We slipped into silence again. I noticed that during this intimate interrogation, Marco had migrated across the brick patio, and was now kneeling by the couch. “May I ask one more question?”
“No,” Marco replied. “You said only three questions, and you’ve asked three questions.”
“Marco…”
Marco moved to rest his elbows on the edge of the couch cushion. “Sorry, but you made the rules.”
“Which means I can amend them!” I said. “One bonus question, okay?”
He agreed.
“Do you miss me?” I asked.
“Every second,” he answered, then asked his own question. “Do you forgive me?”
I put a finger to my mouth, to dramatically contemplate.
Did I forgive him?
Marco leaned in close, nose brushing mine. Golden cords tightened around my heart. “I love you, Mads,” he whispered. “For whatever it’s worth.”
“It’s worth quite a lot,” I whispered back. “Because I love you too, Marco.”
Then, heart hammering, I pressed my lips to his.
Marco’s response was instant, both hands coming up to cup my face before he teasingly tugged my braid. Some type ofspellbinding magic shot through my veins when he gently tilted my head to deepen our kiss. My body hummed, and he laughed after I moved to tangle my fingers in his soft sweater and pulled him closer. The sound reverberated against my chest.
This is it, I thought, heart about to burst.This is akiss.
One that left me wonderstruck.
Marcoleft me wonderstruck.
Twenty-Five
I was on crutches when I returned to school, so every day, one of my field hockey teammates was assigned to help me to class. “Out of the way!” my co-captain shamelessly shouted in the congested hallways. “Mads is on the move!”
It would’ve been nice if the building’s elevator wasn’t in an entirely different wing, and it was harder than I thought it’d be watching my games from the sidelines. “Stop bouncing your knee,” Da instructed. My right knee, which was part of my right leg, which was attached to my right ankle—mybadankle. “Keep still.”
“I want to be out there,” I whispered.
“Youwillbe out there,” he whispered back, knowing we were actually talking about Penn next year. He leaned over to kiss the top of my head. “It’s just going to take time, patience, and physical therapy.”
My orthopedic surgeon inspected my ankle two weeks post-op. “Very nice,” Dr. Lambert said, impressed enough to promote me from my splint to a boot. I still wasn’t allowed to putany weight on my ankle, so Da ordered a scooter off Amazon. It looked like a tricycle, complete with handlebars and brakes, but instead of me sitting on the padded seat, my knee rested on it.
Austin jokingly bought me a kid’s purple bike helmet with gold stars, while Marco gifted me an old-fashioned bell, the same one his mom had for her beach cruiser. “For you to ring in the hallways,” he explained. “You don’t want to run anyone over on your way to calculus.”
“What if they deserve it?” I’d quipped.
“Then you’ll wipe out half the school,” he’d quipped back.
My parents had another Intimidating Dads conversation with Marco after I’d announced that he, the dark horse, was now the last suitor standing. It started withWe thought this might happen, and ended withYouwillbe answering to us if you break her heart.
“I understand.” Marco nodded solemnly. “And if it helps, I’m highly confident that if it comes to that,Madswill breakmyheart.”
Dad clapped him on the shoulder. “No wonder you’re a Princeton man!”
Because I wasn’t very mobile, and for a million other reasons, Marco and I agreed to take things slow. He came home from school a couple nights a week to study and watch Rangers games even though he knew nothing about hockey. And Connor, who for once was enjoying the single life, lost it after game three. “For the love of god, Álvarez, if you’re going to watch a hockey game, at leastlearnyour hockey…”
