Page 134 of A Game Of Love

He’s breathing heavily, face crumbling. “Breathe,” I say softly.

“Lilly.” His voice is broken.

I shake my head. “No. Breathe.”

“What do I do?” he whispers as I cup his cheeks, guiding his head down to press my forehead to his. I know he’s losing it right now, his head thinking all the bad things, and everything in him wants to snatch me up and hide me from it all. But that's not how life works.

“Your dad is handling it. So are the police. What's done is done. Do I like it? Fuck no. But am I going to let this ruin me? Also, fuck no.”

“It’s my fault,” he says. “It’s Katie. I know it is. At the New Year’s party, she tried something. I turned her down, and she didn’t like it. She said I’d regret it. Of course, her crazy-ass would do something like this. How the fuck did she get that video? Who am I kidding, she’s probably the one who recorded it. God, what is wrong with her?”

“Probably a lot. And that's sad. I hope she gets the help she needs,” I reply.

“How are you so calm about this?!” Toby shouts.

“Don’t shout at me,” I snap, and his face falls.

“Fuck. I’m sorry. Damn it. I just... I don’t know what to do. How do I fix this, Lilly?”

“You don’t.” I give him a soft smile. “This is life, Toby. We can’t stop all the bad things from happening. The best we can do is keep moving on. To live our lives to the fullest and battle the hard times as they come. This is our life, not theirs. They don’t get a say in how we live it. We can’t please everyone. Not everyone is going to like us or our lifestyle. It didn’t stop our parents from being with the loves of their lives and living a pretty epic life. And it’s not going to stop me. I love that you love me with every cell in your body. I’m one lucky girl that will never take it for granted.” I smile, eyes filled with tears. “My question is, are you going to let it stop you? Are you going to let other people who don’t matter dictate how you live your life? Or are you going to say fuck them all and live your life the way you want?”

He says nothing, chest heaving.

“I pick you, Toby. Always. Now, I’m asking you to pick us. No hiding. No running. Us against the world.” I lean up on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek. I can’t make him do this. He needs to do it on his own. All I can do is pray with every part of me that he makes the right choice. “Make your choice.”

Turning around, I bite the inside of my cheek until I taste blood as I demand myself not to break down. I will be strong. I will not break.

Heading into the lunch hall, it feels like my feet are weighed down by bricks with every step I take away from Toby.

Joining Bishop back at the table, I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths.

“Are you okay?” Bishop asks.

“We’ll find out in a minute,” I whisper.

Keeping my head down, I can’t bring myself to look out the window to see if he’s still there or if he’s gone. To look at the door to see if he walked through it.

With each passing second, I start to lose hope. My shoulders hunch forward, and I have to swallow to keep down the cry that wants to break through.

I feel someone take a seat next to me.

My heart kicks into overdrive, head spinning as a sob for a whole new reason bubbles up.

A large, warm hand envelopes my left one. Still not able to bring myself to look, I let it pull mine out from under the table and bring them up to soft, warm lips, kissing the back of my hand.

Finally, I allow myself to look and find myself staring into my best friend's eyes. Letting my hand go, he grips my chin and leans down.

Toby kisses me, stealing the air from my lungs right alongside my heart. He pushes all his love for me into that kiss, and I push right back. The world around us disappears because they don’t matter.

Toby pulls back, eyes piercing my soul. “I choose us. Always. Forever. Us against the world.”

A smile curves my lips as this feeling of completion clicks into place, my heart never feeling more full than it is right now. “Us against the world.”

Toby wraps his arm around me as Bishop holds my hand on the table where everyone can see. They stake their claim, and I love it so damn much it hurts.

Unable to keep the smile off my face, I sit silently as I enjoy the love that surrounds me as the table slips into conversation.

Love is never easy. It’s never without challenges.

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