I hold my breath, not turning around because if I do, I may find nothing but darkness waiting for me.
But I’m forced to stop running as a hand reaches out and touches me.
The feel of his hands on me unravels me. My eyes are wet, and I clutch at my stomach to try to keep the groan at bay.
“I shouldn’t have come,” I breathe. “Go back to Magnus. I…” My words trail off, and I swipe at my eyes. “You looked happy. You should just go back. I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”
He huffs angrily and then blurts, “Fuck that. You might be fine, but I’ve been miserable! Magnus was just being an annoying little shit. It meant nothing.”
I shake my head, unable to process those words. Unable to believe it. Nothing has ever gone my way. It doesn’t seem possible right now.
“He wants you.”
“No, he doesn’t. He’s just being…Magnus.”
I blink at him, and then my body turns away from him, needing a minute to breathe without looking at him. He steals my breath from my lungs.
He always has. From the moment I laid eyes on him, I was left gasping.
“Don’t go,” he says, holding on to me tightly.
“You really should go back in there. To him. He’s…” I swallow roughly. It’s a hard truth to admit. “He’s perfect for you.”
He reaches up and tugs at his hair.
“I’m not with Magnus!” he shouts. “I’m not interested in anyone but you! I don’twantanyone but you! Get that through your stupid, smart head!”
Those words slowly start to sink in.
“Are you…Are you sure?” I ask.
He rolls his eyes loudly. “Of course, I’m fucking sure, Whit. I want you! You!”
My lungs expand, and I let out a long exhale of realization. “Oh. Okay.”
“Okay? That’s it? That’s all I get after everything? No, absolutelynot, man. You need to give me more. Why did you show up tonight? Youhatethese things. Why are you here?”
I wet my lips and inhale deeply, the truth ready to be exposed to the man I love. “I came to find you.”
His eyes flicker, and I see hope unfurl there.
“Why?” he asks, desperate to know.
I play with the edge of my sweater, my fingers tugging a thread free and wrapping it around my thumb. “I gave it up. All of it.”
He sags slightly. “You did?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re…oh fuck…you’re not getting married anymore?”
“No.”
“Why? Why did you do it?”
“For you,” I whisper, my eyes meeting his. Can’t he see? It was all for him. “I can’t live without you, it seems.”
In a rush, I’m pulled into his chest and squeezed against him. His face buries into the side of my neck, and he inhales me.
