Page 78 of Give Me Forever Love

“And you’re not?” he asks, looking concerned.

“Of course, I am. Nervous, too, though,” I admit.

“Why?”

“You’re not?”

“No.”

“Not even a little bit?”

“No,” he says, his tone even.

“Don’t you go thinking too much into this. I think it’s normal for someone to be nervous about a big life change. I mean,hello, my name will be different, everything. It’s a lot.”

He shrugs. “No. It’s what’s meant to be.”

“You’re such a romantic,” I joke.

He puts his arm around my shoulder. “I try.”

I grin and look out the window, noticing we’re going a different way from the apartment.

“Umm, we going to eat or something?” I ask.

“Nope,” he says.

“Oookay. So, where we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Oh boy,” I reply.

“What?”

“Nothing. I just never know what to expect from you.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, your secrets and surprises aren’t always the best of kind.”

“How so? That one surprise was a key to my place.”

“Yeah, but it took a little bit to get that key. We had to go through a lot of shit first, and then your secrets ended you up in jail with a possible prison sentence…so ya know, I’m just a little hesitant.”

He grips the wheel. “This is different. Promise.”

I watch the city disappear and we near a more residential area. Houses pass by and my mind starts reeling. “Bryce, seriously where are we going?”

“Stop trying to ruin it,” he says, smiling over at me. It’s a boyish, happy smile that has my insides melting and my heart telling my mind to shut up. He really wants to surprise me. So, I snap my lips closed and say nothing, and when he tells me to shut my eyes, I do so. The truck comes to a halt and Bryce opens his door.

“Keep your eyes closed now,” he demands as he helps me out.

“Bossy as always,” I reply as he guides me to wherever.

“Step up,” he says. I feel boards beneath my shoes, and then I’m told to stop walking. I hear keys rattle, and then he tells me to open my eyes.

I do.

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