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She brings the car to a stop in front of James and Gabriel, turning to me to show the tears that have shot into her eyes.
“I’ve never had a friend like you, Nevaeh, but I want you to know that I care about you so much. That isn’t easy for me to say, but I mean it,” she says, so I fling my arms around her and hold on tight.
“I care about you, too,” I reply, leaning back and letting a tear fall down my cheek right as two stream down hers.
I wipe mine away and she wipes hers before we get out of the car to greet the two men waiting for us. Gabriel frowns a little when he sees Valentina’s teary eyes, but she merely wraps her arms around him for comfort. James looks away at the same moment I do, and our gazes meet, allowing me to see the pain in his eyes. He gives me a smile I know he doesn’t mean before walking away.
The helmet is so tight on my head that when the pressure leaves, I almost sigh in relief. Gabriel hands me my camera, and I flash him a smile.
My feet bring me to the front of the car so I can take a few photos. I squat down to find the best angles, like I always do, and then inspect the pictures on the small screen of my camera to make sure they turned out well. Then again, I don’t have to check to make sure anymore. The camera Adrian got me takes the best pictures. Even when the photos turn out blurry, there is a special kind of beauty to them.
“So handsome,” I mumble to myself, not realizing I’m no longer alone.
“Thank you,” my secret boyfriend’s familiar voice says, causing me to freeze in place. My head doesn’t know whether it wants to focus on the nostalgia of this moment from the day we first met or the fact that he’s here with me and everything’s perfect now. “But if you wanted a picture of me, you didn’t have to hide behind the car to take it,” he adds, and I grin at him.
Nostalgia briefly takes over but his presence ends up winning the battle, and I take a step toward him with my heart racing in the way it always does when he’s near me.
“Those are the first words you ever said to me,” I point out as he closes the distance between us, too.
“Best pickup line of my life,” he teases, so I playfully smack his stomach. He wraps me into a hug in response, kissing the top of my head.
“You shouldn’t be touching me like that here,” I say but don’t push away either.
“There’s no one here that doesn’t know, I promise,” he assures me. I melt into him, the emotional rollercoaster of today catching up with me now that I’m in his arms. “Talk to me.” I place my chin on his chest and crane my neck to look up at him. God, why is he so tall?
“What do you mean?”
“Something’s wrong,mon ange, I can feel it. Talk to me, and I’ll make it all better,” he says, his hands moving to my cheeks to cup them.
“I’ve been offered a job in the tennis department starting next season,” I explain, fighting back my tears.
I don’t understand why this choice makes me so sad.
“That’s incredible. It’s everything you wanted at the beginning of this year. Why are you sad?” His genuine pride makes me even more emotional.
“I’ve grown attached to the people, to the sport. To you,” I add the last two words, making him smile a little.
“I’ve grown attached to you, too, baby, but we’d find a way to make it work. People do it all the time, and I’m very motivated to make us work because I—” He cuts off and sucks in a sharp breath.
“I know,” I assure him, but he shakes his head.
“No, you don’t know because I haven’t said it. I’ve been so scared, Nevaeh. Ever since I’ve met you, I’ve been confused and terrified, but I couldn’t stay away. I couldn’t fight the hold you have on me, and I don’t want to,” he says and leans down to press his nose to mine.
“Adrian—” I start but cut off, unsure what to say.
“I never thought I’d find you,” he says, his head dropping to my chest so he can kiss the spot above my heart. “Never thought I’d believe in the possibility of love again.”
I lift my thumb and index finger to his chin, grabbing it in the same way he always does with me when he wants my undivided attention.
He didn’t tell me he’s in love with me, but it’s here, in this moment, when he’s given me the world, that I realizeI’min love withhim. I’m so in love with him, my heart aches because of how full it is with him. I’m so in love with him, I don’t want to hide us from the world. I’m so in love with him, there’s no going back for me anymore.
“If you give me your heart, I promise, I’ll keep it safe,” I say, and his eyes fill with tears, but he blinks them away and kisses me instead.
“Je t’appartiens, mon paradis,” he repeats. “I belong to you, and that includes my heart. It’s yours.”
His lips wrap around mine again, and I lose myself in his taste, in his words, in his feelings.
“You make me feel safe, you tease me, you see me in ways no one else does. You bring me to my fucking knees, and I love it. I love that we were friends first. I love that we have so much in common but also some things we don’t because you’re always happy to let me introduce you to new parts of my world. I love sleeping in a bed with you and waking up to your face. I love it all. It’s sacred to me now, a gift from fate.” He takes a deep breath as he drags me even closer.
