“Me too. Thanks for going with me and arranging transportation for Wrax.”
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He kissed the side of my neck. “And it means more time together.”
“It does. Plus you’ll meet Coach Sharky and a few of the athletes I’ve grown close to.”
“Looking forward to it, though I don’t like that your coach went behind your back to help your father,” Axel said.
“Me either. But the truth is, I’m not super dependent on him anymore. I’ve been doing this so long, I can do the workouts in my sleep. He just basically schedules my competitions and gives me advice here and there.” I shrugged.
“One day at a time, Horse Girl. Okay?” he whispered, and chill bumps covered my body as his lips grazed my ear when he spoke.
I turned over abruptly, the water splashing around us, but I wanted to look at him. “One day at a time.”
“I’ll be there as much as I can. And we can FaceTime every day, and time will fly.”
I smiled up at him. “You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself.”
“I’m already convinced. Just trying to ease your mind.”
“Listen, it’s a sport that doesn’t allow for a lot of outside time. I know I won’t be able to come home often, and if this gets to be too much, you know, the waiting…” I blew out a breath, knowing that it needed to be said. “If it’s too much, and you meet someone and you find yourself interested in her because your girlfriend is living on the other side of the country, all I ask is that you tell me.”
“Hey, hey,” he said, tipping my chin up so I could meet his gaze. “My girlfriend is the only girl for me. Even when she wasn’t dating me or speaking to me, I didn’t want anyone else. You are all I need. Do you believe that?”
I sniffed a few times, the lump in my throat growing. We were leaving tomorrow morning, and it was all hitting me.
This had been a fairytale. A break from my real life.
But reality was approaching, and I wasn’t ready.
“I believe that. I know you love me, Axel. It’s the one thing I’ve always known. Even when we weren’t speaking, I knew that you loved me. I just assumed you didn’t want a relationship back then.”
“And now?” he asked as he stroked my cheek with the tips of his fingers.
“And now I know you want a relationship. But I also know that being in a relationship with someone who doesn’t live near you or in your time zone can be challenging. It can be lonely. And I don’t want you to suffer if you aren’t happy.”
“And what about you, Wren? Do you not get lonely? Do you not suffer?” he asked.
“Of course I do.”
“Well, you don’t see me here telling you how to get out of this if you aren’t happy with the distance. Because none of that shit matters. We spent two years apart and we were both miserable. You and I belong together. This isn’t a casual thing for me. I’m in it for the long haul. So if we have a few rough years in the grand scheme of a lifetime together, who fucking cares. We’ll get through it. I’m not going anywhere.”
I nodded as a few tears sprang free and ran down my cheeks. I didn’t know why I was feeling so emotional. Axel was going with me to North Carolina. We would be spending the next week together. Maybe it was because I was leaving Rosewood River.
These people who felt like family.
I hadn’t felt a contentment like this in many years.
And I wasn’t looking forward to leaving it.
“Baby, it’s going to be okay, I promise. And if you need me, I’ll be there. I can hop on a plane.” He nipped at my bottom lip. “Be there in a heartbeat, Horse Girl.”
“You’re running a company, Axel,” I said, chuckling and sniffing at the same time. “I want to be there for you, too. And I just hate that I won’t be there for the little things, you know?”
“Meh. I never cared much for the little things,” he said as he thrust up against me so I could feel how much he wanted me.
Nothing little about what’s pressing between my legs at the moment.
“I can handle the big stuff.”
