Page 91 of Wright Kind of Trouble

I held on to him for dear life. My mind was still whirling. Everything was too bright, like I’d stepped out of a pitch-black room into total sunlight. I couldn’t blink away the spots in my vision and suddenly felt like I was blinded.

“So, you think I should go?”

He squeezed me one more time and then pulled back. “I don’t think it matters what I want. The only thing that matters is what you want. Harvard is an incredible opportunity. You should take the time to decide that without making any rash decisions because of everything else around you.”

“That’s fair,” I said on a sigh.

He tipped my chin up to look into his eyes. “We’ll figure the rest out, okay?”

“Promise?”

He nodded, drawing me in for another kiss. “Promise.”

Part III

Graduation

23

Chase

May

It was too hot to be in a suit.

Still, I wouldn’t wear anything else. Not for a day as important as this.

Graduation day.

Our end date.

We’d been walking toward this date for three years, and now, it was finally here. All of it a mystery as to how it was going to go, too.

Harley and I had decided to hold to the end of the deal. I’d even stopped texting to give her the room she really needed to make her decision. I hadn’t been lying when I said that I wanted her to make her own choices. If I’d hovered, then I would have influenced her. As much as I wanted her to be mine, I wasn’t going to stop her from doing what she’d always dreamed.

But the time apart had solidified for me that I wasn’t going to let her get away.

When we’d first met, she’d been nineteen with stars in her eyes. I’d fallen for her then, even when I knew we couldn’t be together. And today, I was going to make sure she knew that nothing had changed.

If she’d have me.

I straightened my suit and stepped into the football stadium.

Usually, graduation was held in the United Supermarkets Arena, but after damage, they’d relocated to the football stadium. So, instead of every student only getting a handful of tickets, it was open to all their friends and family. As a member of The Texas Tech Club, it was easy for me to stroll right in.

I saw the Wrights together near the front of the stage. They were hard to miss. There were so many of them here for her today that they practically took up a whole section. Her mom, Tanya, sat between Whitt and West, who had made it back from his international tour just in time.

I had no intention of sitting with them. I certainly wasn’t welcome.

So, I took a seat where I wouldn’t be noticed and waited for her to walk across the stage. When her name was called, I came to my feet and applauded with the lot of them. The Wrights erupted with applause.

Harley held up her diploma, waving it at them and doing a little dance.

My beautiful girl.

I was so fucking proud of her that I could burst.

For a second, it was like she could see me in the stands. We connected. My heart stopped at her smile. And then she was continuing on her way. All of that pomp for such a small stage walk.

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