Page 90 of Love Finds Home

“Are we ready?” he asks with excitement, looking like a kid at Christmas.

“We’re ready.” I nod my head, feigning my own energy to match his.

“We met the first day of college our freshman year. I was there for business classes and I accidentally bumped into you at the dorm entrance and you dropped a box. It was totally my fault, but I knew the minute you apologized to me that we were meant to be. Remember?”

He looks at me expectantly, and I rack my brain trying to think back.

“I do.” I nod, slowly, the memory coming back. “I was with Barty that day. He was helping me move my stuff in, and you knocked into me because you were talking to…wait! You were talking to Stefanie!”

“That’s right. And she was so mad at me for knocking into you. She let me have it that night, told me I’d never fit in and should just quit and go back to the home.”

“The home?” I ask, confused about his wording.

“Oh, yeah. My parents had some big issues, and we had to go live in a home for a while. I met my best friend there, too. Stephanie and him were really close. I saw them together once. He said it was in exchange for what he had to offer her, but he wouldn’t share with me.”

“She yelled at you because you knocked into me? That wasn’t necessary. I’m sorry,” I say.

“It’s alright. She always yelled at me. She was going to be an artist. And she didn’t like you,” he ends in a whisper, like it’s the greatest secret he’s ever shared.

“Why not?”

“Because I loved you, of course. And because you were so talented. I used to stand at the back of the class and watch you work. The way you lost yourself when you had a brush or a pencil in your hands. It was beautiful, just like you.”

“Thank you, really.”

“And I had to show you how much you meant to me by letting you know I’d been there.”

“You took my clothes?” I mock chastise him, not wanting to anger him now.

“They smelled like you. When we leave tonight, I’ll let you have them back. They are all put away in your half of the closet.”

“I don’t know what to say to that,” I honestly say. I’m freaked the fuck out and have no words.

“Anyway. My sister overstepped and my friend helped put her in her place when she scared you away from the dorms. It took you so far away from me, all the way to that apartment that wouldn’t let me in. It killed me at night to not know if you werehome. And then the first guy who tried to steal you away from me kept showing up.”

I didn’t date much in college. Just hung out with the friend group I had. Which included Barty.

“He wasn’t any good for you, you know. I would have treated you like a queen. It was good you had your brother step in and help when you did. But it didn’t save that guy. He was doomed the minute he touched you. It took me a few years to track him down, but when I did, I took care of him. For you. Everything is always for you.”

“You…you killed Barty? It wasn’t a car accident?”

“I let everyone think that’s what it was. A little poke in his thigh and put him behind the wheel. So easy.”

“Why? He was already gone, Stefon.”

“Because he hurt you. And anyone who hurts you has to pay the price.”

He hands me his cup again, and I fill it up. Because why not?

“When you opened your gallery, I was so proud of you, and I knew my time was coming. But my sister had to go and mess it up. She kept submitting stuff to you and you kept rejecting her. As you should have. She never had anything close to your talent. And I should know. I made it my life’s mission to learn everything about art that I could, so you’d know I mean it when I tell you that you’re the best artist I’ve ever seen. Better than any Degas or DaVinci.”

“That’s, um, high praise indeed.”

“When it was finally my time, you turned me down.” He frowns. “More than once, you silly girl. But I knew it was only a matter of time before you came around, and our first date was the best night of my life. I knew we’d hit it off and that you’d love me as much as I love you. I never wanted to be apart from you. And that’s where I messed up, isn’t it? I was too open. After allthe years of watching you from afar, I pushed it too fast for you, and you were mad at me.”

“You scared me. I’ve never been around someone with the capacity to love me like you have.”

“I’ll never stop loving you.”

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