“Should I have challenged her more?” Now I’m doubting my actions.
“You mean Abby? I don’t know. I’m not sure I would have been a good guy like you, though. I would maybe have hoped she argued a point to stay. But you’re right, it is only a year,” he tries to reassure me.
My eyes peer up when I see Abby come through the door with a glowing smile on her face. She walks to our table.
“Hey, Jake.”
“Hey, Abby.”
Abby kisses me hello and the taste of our kiss ignites turmoil in me. I want her so damn bad. I want to see her every day. But I don’t want to be the bad guy. I’m not the guy who is going to crush her dreams.
“Mmm hey there, stranger,” she growls into my ear with a grin.
Abby slides into the booth next to me.
“I heard to the news. Congrats,” Jake tells her.
“Thanks. It was a surprise and a long time waiting, but I think it’s cool.” She looks at me with a smile that tells me she’s struggling. “I mean, not the going far away part.”
My arms find their way around her to pull her close, because we both hate that fact.
“I can imagine,” Jake says as he looks between Abby and me. “Well, I think I am going to leave you two love birds alone. I have a few depositions to work through this weekend.”
I grin at him. “Of course, Jake Sutton works seven days a week.”
Jake stands up and shakes his head at me. “Hey, least it gets me the house and car I want,” he counters, and I wave him off.
Abby turns her body to me and rests her hand on my thigh. We take a few moments to stare at each other.
“How is planning going?”
“Okay. I meet with a few candidates next week for who can fill in for me at the clinic while I’m away. I guess this can all work, I mean heading off for a year.”
My look remains neutral. In that moment, I look at her and I feel a lump in my throat. I want to internally punch myself because maybe I made this too easy for her to decide.
“What if I said I don’t want you to go?” It zooms out of my mouth and I only realize my words after they’re out.
Abby looks at me and her lips part as if she’s going to speak, but instead she blinks a few times and straightens her posture.
“Lucas, you said—”
“I know what I said, but what if I was wrong. What if long-distance isn’t for us?” My words flow out, and while my first thought is that Jake planted a seed in my head, I know the thoughts were already buried in me.
“Lucas, I… I don’t know if it’s for us. But I’m willing to try.” Her voice cracks a little, and I wonder if she feels her heart sinking like my own.
My hands dive into her hair to hold her head in place so our eyes settle on one another. “I don’t want to lose this,” I say softly.
“I don’t either. But don’t you want to try?” She quivers.
“I do want to try, but I also want to hear that you hate the idea of us being apart.”
“I do hate the idea. But it’s the reality if I do this,” she replies.
In that moment, we both sit there and look at each other.
Her mouth comes to drag along my cheek and the corners of my mouth. “Lucas,” she whispers. “Tell me you will wait for me,” she pleads softly.
“I’ll wait, but Abby, it’s hard.” For some reason, I decide I need air and slide out of the booth to head outside with Abby in tow.
