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“Okay, just remember what Summer and that Drake, or whatever, guy always said back when you were in high school. You only live once.”
* * *
I decideto be brave one last time and to complete the final item on the WOLO list: to follow my heart, even though it scares me.
It starts to rain, so I quickly run up to the front porch to dry off a bit under the overhang. I knock on the door, unsure of what to expect. A moment later, Riley opens it.
“Hi, Ms. Parker. What are you doing here?”
“Um, I just need to speak with your father for a bit. Is he home?” I ask.
Riley peeks her head around me. “No. But he will be soon. Want to come in and wait?”
“Autumn?” I hear Zayn’s voice behind me. I turn around to face him, noticing he’s soaking wet from the rain too.
Not taking my eyes from Zayn, I turn my head slightly back to Riley. “Never mind, Riley. Thank you.”
“No problem,” she says. “You guys gonna come inside or—?”
“It’s fine, Ri. Shut the door, please. I’ll come in soon,” Zayn tells her.
She says a quick “okay” before closing the door behind her.
I stare into his eyes through the rain, hesitating to find the words I practiced on my way here.Maybe I’ll just tell him I think I left something here. My heart beats a million miles a minute inside my chest.
He interrupts my thoughts to ask, “What are you doing here?”
“I uh—I’m here to talk. I realized I messed up with us. Zayn, I told you I trusted you, but then the minute I get a shred of doubt, I run. That’s not real trust.”
His left eyebrow arches. “Wait. You came here to apologize?”
“Yes,” I say.
His eyes squint from the rain before he releases a chuckle. He shakes his head. “Autumn, I’m the one who’s sorry. We moved too fast, and I did tell you we would just be friends, and I—well, I showed up at your birthday party thinking that would be my best chance to tell you it’s fine, but then I saw Liam there. Figured you guys were getting back together.”
“Zayn, stop. None of that is true. Liam and I are never getting back together. He doesn’t deserve a fight or a second chance.” The sound of the rain grows louder. I speak up, “But you do.”
“I do?” he asks.
“Yes. See, the truth is, that day at Eat & Sweets, your ex, Tori, came up to me and told me that you broke things off with her the same way you did with me back in high school. And when I realized you could do that to me again, I got scared.”
“Tori? Dear God, I had no idea. I’m so sorry. She and I were a bad match, and I handled it poorly. We never should’ve dated for as long as we did.” He runs his hand through his soaking wet hair. “But this has nothing to do with her. This is about you and me. I messed up when we were younger. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing back then,” he says.
“And you do now?” I tease. “Do you really only want to be friends?”
He grows serious. “Absolutely not. I want you, Autumn.” He inches closer to me. So close that I might just kiss him. “I’ve never stopped wanting you.”
A tear rolls down my cheek after that admission. He grabs my face in his hands and uses his thumbs to wipe away the rain and tears before kissing me. The rain is cold but my whole body is on fire.
I kiss him back harder, finally feeling free. Free from fear. Following my heart.
We pull away and he says, “Let’s get under a bit of shelter, shall we?”
We make our way to the front door overhang. He holds my face in his hands again. I reach mine up to grab his. Zayn catches a glimpse of the charm bracelet around my wrist.
“Ah, glad to see you did get my birthday present after all,” he says.
I smile and nod. “I did. Thank you. I can’t believe you kept it all this time.”
