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“You promise?” she asks, her arms wrapping around my neck, and I know I can’t do anything but make that promise to her. There isn’t a world I exist without Beatrice Fletcher in it. I tried. For two long years, I tried to live without her, but I wasn’t happy … not really. And in the end, I think I was always destined to find her again.
“I promise,” I say. “Every single day, for the rest of my life.”
Her eyes flutter closed and a beautiful smile splits her lips, and I commit that image to memory too, knowing there isn’t a thing I won’t do to see that smile again and again.
“You know it’s your turn now, right?” she says, pulling back. I frown but then her eyes dip to my chest, the image of the sun and the outline of a pier etched into my skin forever.
It’s funny, really. Those moments in time that matter so much, but you never think about them until it’s too late. Beatrice has that, inked into her skin forever, and so do I. But my memory is different. She may not know her purpose in life, but she helped me find mine.
“Remember the day you told my dad I was going to go pro?” I ask her, and she nods, her eyes narrowing at the memory. For as long as I can remember, it was thought I’d follow in my dad’s footsteps, taking over the family accountancy business, but it never felt right. “God, I used to suck at math.”
“Used to?”
I flick her nose, and she laughs, the sound melodic and full of joy. “Don’t be a brat.”
“I’m not,” she says, mischief in her eyes. “Now please, continue.”
“Needy,” I tell her, pulling in a breath. “Dad was so disappointed in me that day, and I felt like shit. But then you took my hand and asked me to take you to the beach, telling my dad bye as you dragged me out of my house without bothering to look back. I thought my life was over because I’d disappointed my parents, but you just smiled and told me it would all be okay as we walked hand in hand along the pier. You made me laugh, even when I thought my whole world was about to crumble beneath me. You didn’t care if I sucked at math, or didn’t want to join the family business, you just wanted me to be happy, and that day changed everything for me.”
“You never could have been anything but a football player, Maverick. It’s in your bones. Out there, on the field? You transform into someone else entirely, and it’s like you find where you belong every single time. I’ve always envied that, you know? You knowing who you are and what you’re meant to do. It’s the most beautiful thing.”
“Uu-uh.” I shake my head, curling my arms around her and pull her into my chest. She rests her head on my heart, the steady thump comforting. “You are the most beautiful thing.”
She presses a kiss to my tattoo, and sighs wistfully.
We talk into the early hours of the morning, saying nothing and everything all at once, and as the sun comes up and Beatrice’s eyes flutter closed, I whisper her name.
“Yeah,” she mumbles, her fingers dancing over my chest as her breaths even out.
“You’re my reason too,” I tell her, dropping a kiss to the crown of her head. “Even when I didn’t know it.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Beatrice
“We’regoingouttoday,”Maverick says, letting himself into my dorm. I really need to get the locks changed. Between him and Maisie just sauntering in here, and Nash also welcoming himself in with Maisie’s key when he wants to watch films and hang, this place has become a free-for-all.
Maverick walks up behind me, one arm wrapping around my waist as he drops a kiss to the top of my head and his free hand circles mine, pulling it away from the coffee I’ve been nursing for the last twenty minutes.
“Go get dressed.” He taps my ass with his hand, setting me free and nudging me toward my bedroom. Opening my mouth, I try to ask him where we’re going and what the hell I’m supposed to wear, but he doesn’t let me. “Casual and comfy, babe.”
My eyes narrow on him. “Maybe I was going to say I’m busy.”
“No, you weren’t, you were going to ask me where we’re going.” He smirks, sending me a wink when I scowl at him. “And it’s a surprise. So, go. I’ll heat your coffee up and toss it in a to-go cup for you.”
“You’re annoying,” I grumble, spinning around and pushing my bedroom door open. He shouts something back, but I close the door before the words can penetrate my ears, and I’m glad for it, since it sounded awfully close to a muffled,Yet you love me.And I’m not there just yet.
Or maybe I am.
Honestly, I don’t know. It’s too confusing when I think about all my feelings and emotions concerning Maverick. We’ve been together for a few weeks, and I still want to pinch myself at random times in the day, checking to make sure this isn’t all a dream I’m about to wake up from.
For someone who has never done relationships, he’s awfully good at being in one. He takes me out on weekly dates, and spends most of his free time with me—not caring that his friends probably want to see him too—and when he can sense I’m overwhelmed, which is a lot, he backs off, letting me have my space.
It’s not that being with him is too much, but I’m constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’m paranoid that one day I’ll wake up and he’ll be gone, and in his place, the boy who still hates me.
When he knocks on my door a couple minutes later, I jolt out of my stupor, rushing to my drawers and grabbing a pair of high-waisted mom jeans and a Bears sweater I stole from his closet when I stayed at his apartment last week.
I dress quickly, shoving my feet into white high-top Chucks before running a brush through my wavy hair and tossing it into a bun on top of my head. Glancing in the mirror, my face is bare of makeup, my cheeks flushed, and my eyes wide.
