Page 133 of The Casanova Complex

Nothing.

I open her contact and hit FaceTime. It rings, and rings, and fucking rings, and she doesn’t pick up.

So I call back, a regular one this time, and it goes to voicemail after a series of rings.

My mind is spinning with every worst-case scenario there is as I toss my phone back into my locker and head for the showers.

All I keep thinking is how can I lose her when she’s the only girl I’ve ever loved?

And I haven’t even had the chance to fucking tell her yet.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

MERRITT

I’m completely unprepared for how nervous I am right now.

My heart is pounding in my chest, a restless type of energy buzzing beneath my skin that makes me want to pace around the room.

Like doing so will somehow help the adrenaline and anticipation coursing through me.

But that’s kind of hard to do when I’m sitting in the dark.

A car door slams outside, and I jump. Okay… this is go time.

Nothing about tonight has gone as planned, literally not a single thing, but I still believe that it’ll work out and be what I’m hoping it will be.

There’s an incessant flip in my stomach when I hear the sound of keys jingling, followed by the sound of metal on metal, the key being shoved into the lock.

My fingers rest on the light switch, waiting, air caught in my lungs because I’m scared to breathe in fear of messing this up somehow when we’ve already come so far.

The front door slowly swings open, and a tall, broad silhouette fills the doorway, going completely still.

I flick the light on and scream, “SUUUURPRISEEEEEE!”

The words are echoed by the other three people standing in the now brightly lit room with me.

Bennett’s jaw falls open, his eyes widening on me. “Merritt?”

He wasn’t expecting me to be here, especially not in the dark, screaming surprise.

I smile, and then it’s like he suddenly realizes I’m not alone. He glances to the right of me, and pure shock flits across his face.

“Mom? Dad?” His voice has gone breathless. “Brie?”

He still hasn’t moved from the doorway, completely frozen in shock. “W-what are you doing here? How are you here right now?”

Kathy, his mom, rushes over to him framing his face in her small hands, gazing up at him with so much love. But… it’s how he’s looking back at her that has the hot, fresh tears welling in my eyes, emotion thickening in my throat.

Because along with the shock and disbelief clear on his face, his piercing eyes are soft, his expression that of a man who just… needs his mama. Needs his family.

I reach up and rub my palm along my sternum because my heart is aching. I hate that I didn’t realize just how much he needed this until right now.

“We wanted to surprise you and come to the game tonight,” Kathy says quietly, her eyes flickering with disappointment. She looks over at his father, Luke, who’s now standing beside her, then back at Bennett. “We tried to be there, but our flight was delayed twice because of weather. And by the time we landed and deboarded, we couldn’t find a rental car. So, it was Merritt’s idea for us to wait for you here and surprise you since we’d be missing the game by the time she picked us up from the airport.”

Bennett’s eyes snap to mine, his blond brows furrowing tightly as he shoots me a look. “But how?” He looks back at his parents. “How? When did this happen? Wh—” He’s sputtering, and his dad chuckles, reaching over to pull him into a tight hug, slapping his palm along his shoulder.

Bennett’s hockey bag falls to the floor by his feet, forgotten.