“When did you start liking me?”
“The summer after sophomore year. I didn’t know what I was feeling then… but that weekend… when we went camping? When we spent the night on the beach?” She takes a breath, evidently doubting where this will take her. Us. “That was when everything changed.”
I’m sure she can, too, feel my heart in my throat. “And we slept together.”
“Yeah.”
She shivers faintly, and I rub my hands up and down her arms, then refuse to step back. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her quiet laugh is hollow. “And say what, Jared? That I’ve been in love with you for years? What would you have done with that, huh?” She shakes her head, eyes brimming with years ofhurt. “You were always busy with football, and everyone started to see you as more than just a friend. God, you couldn’t have looked at me the way I looked at you if someone had paid you.”
“That’s not true,” I cut in, the words biting me more than I’d like to admit.
“Oh, come on.” She meets my gaze with a fire I haven’t seen in a while. “You were oblivious. Maybe it wasn’t your fault, but it was enough to keep me quiet. The idea of putting it out there, just to get crushed? I couldn’t do it. So I didn’t.”
“Alli, I didn’t know. I swear, if I’d—”
“Don’t.” She cuts me off, her eyes glistening as she exhales sharply. “Don’t talk about what you would’ve done. You can’t rewrite the past, Jared. This is now. And now… it’s complicated.”
“Then uncomplicate it.” I say, nearly snarling, and I stand still. I’m so close, yet the space feels wide, impossible. “I messed up. You needed space, and I gave you that. But nothing about us has gotten easier without you.”
She swallows hard, and the tremble in her chin almost rips me to shreds. “Jared, I’m scared,” her voice wavers. “I can’t lose you again. Not after knowing what it’s like being with you. I lost you for years, and I can’t go through that again.”
“Then I’ll hold it together. I’ll make it work. Alli, I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”
Her gaze dips, her next words hesitant, as if letting them go is another kind of surrender. “I spent so long trying to control everything, and then you happened. And all I wanted was to let go. You don’t understand…”
“I understand more than you think.” I close the distance until the only thing separating us is our clothes. “I’m not the same guyyou fell for years ago. And maybe that’s a good thing because that guy didn’t deserve you. But this version of me? The one who finally gets it? I’d fight for you, Alli. Every single time.”
I can’t hold it back anymore.
My hands find her waist.
My fingers dig into the soft fabric of my jacket.
When my lips meet hers, it’s like kissing fire—flames that melt away the cold and all my doubts.
She freezes, just for an instant, but then she kisses me back, her fingers clutching at my sweatshirt, desperate, like she’s been starving for me just as much as I’ve been for her.
“Alli?” A distinct voice calls out.
We jump apart like teenagers caught sneaking around, her hands still caught in the fabric of my sweatshirt, mine hovering near her waist. My eyes snap toward the door, the light flooding in, and I realize her aunt is standing there, arms crossed, flanked by a handful of wide-eyed relatives craning their necks to get a better look.
“Alli.” Her aunt’s tone is stern, carrying the responsibility of a drill sergeant. “Are you seriously making a scene like this? Haven’t you caused enough tonight?”
The tension that dissolved in Alli during our kiss snaps right back into place; her spine tenses up. But she doesn’t move away from me. Instead, her fingers curl tighter into me like I’m her lifeline.
“I haven’t caused anything. I don’t owe anyone an explanation for standing outside my house.” Her voice is firm,cutting through the air with clarity, her breath puffing out in the cold.
Her aunt’s gaze darts to me, then back to her. “What did I say about your future? You don’t want to spend it with someone like him.”
Someone like him.
My jaw clenches, every protective instinct in me roaring to the surface. Before I can say anything, Alli steps in front of me, blocking the icy glare being thrown my way.
“Yes, with him. With my boyfriend.” She pronounces every syllable. “And if anyone has a problem with that, they can deal with it. I’m done letting you try to control my life and ram your unsolicited opinions onto me. You don’t get to decide what’s best for me, especially not when it comes to who I date.”
TíaMary’s jaw tightens, but before she can protest, Alli presses forward.
