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What do I do? What do I do? What do I do, Casey girl? I have to take this job! But where does that leave us?
The hours of alcohol raged through his body, still partying like his bloodstream was a slip-n’-slide in mid-summer. He squeezed his eyes closed, shutting out the slowly spinning room as his ears rang in the silence.
The tap turned on in the powder room, the water traveling through the pipes as his heart thumped in his chest. “Casey girl,” he murmured. “I don’t want to lose you, but...”
The door opened and her bare feet shuffled down the hall. She sank to the stair beside him and smiled. “That’s better.”
Austin grabbed her knee and squeezed, pulling her closer until her head fell to his shoulder. Her breath beat against the sleeve of his shirt, the warmth inviting, comfortable.
“Can you please stop being weird now?”
Austin frowned.You just don’t get it, Case. You don’t see the big picture. You don’t see your future.“I’m not being weird. I’m just thinking.”
“I’m too tired to think.” Her eyes closed as she rubbed her nose, smushing her face into his arm.
Austin tipped his face sideways, admiring the small grin resting on her lips. Her cheeks flushed pink, each eye smudged with makeup. “Why are you staring at me?” she asked, eyes still closed.
The pit in his stomach deepened, the alcohol spiraling downward, swirling in his gut.Trying to picture my life without you. And I just can’t.“You’re pretty.” His lips pressed onto the top of her head.
She wrinkled her nose. “Oh, yeah, the picture of beauty right now.” She raised her arm and pointed toward her face as a giggle tumbled from her lips.
“You have no idea, Cinderella,” he whispered, shifting to wrap his arm around her.
She snuggled into him, resting her hand on his thigh. Lilacs bloomed beneath his nose, the scent of safety, comfort, and undeniable love bathed in hairspray.
“I love you, Austin Templeton,” she breathed, skimming her fingernails along his pants.
“I love you too, Casey girl... more than you know.”
She shifted and opened her eyes, peering into his soul.
“But maybe I’m hurting you by loving you as much as I do,” he whispered, cupping her cheek in his hand.
If I move home, I’d selfishly take you with me, taking you away from your internship and...
“You could never hurt me.” She pressed her lips to his, her tongue dancing along his own.
For both our sakes, maybe hurting you is exactly what I have to do. You have to stay in Chicago. It’s just... how do I make you do it?
“Don’t be so sure,” he murmured against her mouth.
An idea thundered through his tired brain, constricting his lungs and pulling the breath from his body. Each muscle weakened, a tremor in his left-hand shooting pangs of numbness up and down his fingers with the growing thought.
“You’re the one person in the world who never would,” she whispered, rising from her seat as her stomach growled louder than a freight train.
“Hungry?”
Her hands dragged across her belly as a sheepish smile grew on her lips.
“Cheesy sandwich, Casey girl?”
She giggled, pulling him from his seat until he stood. “Counterproposal,” she whispered, untucking his shirt from his pants. “Make love to me instead.”
Austin swallowed, fighting the fear erupting in his heart at her words, the inklings of a decision tugging at the frail strings stitching his soul to Casey’s.
There has to be another option here!
“Case,” he murmured and stepped back.
