Page 80 of Promise Me Never

She makes a frustrated noise. “I know.”

“So it wouldn’t be barhopping.”

“Oh my god, I’m going to hang up.”

“Stop.” I chuckle. “I’m in.”

“Good, because you’ll have to be her ride. Can you think up some kind of lie to get her here?”

“I can do that.”

“Excellent. See you Friday. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye.”

I end the call and open our text thread.

I’m taking you out Friday

That’s my birthday

That’s the whole idea

It’ll have to be after dinner with Grams and Gramps

That’s fine

Luke

The dots dance while she writes another message. Then they stop. My brows creep together as this goes on for a minute or two.

Eli?

I just want you to know that I know this is temporary but I really wish it wasn’t

Me too

My heart pinches with bittersweet melancholy. I know she’s falling in love with me just as surely as I am her. Maybe there’s a way to find a way forward?

* * *

I’m going to be late if I can’t find a box for the gift I got Eli. Why I didn’t just go the easy route and buy a gift bag, I’ll never know. Now I’m forced to enter the landmine known as my storage closet. I keep my eyes locked on the side of the closet that doesn’t haunt me, knowing Amy’s wedding dress and dried bouquet is at my back.

In an effort to pull what I hope is an empty box, I accidentally knock the one box I shouldn’t even consider touching down. It falls with a thunderous boom, the contents scattered across the cedar floor. My heart beats wildly in my chest as I look down, my eyes falling on a photo of Amy and I from childhood.

I crouch down, telling myself I’m not going to reopen this wound on a night that means so much to a woman I’ve come to care about. But as I pick up the photo, another one lays right beneath it, and my fingers reach for it instinctively.

This one is from our graduation. She looks so young, her blonde hair blowing in the breeze beneath her cap. She always loved this photo because while she was smiling at the camera, I was smiling at her. The force of our love hits me full throttle, knocking me to my ass.

I set the photo aside, my brain screaming for me to just stand and walk away. But my brain isn’t in control anymore. My unhealed heart is, and it’s decided to tear the wound wide open so it can fester.

Beneath the graduation photo is the card she gave me on our wedding day.

Luke,

I can’t believe today is the day we start our life together. I’ve loved you since we were kids, and every day I fall more in love with you. There is no one in the world who gets me like you. You are the steady to my reckless, the calm to my storm. I know you’ll always be there to protect me, and I’ll always be here to love you wildly.

Love,

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