“I know,” he murmurs. “I feel it too. I wish this wasn’t it. I wish the cosmos dropped you in my life for more than just saving it, but I mean it when I say your future is too bright to be brought down by mine. What’s in store for me isn’t as pretty as you deserve,mi pequeño sol, and damn if I’m bringing you down with me,” he says with a half-smile that I think he intends to be reassuring. I squeeze his hand back, fighting my ridiculous emotional response to him.
I clear my throat from the ball currently restricting my airway. “Are you going to keep fighting for a better future, Redwood?”
“Yeah, Thumbelina, I am,” he whispers.
Still holding hands, eyes locked, I can’t help but notice when his gaze drops down to my mouth. Out of instinct, I lick my dry lips, and he follows the movement. Without any hesitation, he leans his large body across the small table and I find myself mirroring his movements.
He’s going to kiss me. Yes, yes, yes. Kiss me.
My eyes drift shut and I lean in a bit further. His breath skates across my mouth. My body shivers at the feeling, all excitement and nerves. This will be it, my first real kiss. My first real kiss withhim.
Then, his phone rings, and just as quickly as his lips hovered over mine, they disappear. I instantly mourn the loss of his mouth, of his warmth. He lets out an annoyed growl, releases my hand, and answers his phone. I listen to one side of the conversation; whatever’s being said on the other end sobers him quickly.
When he hangs up, he looks down at his phone, clearly reading whatever messages he’d been ignoring.
“Sorry, that was my brother. I got a message a while ago that your car is ready.”
He drops his phone and glances back down at our lists. Pulling off the top piece, he hands it to me, a small smile playing on his beautiful,kissablemouth. He looks down at the empty pad again and his smile widens. Redwood hides it from me and scribbles something quickly, then tears it out and folds it up. For a brief second, I get excited, thinking it’s his number. That thought goes up in smoke as he pulls out his wallet, drops some cash on the table, and tucks the note inside his wallet.
“Let’s get out of here, Thumbelina. We’ve got futures to live.” He grabs my hand like it’s the most natural thing in the world and tugs me along. I tuck my list into my hoodie pocket and follow him out of our cozy little diner nest and into the future.
Chapter 7
He drives us tothe mechanic shop, and I can’t help but feel sweaty and anxious the whole way. I don’t want this to be the end. Not at all. I don’t want this to be goodbye.
The mood sobers up pretty quickly during the drive which, sadly, is extremely short. When we arrive at the mechanic’s shop, Redwood hops out and does one of those bro shakes with a shorter Hispanic man. Redwood waves me out of the car, and hesitantly, I walk toward them.
“Vinny, this is Thumbelina. Thumbelina this is Vinny.” I laugh at that, at the idea of our pseudonyms being actual names, but decide to go along with it.
“Uh, okay cool,” Vinny says awkwardly, his brows pinched. “Hey, girl. Your car is ready. It was a quick fix and my locksmith hooked you up with a new key and fob.You’re all set.” Vinny hands me the new keys, gesturing to my car sitting the parking lot.
My heart drops as the events of today come crashing back in.
“Oh shit, I just realized my wallet was stolen,” I rush out, trying to shove the keys back at Vinny while I figure out how to handle this with no phone to call for help. I guess I could call my parents, but then they’d know where I was this morning and what ha—
“Don’t worry about it,beautiful. Vinny owed me a favor,” Redwood says, pulling me out of my panicked spiral. He slaps Vinny on the shoulder in thanks, accepts the offered keys back, and places them in my shaky hand.
“Nice to meet you, Thumbelina. Enjoy your ride,” Vinny says with a small wave as he walks back into the garage. I want to thank him, smile, say something kind, but I can’t. I can’t think about anything else but…
This is it. I wipe my sweaty palms down my yoga pants, never taking my eyes off my feet. I can’t look up at him. I’m too afraid he’ll see the emotions swirling in my eyes at the thought of losing him.
Losing him? He isn’t yours to lose, Ella.
Before I can say anything stupid, like beg him to change his mind, he places two fingers under my chin and guides my face up to look up at him.
With a serious expression and a quiet voice, he says, “You saved my life today, Thumbelina, and I mean that. I’m not going to waste the gift you gave me today. I fucking saved your life, too, so you owe me. Don’t you dare give up before you’ve had a chance to finish that long-ass list. It’s going to take you years to finish, and I know that by the timeyou do, your life will be so full of joy, you won’t see your past anymore. There will be no more darkness. Fill it with fucking sunshine.Promise me,” he demands.
I swallow through the huge lump in my throat and jerk a shaky nod, his fingers still grasping my chin. “I promise,” I whisper.
Try as I might, I can’t fight the tear that escapes the side of my eye. He reaches his free hand up to wipe it away, as if he was meant to.
Meant to.
“I don’t want to do this, but I have to walk away,” he grits out. “I have to because it’s what’s best for our futures. The universe brought us together today, and itwillbring us together again if it’s meant to be. When the timing is right, we’ll be back. Do you believe me?” he asks quietly, searching my eyes for my answer.
Do I? I want to.
God, do I want to believe that.
