Page 68 of Love's a Glitch
But I didn’t offer it up so easily anymore, didn’t it remember? The vital, life-giving organ had better, because I was about to forget all the reasons I shouldn’t fling myself into Luke’s arms.
Tingling energy sang through my veins at the reminder of him saying he loved me. But that didn’t necessarily mean we wanted the same things, and I desperately needed to remember that through my overwhelming desire to forget.
“Say something,” he pled, his voice gruff, and he took a step in my direction.
“I…” I gestured, sweeping my hand from the center of my chest, up my throat and out from the vicinity of my mouth. As if that would be enough to free the words lodged in my throat.
His shoulders sagged. “Can’t forgive me? I don’t blame you.” He took another step toward me, the tips of his toes bumping up against mine. “But hear me out: what if I told you that I was ready for more? That during our time together I was functioning on an old operating system, one that had me believing settling down would put an end to any excitement in my life?”
Luke reached out and placed his hand on my cheek. Without my permission, my head turned into the comfort, basking in the dizzying sensations of his touch. “What I didn’t realize was that once you’ve reached the summit on the Everest of amazing relationships, everything else seems dull in comparison.”
The swipe of his thumb across my cheekbone awoke every cell in my body and they popped and fizzed like fireworks, restless for their moment to combust. “You, Eloise Kostopoulous, are my biggest adventure, and nothing means anything without you.
“I love you,” Luke whispered, dipping his head and grazing his mouth with his. “Please give me another chance so I can prove to you that I want you as my partner for the rest of our adventurous life together.”
“The rest of our life? That’s a long time, you know?” My words came out as watery as my smile, and the resulting grin that spread across his face flooded my heart to the point I worried it’d no longer fit in my chest.
“And I can’t wait to get started. As long as I’ve got you by my side or on the other end of the phone line, that’s all that matters. I’ve never done things the proper way, or in the proper order. I tend to jump in without thinking and have gotten myself in over my head more than once. But please believe me that this isn’t one of those things…”
Luke swiveled his backpack around to his hip, unzipped a side pocket and withdrew a silver ring with an opal and a pink stone. “I know this is a cheesy, high-school-type move, but I bought this from an Omani woman, intending to present it to you as a type of promise ring. A promise that I’m committed, and that while I’m not quite ready for marriage, the idea of one day calling you my wife, and coming home to you and Dottie and kids that are half you and half me, fills me with the type of anticipation I get when I think of my journey up a giant mountain.”
The gems caught the light as Luke held it higher between his fingers. “What do you say? Will you make this guy the happiest adventure junkie in the world and go on this crazy journey with me?”
35
Luke
Ellie blinked at me with her big brown eyes, and the fissure in my heart shuddered, terrified it’d be cracking wider apart instead of ever have a chance at mending. “You really do love me, then?”
“How could I not? The truth is, you’ve had my heart from that first text. I just was too stupid to see it.”
“I love you, too,” she said, and cool relief washed through my veins. “And I promise I don’t want to hold you back from your dreams or your trips and your photos.”
“I know. Just like I don’t want to hold you back from your dreams, and I hope some of those will include traveling along with me. I have so much of the world I want to show you.”
“I quit my job and put everything into my own business, and it’s going well.”
“I’m not even a little surprised.”
Happiness radiated from her features, the sunshine-y woman I’d missed glowing brighter and brighter as she understood how serious I was. “It also means I can travel easier—basically all I need is my laptop and access to wifi.”
“Perfect. Because all I need is you.”
She slid her arms around my waist, hugging me as she tucked herself against me, and I marveled at the perfect fit. She tipped onto her toes and kissed me. Evidently, she’d meant to keep it brief, but I wasn’t willing to let her go yet. I parted her lips with mine and swept my tongue into her mouth so it could get reacquainted with every inch.
People in the bar began whooping and hollering, and Ellie’s friends joined in. I’d thought they’d be harder to convince, but they’d informed me they only cared about Ellie’s happiness, and added that if I didn’t follow through, they’d be following through on their previous threats.
Keeping my arm around Ellie’s waist, I tucked her back into my side, then lifted the ring in my fingers to her once more, hoping I wasn’t risking rejection. If anything, it proved she didn’t care about any of my material possessions, not that I’d thought that once my head had cleared.
Ellie lifted her right hand, her ring finger higher than the others, and I slid it in place.
For the first time in weeks, I took a full breath.
“Aww, that’s so fucking cute I’m going to have to text my bang buddy for a booty call,” Cat said.
Ellie laughed, kissed me on the cheek, and then tugged me into a seat at their table. After the long hours of travel, and the contortionist moves my nerves had performed, I worried I’d never be able to get back up again, but that was a problem for future me.
I slipped my fingers between Ellie’s, holding on tightly as she snuggled up next to me, and her friends launched into a conversation like nothing life-changing had happened moments ago. Maybe it hadn’t for them. But for me, this was it.
