Page 124 of Bad Crush
And now he is too.
Epilogue
Reagan
Four Years Ago
Keep your eyes open today, Cancer! Something good is coming your way.
“I can’t believe it! Our own place.” I drop the first box onto the empty living room floor.
Dakota pulls her hair back into a ponytail and fans her face. “I should have waited to break up with Miller until after we moved in. Could have really used a hand carrying all this.”
“Who needs boys?” I ask. I’m feeling too excited to care about the sweat dripping down my back. “There’s just one more box. I’ll get it.”
I head back out and lift the box from Dakota’s trunk. It’s so hot. I’m exhausted, arms quivering from carrying all of our belongings up a flight of stairs, but nothing is going to make this day less awesome. For the first time in my life, I’m living in a place I picked out all by myself. Nothing but good things to look forward to.
I maneuver awkwardly, closing the trunk with a foot and holding tight to the box. When it slams shut, I breathe out a sigh of relief. I did it! Wow. I might need to start exercising again because I am weak.
I come up short when I spot him. He’s getting out of a black Jeep. The white T-shirt he’s wearing clings to his upper body like Rose holding on to that door inTitanic. Sweet, sweet mercy.
My heart races as his gaze slowly lands on me. A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips, and he lifts a hand in a quick wave. I look around to make sure he’s waving at me. I don’t understand. Why is he waving at me? Probably because I’m staring. But I can’t seem to stop.
Awkwardly and about three seconds too late, I return the gesture, carefully lifting my fingers from one side of the box. He heads toward me, and it feels like a dream.
“Hey.” He tips his head in greeting.
He’s even more gorgeous up close. Sandy blond hair that falls past his ears. Hazel eyes and a hint of a smile that comes off somewhere between cocky and genuine.
“Can I give you a hand?”
“With what?” I’m staring up at him dumbly.
He laughs quietly, and holy smokes, that sound—I feel it all the way to my toes. He steps forward, and I hold my breath as his hands brush mine. He gets a grip on the box and steps back.
“Oh right. Thank you.” I tuck a wisp of hair behind one ear. Getting air to my lungs has never felt like such a chore.
“Moving day, huh? Coming from the dorms?”
“Yeah. You? I mean, do you live here too?”
“Yeah.” He motions with his head. “You wanna lead the way?”
I’m sweating through my shirt, and I think it has little to do with the blazing sun sitting high in the late afternoon sky. Walking feels like a major feat as I move toward my new apartment. It’s a big complex, and all the units look alike. I scan the numbers on the buildings until I find it and then manage to lead us up the stairs without tripping.
“You live here?” he asks, staring at the only door behind me.
“Umm… yeah.” I double-check the number to be sure.
He shifts the box to one hand and jabs a thumb behind him. “I live just there. We’re neighbors.”
“No way.” My heart flutters.
“I’m Adam, by the way.”
“Reagan.”
He grins. “This is awesome. I’d invite you over to meet the guys, but we’ve got training in thirty minutes.”
