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“Kye lives a life neither of us will ever understand,” I replied, wanting to get the topic off him.
It felt wrong to talk about Kye with Bowie. I didn’t want to say or hear anything that made Kye sound bad.
“Yeah. And I should have seen that at seventeen,” he said. “I love you, Gen. I’m going to love you forever. There isn’t a woman out there who will ever be able to make me feel the way you do.”
I turned to look at him. Bowie only talked sweet like this when we were making up. We weren’t fighting tonight.
“I love you too,” I replied.
He studied me for a moment, then let go of my hand and stood up. Confused by why my saying I loved him would make him move away from me, I started to ask him where he was going when he moved in front of me and started going down on one knee while pulling something out of his pocket. The moment this happened was not something a girl could be prepared for. Had I imagined it in my head? Yes. But it had been years. Back when I had been a young teenager with dreams that were never going to come true.
This, however, was real. It was right there in front of me.
Bowie looked up at me, and on the tip of his finger was a diamond ring. My eyes went from the ring to his face. I was sure my mouth was hanging open.
“Genesis Stoll, I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. It didn’t matter when we were apart. I loved you then too. I hated that I loved you, but I loved you just the same. I was born to love you. Forever, for me, is and will always be you. Will you marry me?”
This was happening. Oh my God. Not in a million years had I expected this from him. At least not now. I was living back in Ocala while his life was in Charleston. It had only been two hours from me in Savannah, but it was five hours from Ocala. I stared into his eyes and saw the fear. This was why he’d been nervous all night.
“I want to say yes,” I told him. “But I have so many questions. I can’t promise you I will be able to return to Savannah anytime soon. I don’t know when my dad will be better.”
He smiled. “I intend to finish this semester, and then the rest will be online. I’ve been offered a job out of Atlanta, but I don’t have to live there. It’s a great opportunity. One I hadn’t expected to get so soon. I’m going to buy us a house here in Ocala. You don’t have to leave your parents.”
Oh, wow. A house. He was going to buy a house. Here.
“You want to do that? Live in Ocala?”
I had always thought he couldn’t wait to get out. He’d always talked about the day we’d move off to a big city up north.
“I want you, Genesis. Just you.”
He loved me. Wasn’t that what every girl wanted? Yes. This was the man who loved me enough. I was what he needed. Nothing more. That was what my parents had. I wanted it too.
“Yes,” I said, surprising myself.
Bowie’s grin could have lit up the night sky without the moon. He took my finger and slipped the ring onto it. I barely paid attention to the solitaire. My head was spinning. I was engaged. I’d said yes. It was the right thing to do. With Bowie, I’d grow old beside him. He would be faithful and cherish me.
If only my heart wasn’t breaking a little for the young girl who had always had another groom in mind. A man who would never get on one knee for anyone.
It was time I grew up and let that dream go.
Ten
Kye
November 2
I stared at the ceiling fan as it went around and around. The half-empty bottle of Jack in my hand hung off the side of my bed. I wasn’t sure what day it was, and I didn’t fucking care. What I did care about was that I’d need more whiskey soon.
The only thing that was keeping me sane was my good friend Jack. I was afraid to part with him. If I did, then I’d care. My chest would hurt like a motherfucker again. I wasn’t ready for that. Nope. I was not ready. Numbing this was the only way to make it.
I’d taunted Sax for sulking after we had Haisley Slate shut him out. It wasn’t like I wanted to do it. But I was just following orders, making sure she stayed away from Sax. He didn’t know it though. He was still struggling with it. We could all tell. But it seemed he had been better lately, but then he’d only known the girl two fucking weeks.
