Page 80 of Broken Rivalry

He shakes his head, his gaze never leaving mine. “I love your locket,” he murmurs.

I instinctively touch the delicate piece of jewelry around my neck, my confusion deepening. “What?”

He points to the pattern on the locket. “The pattern of shiny stars. One, four and three, right?”

I open the locket, my fingers trembling. To my astonishment, he’s right. “How did you…?”

“One-four-three,” he whispers, his voice thick with emotion. “It means ‘I love you’ in Morse code.”

My heart skips a beat. “You gave it to me?”

He nods, hope and vulnerability shining in his eyes. “It wasn’t from your dad. It was from me.”

I blink back tears, my emotions a whirlwind. “But why?”

Ethan takes a shaky breath. “I want to be with you, even if it means being your dirty little secret. As heart-wrenching as it is for me, I’d rather have you on your terms than not have you at all.”

Without another word, I close the distance between us. Our lips meet, and the world fades away. The kiss is deep, passionate, and all-consuming. His tongue brushes against mine, teasing and exploring, while my teeth graze his plush lower lip, eliciting a moan from him. The taste of him, the feel of his lips moving against mine, sends a rush of heat throughout my body. Every touch, every sensation is magnified, and I lose myself in the intensity of the moment.

After our lips part, I murmur the words he’s been craving to hear: “I love you.”

His eyes light up, and he tenderly holds my face between his hands. He studies me, searching for something deep within my eyes before a heartfelt smile graces his lips.

“Poppy, I’ve loved you like a madman since the day you walked into that garden party in that blue dress you despised. I was smitten, and it infuriated me that you seemed to overlook me. From the moment I stole your ice cream to catch your gaze, I’ve been irrevocably yours.”

Before I can respond, he captures my lips with his, his tongue exploring my mouth with an intensity that speaks of pent-up longing and desire.

We make our way to the bed, shedding our clothes. As we come together, he loves me with a reverence that leaves me breathless, showing me with every touch, kiss, and whispered word the depth of his feelings. In this intimate moment, I realize that our love is something worth fighting for, and I can’t let past shadows cloud our future.

Ethan belongs to me, and I to him. The world will have to come to terms with that.

Chapter 26

Ethan

Iwait, every second stretching out. Her whispered “I love you” still hanging in the air, but what does it mean? The ambiguity of it all leaves me in turmoil. Did she mean to get back together? Was it a response to my own vulnerable admission? Does she actually intend to keep me a secret?

My mind drifts back to my return from Switzerland. I was filled with restless energy, a need to see her, to be near her. But when I caught a glimpse of her at the bus stop by the pizza place, lost in her thoughts and visibly hurting, I stayed in my car. Seeing her from afar was enough, at least for a while. But it wasn’t right. Something was missing in my life. It felt like I couldn’t breathe quite right, and the nights were even worse. I could feel her, smell her, and the few hours I managed to sleep were filled with nightmares of me losing her over and over again.

Then, it was time to get back into a routine, and still, I wasn’t functioning right. During practice, my reflexes were slow and my shots off target. Every time the ball came my way, my vision blurred, and my legs felt like lead to the point that Coach had stopped shouting at me and was wondering if I needed medical attention.

One evening, the door to my room swung open abruptly. Cole and Liam stood there, their expressions a mix of concern and determination. “Intervention time,” they declared, bursting into my room. Their sudden appearance jolted me from my thoughts.

Cole leaned in, his voice low. “You think giving her space is helping? Look at yourself, man.”

Liam shot Cole a disapproving look. “I don’t like your methods, but Nessa’s been talking. Poppy’s not doing any better.”

Cole gave him a side look, and I knew that we would have to approach this Nessa subject soon enough.

Cole threw a set of keys on the bed. “The keys to her place,” is all he said.

It was Liam’s turn to throw him a wary look. “Cole…” he all but sighed.

Cole shrugged. “You and lover boy have your ways; I have mine.” He pointed at the keys on my bed. “You love her? Make her listen.”

Desperation and sleepless nights had worn me thin. Cole’s words, though rash, held a glimmer of hope. Maybe, just maybe, it was worth the risk, and contrary to all I thought, it worked. It was terrifying to bare my soul this way, to admit my vulnerabilities, and even if she only reciprocated in half words, it was enough for now.

I had slipped out early this morning, leaving her wrapped in the sheets of our shared warmth. But I couldn’t leave without a gesture, a hope. I grabbed the jersey with my number and left it on the bed with a note asking her to come to the game and wear my jersey if she felt like it. It’s a bit cliché, I admit, but the thought of her draped in my colors, my name emblazoned on her back, is too enticing.

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