note seems to be a P.S., and I giggle through my tears.

Sorry, I ran out of room, but blue was also the color of your bridesmaid’s dress that I peeled off your gorgeous body for the first time. That night I got to worship you like the goddess you are.

The yellow reminds me of… and don’t laugh but your obsession with macaroni and cheese. And not just any mac and cheese, because I’ve tried to make it for you from scratch, and you will only eat it by Kraft. Straight-up facts. Maybe both our obsessions with shitty processed foods are some weird way of making up for years of not being allowed to eat them as kids.

The pink reminds me of your college dorm room. Remember when you girls thought it would be fun to paint an accent wall in the dorm, and it was so fluorescent that even when the lights were off, it was bright, and you begged me to stay up all night and paint it the night before my English final? You helped me all night cramming while we painted.

The orange reminds me of the lucky socks you wore in high school. The orange socks were against the dress code, so you wore them under your uniform socks whenever you had a big test or had to speak in front of people. I still think you were crazy to believe they made you brave, but I knew it was just you all along.

The green reminded me of the trees between our family’s properties where we used to play hide and seek as kids. We could escape from the world and just be together. I love the escape you give me, yet you also ground me like no other.

I look up to the ceiling and take a few calming breaths before unsealing the final envelope. Again, this time, it’s a folded-up handwritten letter.

If you’re reading this, then that must mean that you’ve read all of the others. I’m trying to say that all my memories have you intertwined with them. You’re a part of me as much as I’m a part of you.

I choke on the tears flowing down my cheeks, leaving wet droplets of smeared ink on the paper.

Also, be sure to thank Ben and Asher because I wouldn’t have been able to fill the apartment with all these flowers without them. Do you know how hard they are to come by? We drove all over New York to find them. You will also notice plain red roses because those mean I love you. I hate that I’m writing this to you instead of confessing it to you in person, but I hope that I’ll have a chance one day, hopefully, sooner than later. I will wait for you… forever if I have to.

I never want you to think that what happened between us was a mistake. I might not be as smart as you, and I may make many mistakes. Not telling you about my father’s asinine plan was a mistake, but more importantly, it was not telling you how I really felt. I’ve loved you my entire life, but at some point, that love turned from you being my best friend to you being the woman I could never live without. Those were mistakes, but you and me, baby, we could never be a mistake. We were inevitable from the start. You were born to be mine. I am now and forever yours, XO Callum.

I drop the letter to the floor and hug my knees to my chest as I try to control the nonstop tears.

There’s a knock at the door, and I debate on whether to pretend I’m not home or not, but the knocking continues. I slowly get up from the couch and try to wipe away all the tears off my face. Sorry to whoever is on the other side of the door, but there’s not much I can do to keep from what most likely resembles Swamp Thing answering.

I open the door to find Lexi and Hadley standing there with soft smiles. “What are you guys doing here,” I say through choked tears. “The auction starts soon.”

Lexi shrugs. “Ben has a handle on things. I’m right where I need to be.” She steps into the apartment and wraps me in her arms.

Hadley follows in the group hug, wrapping her arms around me from behind.

New waves of emotions wash over me as I become the meat between a best friend sandwich.

“What do you have there?” I finally notice the giant bag hanging over Hadley’s shoulder and what looks to be a garment bag draped over Lexi’s arm. “Is this all part of Callum’s plan?”

“Oh, hell no, this was all us.” Hadley moves her hand back and forth between her and Lexi. “He doesn’t even know we’re here, honestly. But knowing that he went through this, we have two options.”

“Okay,” I respond nervously. I step back and wrap my arms around my waist.

“One, you let us dress you up like Cinderella headed to the ball, hop in the car downstairs, and go to the auction for you to claim the man that is yours. I’ve got my entire arsenal of emergency hair and makeup in my bag here to become your fairy godmother and bibbity bobbity boo your ass into a princess.”

I pull my bottom lip between my teeth as I ponder over this option. That’s quite the option to start with, and I’m almost worried to find out what’s behind door number two.

“Or,” Lexi cuts in, “I send the car away downstairs, call Ben and tell him he will just have to handle it all on his own the rest of the night, and we can spend tonight doing whatever you want—whether it being getting rid of all these flowers, picking the petals off one by one, or just bingeing on junk food. The choice is yours.”

“I can’t have you miss out on this event. You’ve worked so hard on it, making sure every detail is perfect.”

“Exactly, everything is a piece of cake for everyone there. I’ve lost count of how many events I’ve done during my time at Maritime. Missing one of them is not going to kill me, but not being there for my best friend might.

“So, what’s the choice, B,” Lexi asks the million-dollar question of the century.

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