“Sure.”
“Are you determined to get your degree from UF?”
Her body went limp with her sigh. “Shoulda known you’d ask that.”
“It can wait.”
She leaned up. “I wouldn’t say I’m determined to stay at UF. I’ll check into transferring while I’m here, but I’m signed up for summer classes starting next week. Fall registration happens soon at UF. I’m guessing JU’s registration is similar.”
“It might be different.”
“If I make the switch, I’ll need to find a place close to campus since Mandarin traffic is horrible.”
“Lex,” I said, my voice laced with meaning.
“What?”
“Are you forgetting something?”
“What do you mean?”
I stared at her and let the silence build. “Me. You can stay withme.”
“Then we’d be…”
“Living together,” I supplied.
Her head bobbed up like a gentle wave of understanding hit her. “Doesn’t that seem soon?”
I laughed out loud. “We wasted five years on high school bullshit. No, it isn’t too fucking soon. We’ve loved each other for years. Why in the hell would we wait?”
“Um…,” she drawled.
If I wasn’t mistaken, she sounded afraid.
She rubbed at her chest. “You’re sure you want to stay here?”
I sat up. “I’m sure you’re the one. Do you have doubts?”
“You can’t abandon me again.” Her eyes went wide, then she whispered, “Why did I go and blurt that out?”
My instincts said she wanted to bolt, and I wrapped my arms around her. “Lex, I never abandoned you.”
She pulled in my hold and I loosened it a touch. “You were gone for over a year - nobody said anything. Then you were back and hanging with the Devil Lancers.”
I shook my head. “I never left town. I tried to figure out my life. See a way out of the MC world since that’s what you wanted.”
Her head reared back. “Like I knew anything at eighteen!”
“It’s only four years ago. Do we know anything now?”
She chuckled ruefully. “Mom and Dad would say no, but I damn sure know more now than I did then.”
I nodded. “Okay, then what’s the issue here? Your jackass ex-boyfriend said I broke your heart. Had no idea what the hell he was talking about… I’m guessing this is tied to it.”
She sighed and stood. “Yes. You just… the way our parents are friends and our worlds are so intertwined, you ghosting me… Hell, you didn’t even ghost me. I had to be around you, but not be around you. That hurt… No, it killed.”
Mid-way through what she said, she’d started pacing. I stood in front of her. “You’re right. It killed because it fucking killed me too, Lex. Probably worse.”
