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Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jay, Sam, and Logan step out of the suite to see what was going on. My humiliation was complete now that everyone apparently knew I’d been holding on to a ridiculous fantasy all this time.
I tugged on Jack’s shirt. “You’re right, let’s go,” I said softly. “Please.”
He clasped my face and studied me for a beat before using his thumbs to wipe off my tears. Then he pressed a long kiss to my cheek before clearing his throat and taking my hand. When we got to the end of the hallway, I saw a garbage can on its side with trash spilling out of it and a member of the janitorial staff working on putting it to rights.
Jack stopped and pulled out his wallet, passing the guy a wad of cash. “I’m so sorry, man. I turned the corner too fast and wiped it out.”
The man’s mouth turned up in a grin at the money. “Yeah, dude. No problem. Thanks.”
I could tell Jack was angry, but I couldn’t quite figure out if all of his anger was aimed at Chris or some of it at me for being such a pathetic loser. I was embarrassed and hurt. The reality of my unrequited love for Chris was finally bearing down on me, and it hurt like hell.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered as he led me out through the doors and into the cool spring night. It seemed like everyone was staring at me.
Jack whipped around to face me. “No. No way. You have nothing to be sorry for, especially to me. You did nothing wrong.”
The tears wanted to come again at his fierce defense of me. “But I shouldn’t have—”
“No,” he said again, reaching up to cup my face. I loved it when he did that. “He’s the one who should be apologizing, not you. He’s spent years stringing you along, saying just the right things to keep you on the hook, and god forbid you finally have someone for yourself. God forbid you want what he’s had so many times over the years. I can’t believe that selfish fucking bastard.”
I blinked at him. “I’m such an idiot for not seeing it sooner. That’s partly why I’m so upset. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have wasted so much fucking time? Who does that, Jack? Who waits a fucking decade for someone to follow through on a promise? And who holds someone to a promise they clearly have no interest in fulfilling? I feel sick. Just… why was I so naive?”
He pulled my face to his and slammed his lips on mine, right there outside of Wrigley Field. When Jack Snyder kissed me, he may as well be sucking out my brain in the process, because I instantly turned to derpy mush.
I clutched at his shirt front to keep from tipping over and stood up on tiptoes to get more, more, more. Finally, he pulled back and sucked in a breath. I stared at him.
“Your place or mine? Wait. Yours. You have Socrates and Waffles. Lead the way.”
I stood on my toes to kiss him again, just a quick one to thank him for being so thoughtful and sweet, before threading my fingers through his and heading toward the station.
Walking hand in hand with him through the streets of Chicago was a dream come true. Even though it carried with it fear of people’s negative reactions and possible bullying, it was still something I’d never been able to do before. Maybe it was a silly cliché, but it was little things like this I’d always wanted to do with Chris before.
I glanced up at Jack while we strode to the station. His jaw was still tight, but as soon as he caught me looking at him, his mouth broke into a wide smile. “What’re you looking at, cutie?” he asked.
I grinned back at him. “I feel like I just got asked to the prom or something,” I admitted. “I’ve never held anyone’s hand in public like this. Isn’t that crazy?”
He squeezed my hand. “Not crazy. Maybe a little overdue though.” He yanked me closer and put his arm around my shoulder instead. I had to hop a little to try and get our strides synchronized so we didn’t crash our hips together with every step.
“Nah,” I said, stepping out from under his arm. “That’s too awkward, or your legs are too long.”
He took my hand again. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Hell no,” I said. “I want to tell you all about the rabbits that Hannah got to take care of last week. They sounded so adorable; I think I need a pet rabbit or twelve.”
We made our way onto the train and across the city to the Fifty-Third Street station. I lived in a small studio apartment in Hyde Park. It was a great neighborhood with several large parks nearby and the University of Chicago’s student population filling the shops and restaurants. I liked the energy of the area and had decided to stay after finishing my nursing degree.
