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He searched me just as intently. “Honestly?”
“Always, Roman. You know that.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “I realised you were right. I’m asking to be your boyfriend, Piper. For real. Legitimately. To be yours and entirely off the market.”
“For how long, Roman? How long until you get bored?” Why was I questioning this?
Because, a voice reminded me,you know him better than he knows himself.
“You finally think that little of me? Or, you still think that little of you?”
Well played.“First, you thought there was an expiry date on this, then we were just friends, then we had no hope. And, you can’t get bored of something you don’t have. What’s going to stop you getting bored now? Or, deciding you’re not good enough after all? We’ll presumably hold hands, we might even kiss at school. People will know, people will see, and you’re supposed to only be with one person for the foreseeable future. Can you do that?”
“When that one person’s you, I could do it forever.”
My heart pounded and fluttered and dropped. “Roman, you can’t…” I sighed. “What do you expect to get out of this?”
“I expect to spend every day with my best friend. I expect to sit in good moods and bad moods and comfort the only person who’s ever truly accepted me for me. I expect to be able to tell everyone that this beautiful, intelligent, amazing girl is mine and I’m hers. I expect to watch cheesy Rom-Coms with you, to sit through hours of your stupid John Cusack movies, to always wonder if you could ever love me as much as you love him–”
“I don’t lovehim. I don’t know him…”
There was an incredibly pregnant pause and I didn’t know if I could finish that sentence. Honesty was one thing. But, if I didn’t open my mouth and say anything then I wasn’t lying to him. He knew – I’d already told him multiple times – but I couldn’t repeat it if this was going sideways.
“I’m not Carter, Piper. I’m certainly not perfect. But, I am totally in love with you and I want to be your John Cusack…” He grinned ruefully as the song was still playing on repeat, echoing that exact sentiment. “If you’ll let me…”
Involuntarily, I took a step forward and “you’re perfect to me, Roman,” was out of my mouth before I really knew what was going through my mind.
Because, Roman Lombardi was perfect. For all his (many) flaws, he was perfect to me. He was perfect for me.
“You might not be the kind of perfect that people see in Mason. But I know you, Roman, and you’re a level of perfect that even he couldn’t manage. You’re only yourself with me. There’s no pretence, no lies, no matter how awkward it gets. And, there’s a lot to be said for that.”
“But, a John Cusack level of perfection?” he asked, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
I took a step towards him and he shifted the boom box to one side. I looked up at him and wondered how I’d ever doubted. It was there on his face. It had been there since that first week at the lake. Stupidly, I’d just accepted what he believed, then I hadn’t really fought until it was almost too late. And, now he finally accepted it. I cupped his cheek.
“Yes. You, Roman Lombardi, are a John Cusack level of perfection,” I answered with a smile.
“For God’s sake, kiss the boy!” I heard Hadley screech from the classroom and my face went hot.
Roman huffed a laugh. His eyes slid behind me to Hadley for a second, then they were back to mine again. “Your best friend’s a bit of a dick.”
I laughed. “To be fair, so is yours.” Although, I had a sneaking feeling I owed Rio more than just another secret handshake.
He kicked his head sideways, conceding the point. “Yeah, true that.”
“Can I kiss you now?” I asked.
He grinned. “Yeah, all right, then.”
I paused just before our lips met. “Lombardi?”
“Barlow?”
“Do you want to be my boyfriend?”
His grin morphed into a smirk. “I thought we’d covered this already.”
“Well, you made an awful lot of grand gestures and said a lot of fancy, nancy wanker words. But, I don’t remember you actually asking.”
