Page 41 of Until We Fall

Carter clears his throat. “Yeah, that sounds good. Theo?”

Theo nods, not looking at me. “Uh, okay.”

“Cool.” I take another step back. “I’ll just?—”

I turn and practically throw myself through the sliding door. I don’t stop until I’m in the hallway.

Holy fuck, did I just see that?

I wipe a hand over my face. But it’s also… not that surprising.

Now that I’m over the initial shock of seeing the two of them like that, it’s not surprising at all. I mean?—

“D,” Carter’s voice follows me into the hallway, and I stop, turning to look at him, his forehead wrinkled as he hurries up to me.

“Yeah?” I clear my throat.

“Are we good?” he asks. “I mean, that was probably?—”

“We’re good.”

“You sure?” The lines on his forehead deepen.

I smile a little. “Of course.” I clasp him on the shoulder. “Totally good.”

“Alright. Figured so.” He nods then blows out a breath of relief that turns into a laugh. “Okay, cool. I’m excited for bungee jumping.”

“Me too.” I go to turn and then stop. “What is it for you guys? Are you dating? Or doing the fuck buddy thing? Or…”

“Ah, no.” He smiles. “I’m completely in love with him, dude.”

I blink, my heart thumping hard. “You are?”

“Yep.” He nods. “With everything I’ve got.”

Holy shit. “Does he feel the same?”

His smile falls. “I dunno. Honestly? I’m scared, but what else am I gonna do besides go for it?”

I clasp his shoulder. “I hope you both find what makes you happy.”

Something shines in Carter’s eyes. “I do, too. And we’ll see you in a few minutes. It’s gonna be so fun, dude! We’ll have the best time.”

I step back. “Yeah. We will.”

On the steps up to the bungee platform, I keep trying to wrap my head around Theo and Carter. Like I said, it’s not that it’s all that surprising, but it’s the way that Carter tilted his head in the hallway. The honesty that he hit me with.

Completely in love with him.

I blow out a soft breath. Rory’s a few steps above me, chatting with Carter. They’re both leaning over the railing, looking down at the canopy of trees below, dense trees on either side of a blue river. It’s mostly Xate, which I’ve never seen growing in the wild like this, but it has a deep green palm used in floral arrangements. When I mentioned that to Rory earlier, his eyes lit, the breeze catching his hair, sun warming the freckles across his face.

It was so fucking difficult to stand two feet away from him and talk about flower arrangements with my hands sunk in my pockets and my big toes pinched by my flip-flops. It’s difficult to stand here now while he’s chatting with Carter, his light gray tee wrinkled from his suitcase. He fretted about the wrinkles, but I like them.

My butterflies are fluttering. Not just in my stomach, but in my fingers, in my throat, and in my thoughts.

Fuck, I like him so much. I like everyth?—

“So…‍”

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