Page 14 of If You Fight

Tilting her head, Serena looked up at me and smiled that gentle smile I loved. “I love you. Please don’t forget that, okay?”

I pressed my lips to her forehead and whispered against her soft skin, “I could never forget. It’s the only thing that gets me through most days. That and the dream of us getting away from here.”

“We’re going to be okay. I believe that, Ryder.”

Closing my eyes, I tried to believe that too. I wanted to. I did. But sometimes when I sat alone thinking about her just a few doors away in that apartment with him, I wondered if we’d ever find that happiness we’d promised one another.

Serena backed away from me even as she held my hand. “I better get back in there. I’m sure my father is wondering where we are.”

“I’m sure Janelle is keeping him busy. She’s in rare form tonight. When we were dancing, she told me we could have gotten together one night right after you left for Italy, but she said I was too busy being lost without you.”

“I’m surprised,” Serena said with a chuckle. “I thought she didn’t like you. It never occurred to me that she might make a move on you while I was gone.”

“Me neither. She’s convinced she knows that I’m in love with you, but she isn’t sure if you feel the same.”

Serena brought my hand to her lips and kissed it. “As long as you know how I feel, that’s all that matters. I’ll come to your place if I can tonight. If not, I promise I’ll come as soon as I can, okay? I better get back now.”

As much as I wanted to wrap her in my arms and make her stay, I knew she had to leave or risk us being found out. I watched her walk away from me like always and hated it, even though I knew it had to be this way.

At least for a little while longer.

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