Page 26 of Obligation
Yanking the keys from the ignition, she dropped them into her purse and grabbed the door handle. Before she could get the door open, though, her phone dinged with a message. For a brief second, she contemplated ignoring it, but she wasn’t quite ready to face Tiffany just yet. Her friend would demand to know what was wrong, and Carissa didn’t want to relive the events of the past twenty-four hours.
She swiped her thumb across the screen and opened her messages.
Bradley: I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad.
Carissa rolled her eyes. Don’t be mad? Was he for real? How would he react if he’d tried to kiss her, and she’d pulled away in disgust? Okay, so maybe he hadn’t been disgusted, but he’d still rejected her in a vulnerable moment.
Bradley: You left before I could finish what I was saying…
Bradley: When you end things with Danny, I’ll be here.
Wait… what?She re-read his message before the meaning finally sunk in. Should she be happy about this? The idea of being with Bradley was certainly intriguing, and she’d be a liar if she tried to deny having thought about it, but she loved Danny. They’d been together for almost a year. Could she really risk throwing that away for a guy she barely knew? What if Bradley turned out to be a freak? Or a bigger jerk than Danny on his worst day?
Dropping her phone into her purse, she shoved open the car door and climbed out. She’d barely taken half a dozen steps when footsteps sounded behind her.
“Carissa!”
She stopped and turned.
Danny jogged toward her. “Hey.” He came to a stop in front of her. “Can we talk?”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she shifted on her feet and averted her gaze. She didn’t have the emotional strength for this right now, but she knew Danny, and he wouldn’t give up until she talked to him.
“Things got out of hand last night,” he said.
“You think?”
Danny sighed, but he didn’t immediately snap back at her like she thought he would. “I’m sorry I said the things I did.” He gingerly reached for her hands and held them in his. “I love you, Carissa, and the only thing I want in this entire world is to be with you.”
Her throat burned with the sting of fresh tears, and she bit the inside of her cheek to hold them back.
“I royally fucked up, and I know that, but I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you.” He squeezed her hands and moved a little closer. “We made so many plans for our future, and I still want all of that. Can you forgive me?”
All the fight seeped from her bones, and she let out a heavy breath, her shoulders slumping with the effort of releasing all the pent-up anger that had been brewing inside of her.
“I’m sorry, too,” she whispered.
Danny enveloped her in a hug, and she rested her head on his shoulder, taking comfort in the familiarity of his embrace. They stood there for a few moments, neither of them speaking, and she was transported back to when they’d first gotten together, when things were easy and fun. She longed for those days.
“I did a lot of thinking last night,” he said, holding her out at arm’s length. “And you were absolutely right. We’re not in any position to have a baby right now. I promise I won’t bring it up again.”
“Thank you.”
“But make no mistake, Carissa. I still want a future with you, no matter what that looks like.” He moved his hands up to cradle her face, and then he brushed his lips softly over hers.
Her eyes fluttered closed, and she leaned into him, welcoming his kiss.
“I love you so much,” he whispered against her mouth. “Thank you for giving me another chance.”
She nodded, her mind spinning from the rollercoaster of emotions she’d been on the past few days.
“How did Sunday dinner go?” he asked.
“About the same as always. Dad is being Dad again. Today, though, I actually stood up for myself, and I left early without bothering to say goodbye to anyone.” She stopped short of spilling the truth about Bradley and her humiliating encounter with him.
Danny laughed. “Good for you.”
She grinned. “It did feel good to tell him to knock it off.” She laughed, too, and even more of the weight and sadness lifted from her shoulders. “Though, I do regret not getting a chance to eat.”
