Everything stopped. The city, my breathing, time itself.
"Jason—"
"I know. Too soon, too fast, too much." He laughed, but it sounded shaky. "But it's true. I love you. I fell for you the first night we stayed up until dawn talking about writing. I've been falling harder every day since. And I'm not waiting two weeks to see you again when you could be here tomorrow."
My throat had gone tight. "I love you too. Have since that first kiss. Maybe before."
"Then come here. Please. Let me take care of you while you figure out what comes next."
I pulled up flights on my phone. There was one tomorrow afternoon. Direct to Denver, arriving at four PM.
"Okay," I said. "I'm coming. Tomorrow."
His laugh was pure joy, unrestrained and perfect. "Really?"
"Really." I was already mentally packing. "I'm probably going to show up a complete disaster—"
"I don't care. Just show up."
"I don't know how long I'll need to stay—"
"Stay as long as you need. Stay forever if you want."
Forever. The word should have terrified me. Instead, it felt like the first true thing I'd heard in months.
"I'll text you my flight details," I said.
"I'll pick you up at the airport. We can—Brent, I'm so happy I could cry."
"Don't cry. Save it for when you meet me and realize what a mess I actually am."
"You're not a mess. You're just figuring things out. And I get to be there for it." A pause. "I love you."
"I love you too." Saying it out loud felt huge. "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
We hung up and I stood there in my apartment—this monument to a success that meant nothing, this perfect space that had never been home.
Then I started packing.
Not for a visit. For longer. Maybe a month, maybe more. Everything I'd need to write from anywhere. Everything I'd need to figure out who I was when I wasn't being B.L. Cross.
I thought about the life I'd built here. The career I'd just walked away from. The person I'd been pretending to be for years.
And then I thought about Jason's voice when he laughed, the way he looked at me like I was worth seeing, how right it felt to wake up beside him.
Some choices were easy, even when they were terrifying.
Tomorrow, I'd find out if I'd made the right one.
Chapter 10
Jason POV
I'd driven to Denver International Airport exactly twice in my life. The first time was when I moved to Colorado two years ago, hauling my entire life in checked bags and a determination to start fresh. The second time was today, to pick up Brent Lafferty.
My hands were shaking on the steering wheel.
