Page 123 of Tell Me It’s Right

“Do you want to…come sit down?” I gesture to one of the stations.

He nods and takes the rolling chair he usually tattoos from while I sit cross-legged on the table.

“What’s going on?”

I take a deep breath and stare at my hands in my lap. I smile when he reaches over and lays his hand over mine.

“I got a phone call,” I explain. “From the hiring manager of a company I applied to a few weeks ago. I did an interview with them over Zoom, but then never heard anything, so I assumed I didn’t get the job. But…I guess I did.”

He blinks once, twice. “You got the job?” he repeats.

I nod.

His entire face breaks into a grin. “Jesus fuck, Gracie. You were acting like someone died or something.” He rolls his chair closer and takes my face between his hands. “Congratulations. I’m so proud of you! Why don’t you look excited about this?”

“It’s in Philadelphia,” I say quietly.

The look on his face doesn’t change. “Okay?”

My brow furrows as I look between his eyes. “So I…I’m leaving.”

He runs a hand over my hair until it comes to rest at the nape of my neck. “Not ideal, obviously. But it’s not that far. That’s, what? An hour and a half drive? I’ll come up to see you a few times a week or on the weekends, we’ll talk on the phone—we’ll make it work. I knew it was never your plan to stay here.”

He says it so confidently, so casually, like it’s obvious. The relief that surges through me is immediate and violent.

Tears break free onto my cheeks, and my lower lip starts to wobble.

“Hey, hey. What’s wrong?”

“I thought—I thought you’d break up with me.”

He shakes his head a little, looking absolutely bewildered. “Why would I do that?”

I throw my hands up. “I don’t know. We’ve been together for, like, a second. And I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to do long distance again, and?—”

He kisses me, his hands coming to cup my cheeks. “I wouldn’t care if you told me you were going back to Portland,” he murmurs. “I would want to make this work with you no matter what. And Iwantyou to take this job. This is everything you’ve been working for. This is a good thing, Gracie. Are you not excited about it?”

I wipe my cheeks with the backs of my hands. “No, I am.I am. I just… Well, I’ll miss you.”

“Sweetheart,” he breathes, and it almost sounds like a laugh. He pulls me into his chest and kisses the top of my head. “You and me, we’re going to be fine. Please don’t let that ruin this for you. Tell me everything. When do you start? Are you planning on looking for an apartment? That’s too long for a commute, right? Wait, what company is it? What part of town? Do they pay as well as I do?”

I pull back, and the complete sincerity on his face makes my smile widen. I take his face between my hands and gently press my lips to his.

“I love you,” I murmur.

He brushes my hair behind my ear. “Of course I’m going to miss you around here, but did you really think I wasn’t going to be happy for you?”

“It’s not that, I just…I don’t know. I got worried.”

He gives me a slow smile, then pulls me into a headlock of a hug. “If you’re trying to get rid of me, you’re going to have to try a lot harder than that.” He loosens his grip but doesn’t release me. “Come over to my place tonight. Let me make you dinner.”

I lift an eyebrow. “You cook?”

He shrugs. “You’ll find I’m a man of many talents.”

Liam squints from his phone to the bustling grocery store aisles around us, the basket hanging from his forearm. “Let’s start at produce,” he decides after staring at the recipe for another minute. “I definitely don’t have any avocados.”

“We really don’t have to do something fancy?—”

---