“Then we make it happen,” I say. “No pressure. No timeline.”
She leans her head against my chest, and we keep dancing, the rest of the fading into the background.
CHAPTER 80
Willow
The music fadesbehind us as we step out into the night air, the pulse of the club replaced by the hush of the city. My feet ache and my ribs still throb, but I don’t care. Nationals are over. We won.
And my world looks different now.
Graham walks beside me, his hand grazing mine, his presence warm and steady. Carson and Hunter are a few steps ahead, arguing about whether the afterparty had decent tacos or if they were a disgrace to tortilla culture. Finn trails just behind, silent, camera slung around his neck.
But I don’t look at any of them.
I slow my pace.
Wait.
And just like I hoped, Landon drifts to my side.
He doesn’t say anything at first. Just matches my steps, hands in his pockets, looking straight ahead as if he’s afraid to break whatever fragile thing we’re balancing on.
I glance over. “Thanks for walking with me.”
He huffs a quiet laugh, not quite looking at me. “We’re going to the same place.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” I say slowly, my heart in my throat, but I don’t want to miss this moment. I just need to find the words to say that ask him to really stay with me, with my pack.
He finally looks down, eyes shadowed under the glow of the streetlights. “You going to tell me that kiss was adrenaline? A heat-of-the-moment, championship high you regret?”
I stop walking, swallowing hard.
He does too, immediately, turning toward me. But he’s already bracing himself—I see it in the way his hand lifts to the back of his neck, rubbing as though he’s trying to scrub the memory away before I do it for him.
“That kiss,” I say, “was everything I didn’t know I still wanted. Actually, it’s everything I did know I still wanted, I just gave in to it, instead of fighting it.”
His hand freezes. His eyes snap to mine.
“And I want more moments like that,” I continue, softer now. “If you’re okay with the fact that I’ve got a pack. That I’ve got people who love me, and who I love back.”
He stares at me, silent for a beat. Two. “You’re serious?”
“I wouldn’t have said it if I wasn’t.”
Landon exhales, the tension in his shoulders easing, though there’s still a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. “You want me…with them?”
“I want you,” I say. “And I want them. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. So, yeah. Together.”
He blinks, as if I’ve just flipped the world upside down and made it better.
Then—quietly—he says, “Okay.”
My breath catches.
“Okay?” I repeat.
He nods, his voice rough. “Yeah. I’m in. If you’ll have me. If they’ll have me.”
