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Maybe he changed his mind. He might not be ready to talk to me if he wasn't the one who wanted to meet today.
Sending him another text, I try not to make it sound like goodbye, but that's the way it feels. As if this is the end of the most beautiful few months of my life. Well, up until the part where I screwed it up.
Funny, I always thought it would be my inability to have children that would prevent me from finding someone to spend the rest of my life with. I never imagined that it would be my inability to fully trust another person. To be honest with them. To love them without fear.
ME: I'm going to head to my parents’ house. I guess I'll see you after break.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I push off the floor. As I wait for the elevator, I try to remember all the good times we had together. Some of my favorite moments are from shortly after we first met. Brady had a way of making me laugh. Of making studying not feel like a chore. Of making life seem a little brighter.
Then there's this year... All the things we've been through. I don't regret bumping into him in the bookstore at the start of the semester. Or jumping into bed with him that same day. I'm not ashamed of sneaking around with him and getting caught by Cleo.
I'd do it all again. Maybe a little different, and I'd pray for a better ending, but being with Brady has been amazing. And if all I have is the memories we've made, I'll cherish them for the rest of my life.
Looking at the numbers above the elevator, I see that it's still on the first floor. Reaching forward, I tap the down arrow. It lights up. That's when I realize I never hit the button to begin with. I've been standing here waiting for the car to arrive when I never called it.
Go figure.
My friends...
Friends.
We were friends first, maybe we can be friends again.
I want to laugh at the thought, but it's somewhat comforting. The idea of spending time with Brady and laughing again. Of seeing him smile as he tells a raunchy joke or teases me about something silly I've done. If we can just get back to that—
The elevator doors finally slide open, and my eyes blaze a trail up, up, up until I'm looking into Brady's eyes. They're filled with a fire I've never seen before.
"Where are you going?"
"Home."
"You are home, dove." Stepping out of the elevator, Brady picks me up and throws me over his shoulder, as he stomps toward his door.
"What are you doing? Put me down."
"No," he growls as I hear the jingle of his keys. "Not until we get a few things straight."
Lifting my head to argue with him, I lock eyes with Julian as Brady continues down the hall toward his room. Julian lifts his hand, waving, as I continue to stare.
Why the hell didn't he answer when I knocked earlier?
As soon as the thought crosses my mind, Piper walks out of the bathroom, smirking at me.
They know. They both know. Neither of them are shocked in any way to see me here. To see Brady carrying me to his bedroom, thrown over his shoulder like a fireman carries a hose. And they both have a knowing grin.
So much for secrets. Though, to be fair, Kendall warned me that the group doesn't keep secrets, which means the rest of them probably already know.
Brady slams his bedroom door, spins to lock it, then places me on the floor, keeping his hands on my hips to steady me. His chest is rising and falling rapidly as he stares down at me.
"I would have come inside if you’d asked me, you know?"
"Are you trying to fight with me just so we can have great make-up sex? Because after the last month, the sex is already going to be amazing."
"No, I'm just saying—"
"What are you saying, dove? Tell me why you ran so we can move on, move forward. I'm sick of looking back and remembering how much time we've wasted not being together, pushing each other away. I'm ready for the next chapter, but as much as it scares me, I've never wanted something so much in my life."
"You're still calling me dove," I hear myself whisper as I try to digest his words.
"And I never want to stop."
