Page 47 of You Loved Me Once
Can I let him go and stand here, watching him leave me?
My feet are becoming one with the cement, and I’m making the choice to stay.
As he takes another step backward, I know what I have to do. I have to break the chains of fear and go to him.
He’s right for me.
He’s good for me.
Westin is who I want to build a future with.
It’s as if the moment I made the choice, the ground became a cloud, helping me get to him. I close the distance, wrap my arms around him, and hold on tight. Life goes on around us, but time stands still. It’s as if what’s been broken inside of me for so long just healed a little. The hole may never be filled, but Westin can patch it. Every part of me knows what I want. There’s no hesitation in my heart. He’s the right man for me, and I have to get closure so I can fully move on.
Chapter 13
Fifteen Years Earlier
“I got in!” I yell as I rush into Bryce’s arms. “I got in!”
“I knew you would.”
God, this is such a relief. I got into Penn State and now we can solidify our plans. It’ll all work out. I feel like I can breathe.
“I’m glad you were confident.”
Bryce shakes his head. “You’re insanely smart, got into Yale, Northwestern, and UCLA, so...yeah ...I was confident.”
“None of those are where I wanted to go though, that’s what you’re missing.”
UCLA was never a real option, but my professor urged me to apply. Yale was an option if he was going to Cornell, but we both wanted Penn State. Now, we have it.
“We have dinner tonight,” Bryce reminds me.
“Shit. I have to study.”
“Chick, not tonight.”
I really can’t blow this biology final off. There’s a reason I got into every school I applied to—because I work my ass off. He is the only thing I do outside of school.
“Can we please do it another day?”
“No.”
I groan and cross my arms. “Why are you being so rigid?”
“Because today is important.”
Worry starts to creep in. Is it his birthday? No, that’s in three months. Our anniversary? No, that just passed. What the hell is important about today?
“Why?”
He rolls his eyes and then kisses me. “It is, go get ready.”
We are clearly not going to come to an understanding here, and today is a day for celebrating, I guess. I’ll study once he goes to sleep.
I rush out of the room and do as he says. I shower quickly, shave my legs, and look for something cute to wear. Once I’m all dressed and ready, I come out to see him in a suit.
Bryce looks really freaking good in a suit.
