Page 88 of Between the Blue
I don’t want to do that.
I want her to take up the whole thing. All of it.
It’s hers.
Jules tilts her head. Think she notices I’ve gone into my mind. She reaches up. Brushes my cheek with the back of her hand.
I reach up too. Brush her bottom lip with my thumb. She bites it.
I let out a hiss of pain.
She laughs.
“Okay, lovebirds,” Sutty says, stepping down off the porch steps and walking past Jules. “I’ll be in the car if you need me.”
“We won’t,” Jules replies, eyes on me the whole time. Makes me smirk.
Rhett laughs. “See ya, Julia.” He pats her shoulder. “Take care of yourself.”
Her gaze wavers finally, shifting to Sutty. “I’ll try,” she tells him.
He holds out an arm for a side hug. She steps forward, wrapping both arms around him to give him a full one.
Rhett’s the one to pull back first. He nods to Jules. Then to me. Then he gets in my passenger seat.
I look back down at Jules. She’s chewing on her lip.
She never does that.
“You okay?” I ask.
Her eyes shift to mine. And it’s like she snaps out of it. “Yeah. I just… I’m…”
“What?”
Her lips press together. “I’m gonna miss you, Ben.”
My heart feels like a cinder block in my chest.
I reach out both hands. “It’s okay, you know?” Grab her by the hips. Pull her closer. “To admit that.”
She blows out a breath, twists her lips into a tight smile. “I just didn’t plan to find something worth missing this year. I was actually avoiding it, if I’m honest.”
“I understand.”
More than she’ll ever know.
I lean down, press my lips to hers.
“You’ll be at my first game, right?” I ask against her mouth.
“Yeah,” she whispers back against mine. “Of course.”
And she was.
And looking out into that crowd, seeing that sunshine red hair… That smile that’s the reason for just about all of mine…
I’m not sure I’ve ever felt more on top of the world.
