She glided closer, her eyes bright, her bronzed skin glowing. I'd never seen a more beautiful sight. "Can I sit, or are you two fools going to continue being rude ogres?"
Viktor chortled. "Now, now, Love. How about a teensy bit of gratitude for bribing management to let you inside?" He stood and pulled out the empty chair next to me.
"Honey, trust me, I could get inside without your help." She gave him a smirk.
He gave her an appraising glance. "I pity any person who would try to block your way." He waved toward me. "Why don't you two catch up? I've got some business to get back to." He laid a hand on my shoulder and winked. "Second chances, right?" Sauntering away with a sly smile, he began whistling a low tune.
"Conceited, arrogant fool," she whispered as she ran her stare across my face. "How have you been, Pax?" Terri seated herself and clasped her hands together.
Breathe, idiot. Act normal, not like some lovesick puppy."I'm so in love with you, CC, and I always have been." Well, fuck. So much for acting normal. I sighed. Really? I couldn't believe I'd just blurted out what was in my heart before even knowing why she'd visited.
CC reached over and grabbed my hand, then opened her mouth to speak, but I didn't give her a chance to start. I needed to make sure she understood that I held no hard feelings towards her, even if she was a Kingston.People can't choose their families.
"But you deserve better than a junkie and a liar. I'm so goddamned ashamed of what I've become, and knowing you saw me likethat"—I inhaled a breath—"like my dad, made me want to die."
"Shut your mouth." She shook her head and squeezed my wrist.
I couldn't stop looking at how our hands were joined. What did it mean?
"I was wrong for turning you away in your darkest moment. I've always loved you, Pax, but it runs deeper than that. I don't just love you...I'minlove with you and I think I always will be. But if I can't accept you at your worst, then I don't deserve you at your best."
"What?" My mind reeled. Was she saying she wanted to be with me? Even after my lying, my overdose?
"Do I need to spell it out?" She pursed her lips. "I choose you, Pax. I want to be here for you, and I want to be here for you afterward if you still have feelings for me."
I could only stare at her in dumbfounded silence. The shy, abused girl I'd loved had blossomed into this beautiful, strong woman. And she was choosing me—a struggling musician with nothing to his name and a checkered past.
Her smile faltered and she released my hand, tucking her fingers under her thighs, reminding me of when we were young. Placing her hands there had been a nervous habit when she'd been scared or unsure.
Maybe the shy girl is still in there somewhere.This little telltale sign gave me the courage to speak up. "I don't havefeelingsfor you, CC."
"Oh." She licked her lips and swallowed, dropping that gorgeous brown stare to the table. "I'm sorry. I thought—"
"What I feel for you can't be described adequately but let me try." I dragged my chair next to hers and placed my palms on either shoulder, turning her towards me. "When you look at me, I feel like I'm being kissed by the sun. When you give me a smile, I feel like the luckiest man in the world. And when you touch me, I feel the love and care pouring from you." Leaning close, so close my lips brush against hers, I closed my eyes. "So no, I don't have simple feelings for you, I have something that goes deeper, something that connects us on a primal level. If you're willing to give me another chance, I promise I’ll be the best person I can be because I never want to let you down again."
I opened my gaze.
A tear snaked down her cheek as she watched me. "You'll always be that lost boy who found a lost girl, who showed me what it meant to grow up and face my fears. And now? We've both made poor choices and learned from the consequences. I can't think of any other person I would rather face life with than you, Pax. You aren't alone anymore. I’ll help you face this obstacle and any others that may come in the future. I'm not running anymore."
With the blood rushing in my ears and my heart fluttering wildly, I leaned in and claimed a deep, slow kiss from the girl I'd saved and who'd saved me in turn.
She pulled back an inch or so. "I love you, Paxton Ross."
"And I love you, Cotton Candy." I wrapped her in my arms and breathed in her sweet scent, already feeling stronger knowing I had her love and support.
I would get through rehab and prove I was worthy of her love. I'd been trying to convince the world I wasn't my dad but in the process had become what I'd hated. Now? I'd focus on finding that young, bright-eyed kid who'd looked at the world with innocent eyes and wonder, who believed in himself, wholovedhimself.
After all, loving another person meant I needed to love myself, too. CC would be my second star to the right, my true course to who I wanted to be. Not just for her, but for me.
"You'll always be the Wendy to my Peter Pan, CC."
"Well," she laughed, "as long as I don't have to jump out of a window to fly, I think I'm okay with that." She embraced me tighter, burying her face into the crook of my neck.
And there, in that bright, enormous room, all the other residents faded away until it was just me and CC holding one another, braving the world together, a little tarnished, a little jaded, but reconnected and ready to give ourselves another chance.
THE END
