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“What made you wait for me? I mean, I know I was pregnant with your baby, but you could have still done your own thing. Dated, screwed around, stayed living at the house with the guys. I guess I’m just curious what made me worth it for you?”
“Made you worth it?” I question her. “You’ve always been worth it to me. Fuck, ever since I saw you run out of the dugout that day at Makers in nothing but short shorts and a pink bra, I’ve been infatuated by you. All it took was you dry humping the bases with Kingston for me to know you were something special. Someone I wanted to know. That was my first sign—a sign telling me that my motives were shifting.”
“God, that was almost two years ago, August. We barely spoke back then. And even when we did, I was less than kind to you.”
I rub circles across her thigh, needing to touch her. “I could see through it. I’m familiar with hurt, remember?”Tenley nods. “I’ve also always had a thing for bitter women.”
“Bitter women?”
“Yes, beautiful. You were the bitterest of them all. Still are, some days.”
“Even out of all the women you slept with? I never would have admitted it, but every time I saw you with someone new, I felt like I was dying inside, and I couldn’t figure out why.”
“I could see it. That’s partially why I did it. What you don’t know, though, is how many times I invited women back to my hotel room on travel days, only to send them packing the second we were out of sight. I’ve always loved getting a rise out of you.”
“You’re kidding.” It’s as if a new level of peace comes over her.
“Nope. Now, it wasn’t all the time, but I was filling a void I didn’t realize I had until finding you. I put on a brave face, Tenley. A face that most people see as this playboy guy who has it all together. It’s fake.”
“Didn’t that ever get exhausting? I’m incapable of wearing a facade, and I gotta say, being bitter and grumpy is tiring. I don’t ever want to feel that way again.”
“I’m tired of faking it. But it’s a good thing I’m happier now than I’ve ever been, and faking it isn’t necessary. I can simply justbe,and that’s the happiest version of myself I get to be by choice.”
“I love that for you, August.”
“And I love you. Thank you for agreeing to let me take care of you all those months ago,” I tell her with a wink. “Fucking you and loving you has been my greatest accomplishment in this life.”
“You pig.” She laughs, pulling me in for a quick kiss. “I’m just glad your social media captions improved."
“They were pretty terrible, huh?”
“Beyond. But on the plus side, I got to be the one to help you with that. Pretty sure we wouldn’t be here today without those god-awful captions.”
We sit in silence for a moment, enjoying the stillness between us, but it has me thinking of all the things I want from life—with Tenley and Apollo.
“Remember how I told you I have plans for us?”
She nods, eyes filled with endless amounts of love and hope. Ready to finally show her, I pull out the leather album from my backpack. It worked in my favor that Tenley wanted to sneak candy into the movies, giving me the perfect opportunity to store this bad boy and give it to her tonight.
“I’ve been holding onto this to give to you. It just hasn’t been the right time yet.” I hand her the light blue album I had embroidered with our names on it.
“The Graves Family,” she draws out. “But…”
“Those big plans I have for us? Well, I want you to be my wife someday, Tenley. I know we’re in the trenches of parenthood right now, so this isn’t me asking, it’s me preparing you for what’s to come. It’s the three of us—you, Apollo, and me. I want us to be a family, and I want you to share our last name someday.”
Our last name.Apollo and me.
“August.” Tears fill her eyes as she runs a hand across the delicate embroidery. “I want that too.”
I nod for her to open the album, revealing nine months of every important moment we’ve shared together. Even the small moments when she thought I wasn’t paying attention.Those are the ones I’ve found myself returning to when I miss her.
I’ve always paid attention to Tenley Abrams, and I’ll never stop.
“The pictures,” she whimpers. “I always wondered what you did with them. Always being sneaky and taking them when I least expected it.”
“I had a plan,” I tell her with a cheeky grin.
“You really did.” She never wavers in her study of the Polaroids, inspecting each one with the brightest smile, as if reliving them all over again. “I love this one,” Tenley tells me, tracing the pictureshetook of me taste testing baby food.
