Page 139 of Against The Rules

I scrunch my eyebrows up. “I kind of threw my phone and broke it.”

“Wow. Huh. I didn’t see that one coming.”

He leans down, but pauses before our lips meet. “Can I kiss you? Or are you mad at me?”

I sigh, pulling away slightly. “Come here.”

His eyes fill with trepidation, and I tug him into my bedroom, shutting the door. I motion to the bed and he sits, not even bothering to crack a joke.

“I’m not happy you went behind my back,” I say. “I was really, really upset this morning.”

“I know. I know. I should have told you. I should have known that they would fire you, I should have believed you.”

“When she fired me,” I continue, “I wasn’t surprised. In fact, I thought she was firing me for being Kelsey’s source.”

I sit next to him on the bed, collecting my thoughts, which are about as cooperative as angry kittens.

“I was furious with her, and with you, until I realized I didn’t have to go cheer today, and I don’t have to get weighed in anymore, or be yelled at for missing a cue or not smiling hard enough or being told to shake my boobs sexily enough but not too sexy.” I’m babbling, but it feels good to say all of it. All the things I bottled up inside for the past eight months, bubbling out and leaving me… relieved.

“Relieved,” I say out loud. “That’s how I felt when I realized I was done with Rebecca and Beaver Cheer.” I shake my head. “I kept coming up with so many excuses why I should stay on the team, so many excuses for how I was feeling, and suppressing all that anger… I don’t think it was helping.”

“So… you’re not mad.”

“You need to talk about things like that with me from now on,” I say seriously.

He nods, but I see that hint of a goofy smile on his face. “You’re not mad,” he repeats, in a sing-song voice.

“What were you thinking, getting naked like that at the end of the game?”

His silly smile disappears, and he tucks me into his chest, pulling me close.

“I was thinking that I wanted to send a message to Rebecca, that she was done making you miserable, and that I was going to make you happy. And I wanted the whole world to know that you were mine. No big deal.”

“No big deal,” I repeat, laughing in spite of myself. “Just the whole world.”

“Yep. All of them. But really, there’s only one person I need to know how much I love you.”

“Who’s that?” I tilt my chin up at him, asking even though I know the answer.

“I’ll tell you, but you have to promise me you’re going to use my insurance and go see a doctor about your anxiety and talk out all your feelings.”

I glare at him. “I promise.”

“Maybe we can do couples therapy.”

“It’s weird how excited you sound about that.”

He nudges me with his arm. “Don’t you want to know who I need to know I love you the most? Aren’t you curious?”

“Sure,” I can’t suppress my laugh at his antics. “Tell me.”

“You, Peaches.”

When I kiss him, it feels like the first time.

It feels like a promise that the future will be brighter with him in it—with the whole world knowing we belong together.

EPILOGUE

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