Page 108 of One of Them Girls

I smile as the two of them fall into each other.

They are something else.

“They are something else,” my mother says under her breath with a smile on her face.

“You get used to it.”

When I met them we didn’t get off on the best start, but over the years, we’ve found our way.

I sit back and think about all the things that have happened since Avi came into my life. Going into sophomore year, Jack and Avi decided they didn’t want to be in the dorms, so they bought a house together. By junior year I moved in and going into senior year Rebecca did as well. Late-night arguments about who knows what. Study dates and holidays. We’ve done it all together.

It’s a little sad thinking of the four of us no longer being together on a daily basis. Avi and I have had our ups and downs as a couple, same with Jack and Rebecca, but that’s their story to tell. Or not. But in the end, we made it out together.

“What time is your flight?” Finley asks, pulling me out of my head.

“Nine tonight.”

“Still no idea where you’re going?” He smirks.

“Not a clue.” I sigh. “Any chance you’ll tell me?”

“Not a chance in hell.” He laughs.

“I guess I will find out in a few hours,” I muse. “Xavier does love surprising me.”

* * *

Xavier

My eyes shift between a sleeping Cassi and the view outside the window. The sun rising behind the Eiffel Tower. I roll the ring between my fingers and smile.

She doesn’t know.

For the last year, I’ve been carrying this ring around with me, waiting for the perfect time to put it on her finger. Taking pictures of me holding it with her in the background, completely clueless. As Cassi lays sleeping, I slip it onto her left hand and just stare at it.

What if I left it there? Toss my original plan out the window and do something simple, like this.

Cassi shifts in her sleep, tucking her left hand under her chin.

Shit. The ring.

For a moment, I panic. I can’t reach the ring.

Fuck it.

“Adra.” I shake her.

Cass hums.

“Time to wake up, beautiful,” I tell her as I brush some hair away from her face.

“Unless there is coffee and those French pastries you promised me, I’m not moving,” she rasps, making me laugh.

“Don’t worry, room service should bring them up any minute.”

I hold my breath as Cassi brings her left hand up to her mouth, yawning.

She freezes with her fist to her mouth, the ring staring back at her.

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