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Roman grabs my arm and pulls me across the space as a slow song starts. Taylor is on my heels as I’m hustled into the hallway away from the gym.
“Where are we going?” I ask as Roman stops and pulls his phone out. I turn to look at Taylor, and he winks at me with a smile, then heads back down the hallway away from us.
“Roman?”
“If Our Love is Wrong” by Calum Scott plays from Roman’s phone. His eyes meet mine as he slides it into his pocket and steps toward me. He puts his hands on my waist and starts swaying to the music.
Tears spring to my eyes and catch in my throat as I follow his movements and hook my hands behind his neck. In the dark of the hallway, he holds me, moving slowly to the song and singing quietly to me. A tear falls from my eye, but I don’t swipe it away. It’s a happy tear. Roman leans his forehead to rest on mine, rubbing our noses together with our eyes locked.
He sings quietly. The lyrics saying the words he can’t find himself and it takes every ounce of self-control I have not to sob.
Together, we sing parts of the song that feel right for me too. Telling him what I have with him is the most important thing to me. Neither of us are very good, but it doesn’t matter. It’s the fact that he knew I would want a dance, that he went to the effort to have a song picked out and planned it with Taylor. In these moments, I’m reminded why I love him and why this hiding shit is worth it. For now.
The song comes to an end, and Roman presses his lips to mine in the softest kiss I’ve ever had from him. It’s sweet and full of love.
A loud “Cah-caw!” echoes down the hallway, and we split apart, laughing. Taylor, clearly being the lookout, cracks me up.
Roman wipes the tears from my face with his thumbs and ruffles my hair, then takes off at a run down the hallway.
“Hey!” I shout and take off after him. I turn the corner only a few seconds after Roman and see Taylor’s look of amusement, and he hurries to follow like his ass is on fire. The slapping of dress shoes on the linoleum is loud, and it makes us laugh. We get back to the gym as the lights flick on.
“Come on, let’s go home.” Roman smacks my stomach with the back of his hand and heads to our table so we can grab our stuff. I give him his jacket back and slide into my own.
Roman wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me in, lifting his phone to take a selfie. He sticks his tongue out, Taylor flips off the camera, and I just smile. Roman King is an asshole, but he’s mine.
4
ROMAN
After the dance is over, I drop off Taylor at home and drive us to Kenton Tunnel. It’s our spot, Jonah and me. The brick tunnel through the mountain holds memories of getting to know Jonah and Mary. It’s one of the only places we can be together and not be constantly on guard.
I pull the bottle of Maker’s Mark out of the glove box and sit back in my seat. I unscrew the cap and take a swig, hissing at the burn, and offer it to Jonah.
He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind but takes it.
“If you don’t drink it, you know I will, then who will drive?” I smirk at him.
He rolls his eyes and takes a swallow, coughing and sputtering while I laugh. He’s driven my truck before, but I don’t like other people driving it.
I dig a can of Pepsi out of the center console and offer it to him.
“I hate you. Why didn’t you give me that before?” Jonah takes the can and chugs it.
“Careful, that’s the only one I have, and there’s a lot of the bourbon left.”
He looks at the bottle and frowns. “Why would I drink the whole bottle? It tastes awful.”
I lift the center console and crawl toward him, opening his pants with my eyes locked on his.
“No,” Jonah shifts and blocks my access to his pants.
“No? What the fuck do you mean, no?” I reach for him, but he blocks me. Again. Now I’m getting pissed. I’ve barely been able to touch him all goddamn night, and now that I can, he’s telling me no?
Jonah puts the soda and bottle down in the cup holders and gets out of the truck, slamming the door behind him. What the actual fuck?
Gunshots sound in the distance, but I ignore them. It’s not abnormal around here.
“Where the fuck are you going?” I demand, getting out of the truck to follow him into the tunnel.
