Page 70 of Always a Chance
He whistled. “Good for you. That place sucked.”
“It really did.”
“So,” he said. “What now?”
That was the question that rolled through my mind on an endless loop. “Not sure. My dad said I was welcome home any time. Maybe I’ll apply to the local paper. Get out of the city for a while.”
“And see a certain boy of yours.”
“No.” I stopped at the top of the steps down into the tunnel. “He doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
“Tal, do you realize how lucky you are? You’ve found what we’ve both been searching for.”
“I don’t feel so lucky.”
“Well, that’s just because you’re letting him get away.”
“That’s not fair.” My phone buzzed with an alert that there was a new article posted. “I’ll see you at home.” I hung up and opened the app to see the retraction. It had the typical legal talk of words out of context with the real quote. And then, it went deeper than that.
While writing this retraction, we had one more question Johnny Kelly, Trinity, wanted to answer.
Johnny, you’re single, yet you write romance like it’s a huge part of your life. Where do you draw inspiration?
Johnny: Romance is strange because one doesn’t need to experience it to understand it. There is romance in everything. Nature, relationships, parenthood, even a bright sunny day. But for me, it was a girl. She’s my favorite person, the one who knows me inside and out, no matter what time or distance is between us. I’ve been in love with her since I was fifteen years old, and I plan to love her for the rest of my life.
There were a few lines after that, but I couldn’t see them as tears blurred my vision. Someone shoved me from behind as they jostled toward the steps. I had to talk to Johnny. I had to see him, hear his voice, tell him I was sorry.
Someone else ran into me, knocking my phone from my hands. I scrambled to pick it up, pushing through the throng as it was kicked further from the stairs.
By the time I reached a less crowded area where I could retrieve the phone, I could hardly breathe. Clutching my phone in my hands, I reminded myself I had nothing more tying me to this place. I could go home.
I lifted my eyes as the crowd parted around me, and one person stuck out among the suits and other business attire. He wore a flowered shirt, fitted jeans, and sandals. Someone had to tell this guy he was in New York, not Florida.
His hair didn’t have the usual gel, instead giving him a messier look, like he’d run his fingers through it repeatedly.
I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of me as he approached. “Aren’t you in the wrong state?”
He shook his head slowly, deliberately. “I’m exactly where I need to be.”
34
JOHNNY
There she was, right where Barrett told me she’d be. When I arrived at the paper’s office, I thought I’d missed her, that I’d have to find my way back to her place and wait for her.
But I didn’t feel like I could wait another moment.
And then she scrambled onto the sidewalk, trying to get to her phone. For the first time since she showed back up in Gulf City, I knew I’d said the right thing.I’m right where I need to be.
Her lips tipped up into a smile that gave me hope, one that healed some part of what broke all those years ago. Talia. My Talia. The girl I’d played in the mud with as a kid, annoyed my older siblings with as we grew older, kissed on the worst night of her life. The woman I fought with, danced in the rain with.
“I stopped by your place.” I stood in front of her now, scared to move another inch closer.
“Yeah?” She tilted her face up so her eyes met mine, the sun making them shine.
“Talked to Barrett.”
Her smile fell. “Johnny, we weren’t really together. I mean, we were, but it was nothing.”
