"I can't believe you said yes."
Her head comes up, her gaze flicking to mine. "You thought I'd say no?"
"Before you showed up at the stadium, I wasn't sure if you'd ever be ready to take this step," I admit softly. "But I bought the ring right after you met my parents, anyway. I knew before then that you were the one, but at dinner that night? I knew I wasn't going to rest until you agreed."
An endless well of guilt washes through her expression. "I cried all night last night," she whispers. "I was afraid I'd never see you again."
"Baby," I groan, pulling her close. "That wasn't ever going to happen. I didn't leave last night because I was leaving you. I left to give you space to deal with your feelings. I've been in your space, in your face, refusing to let up for weeks. I wanted you to have one night to really process how you felt without me distracting you. I think you needed that more than anything last night."
"I did," she whispers softly. "I, um, I called my mom this morning."
"Yeah?" I stroke the back of my hand down her cheek. "How did that go?"
"Okay, I think. I kind of unloaded on her, told her everything I probably should have said a long time ago." She chuckles ruefully. "She handled it well, better than I expected, honestly."
"She loves you."
"Yeah." Her gaze flickers across my face. "You know, I was never sure about that. My whole life, I always felt like her and my dad hated each other more than they loved me."
"Jesus." I pull her closer, like I can physically protect her from the pain of feeling that way.
"She apologized for making me feel that way," she says, her voice soft. "And she told me that she didn't want their mistakes to be mine. She also reminded me that I'm not them, and that I don't have to carry that weight. You know what I realized, though?"
"What's that?"
"It wasn't her permission I needed to let it go. It was mine," she murmurs. "I spent so long caught in the middle that I just…ran the first opportunity I had. But I never really learned how to put it all down. I still carried it because I thought I had to. I had to give myself permission to stop doing that."
I dip my head, brushing my lips across her forehead. "You're so fucking strong, Serena. No kid should ever have to deal with what you did."
"I know," she whispers, reaching up to touch my cheek. "Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for pushing me." Her eyes meet mine. "Thank you for making me love you."
"Making you, huh?" I grin.
"Don't be so cocky, quarterback. It's not like you're irresistible or anything."
"Liar."
Her lips twitch, but she fights the smile, refusing to give in until I nip her shoulder, and then she caves, her body shaking with laughter.
I haul her underneath me.
"What are you doing?"
"Making you love me again," I murmur, my lips against hers.
"So coc—"
My phoneinterrupts.
Of course, the universe can't let me have one perfect moment.
"Ignore it," Serena moans, arching beneath me.
"That's the plan."
The phone keeps buzzing.
I try to ignore it, but it rings again.
