A soft laugh slips out of me, half-breathless, half-dazed. "I love you too," I whisper, the words trembling against his mouth.
And that's all the permission he needs.
His hands frame my face again, and then we're kissing—slow but sure, a collision of heat and relief and years of wanting finally breaking free.
His lips move against mine with the kind of hunger that borders on reverence, like he's been waiting his whole damn life to do this.
Somewhere in the distance, people cheer again, but it barely registers. It's just us—reckless, shameless, lost in each other—because for the first time, this isn't almost.
This isours.
CHAPTER forty-one
ZACH
The prom's already at its peak.
And yeah, I still can't believe I actually pulled this off.
Two days. That's all I had. Two freaking days to plan an entireprom night—from the lights and décor to the playlist—all while juggling classes, hockey practice, and approximately zero hours of sleep.
I don't even remember how many gallons of coffee I downed just to stay awake long enough to finish the setup. My bloodstream's probably 60% caffeine and 40% sheer panic at this point.
Most of my monthly allowance? Gone. Poof.
Sure, part of it went to decorations and rentals, but the bigger chunk?
Yeah. Feeding my glutton of teammates.
Apparently, "helping out" with setup means demanding two dinners as payment—at some overpriced restaurant they picked just to milk the moment.
And of course, they swore theyearned it—ranting about how it was basically manual labor and how they'd burned through all their calories and needed serious replenishment.
Caroline's classmates, though? Total angels in comparison—showed up, helped, didn't demand a five-course meal. But of course, I treated them too.
Still, somehow, it all came together. Fairy lights everywhere, flowers, soft gold drapes. The place looks like it was yanked straight out of some enchanted dream.
And even though I had enough helping hands, I was still on my feet for hours—checking every last detail, down to the damn table cards and centerpieces. I guess I wanted it perfect.For her.
Which meant I hadn't seen her for two whole days.
Two. Long. Days.
And let me tell you—it was torture.
I didn't know it was possible to miss someone so bad that you start seeing her in your dreamsandin your coffee foam.
I wanted to go see her, of course. Hell, every cell in my body screamed for it. But I knew myself too well.
If I went, I wouldn't have been able to leave.
I'd end up glued to her side, useless, because somehow, being near Caroline shuts down all my ability to focus on literally anything else.
So I stayed away. Forced myself to.
Didn't even text or call her much, either—not because I didn't want to, but because the few times I had a break, I passed out cold.
So yeah, my messages had been pretty scarce lately.
