Page 10 of Love Me Fearless

What if he’s serious?

The bouquet lobsthrough the air to the sound of shrieks and “Oohs”, thankfully heading away from me. Charlotte, William’s girlfriend, catches it, and the crowd erupts with cheers and laughter. From the sidelines, Zach grabs William in a sideways hug, the two of them laughing.

The music starts up again, and bodies start moving all around me.

Hutch slides his hand into mine to stop me from leaving the dance floor. “Why do you look so relieved?”

I scoff. “It’s an archaic tradition. Why should there only be women up there? Why not all the young single people regardless of gender?”

He arches an eyebrow. “It’s a safety issue. If guys were up there, someone might get trampled.”

I laugh.

He steers me into the crowd, his big hand on my lower back, and though the night is cooling, the contact sends a prickle down my spine. A slow song starts playing, and before I can think to turn Hutch down, he gently pulls me close.

“You should visit me in Florida when I’m back from this deployment,” he says.

I risk a glance at him, but he’s focused on a point over my shoulder. “What would we do?”

He laughs. “Everything. There’s the beach, Kennedy Space Center, amazing street food, and oh, man, the salsa music is incredible.”

“I don’t know how to salsa dance,” I say.

He shrugs. “I don’t either, but it’d be funto try it.”

“Sounds fun,” I say as he twirls me around. Thanks to the champagne buzz, a pleasant hum washes through me.

“Isn’t ballroom dancing a big thing in San Francisco?” he says, pulling me close again.

“How should I know? You think I have time for dancing?”

He expression softens. “You deserve to have fun now and then.”

“I’m having fun right now,” I say to steer us away from my leisure activities, of which there are very few. Between studying my brains out, attending classes, and keeping up with practicals, an audiobook during my bike commute is as fun as it gets.

The slow song fades, replaced by a catchy country tune, but Kirilee and Sawyer and the bride and groom join our little circle, and the mood turns joyful as we all jump around together. This would be the kind of moment where Hutch would slip away, drawn by a pretty face.

My eyes are on you, got it?

Stop. He doesn’t mean it that way.

Kirilee and I take turns spinning Sofie around until Zach steals her away again. When the band finally takes a break, the six of us walk to the bar under the tent, lit by strings of tiny white lights, casting guests’ faces with a soft, warm glow.

“Big plans for your birthday?” Hutch asks while we wait in line.

I lift my hair off of my hot neck and fan my face. Having an August birthday means most people forget about it, but not Hutch. Last year he sent me a care package in June with the annoying OPEN WHEN IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND NO PEEKING message scrawled across the front, with the military APO return label that makes it impossible to know where it was sent from. He could have been in Bahrain or Texas.

“Studying and a run through Fort Point,” I reply.

Hutch shoots me a curious look. “I thought you were seeing that surgeon resident guy?”

An empty feeling echoes through my chest. “Not anymore.”

Hutch steps in front of me and gently cradles my shoulders, kindness filling his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It wasn’t serious.” Though I’d be lying if I said it didn’t still sting a little. Especially that he basically did the breaking up over text.

Hutch scowls. “Give me his address so I can talk some sense into him.”

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