Page 27 of QB Keeper
Again.
I close my eyes and shake the memory of the bruises I left on her away just as she turns to walk down the driveway.
“Please,” I beg. She freezes again, and I think maybe she’s giving in to my request, but she whips back around and storms in my direction, stopping when our toes are practicallytouching. Her vanilla scent hits my nose and I try not to let it consume me, which is pretty easy when her hand reaches out and slaps me across the face. I push my tongue into my cheek, looking down at the ground, because while it wasn’t physically painful, I’ve never been hurt so badly by a single strike.
“Five years!” she cries out. “You go away forfive yearswithout so much as a text or call. I poured my heart out, and you left me crying in the middle of the road. Now you want to talk? Fuck you, Tanner! Fuck. Y?—”
“Babe, is everything okay?” a masculine voice says from behind me, prompting us both to look back. “I heard you yelling. You g—oh, hey Lake. What’s up? Haven’t seen you in a while.”
I swallow, trying to speak, but the words come out choked. “Hey, Cash,” I say as he moves past me, standing next to Grace. I watch in absolute horror as he reaches out, pulling her into his body with an arm around her waist and she leans into him for comfort.
Cash Hadley.
My high school backup quarterback.
The last guy to touch her before I did.
And by the looks of the diamond ring that slowly glides up his body before pressing against his chest, Grace’s fiancé. My heart plummets in my chest as it glints in the light, and I have to look away as bile rises in my throat. I’ve had nightmares about this very moment, but none of them could’ve prepared me for the reality of it.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just not feeling well,” she says, giving him her best fake-as-fuck smile. I know it’s fake because I know her inside and out, but he clearly doesn’t, because he lets go of her and smiles back, nodding.
“Okay. Well, I was in the middle of talking to your dad about the housing project. Go home and lie down. I’ll be back when I’m done here.”
She nods her head, prompting him to press a quick kiss to her cheek before turning to me. “I assume I’ll see you inside?” he asks. I just nod in response because I can’t fucking talk with the image of him putting his lips on her playing on repeat in my head. “We’ll catch up,” he says, and I can’t think of anything I’d rather do less.
I shouldn’t have come here. I knew there was a chance that she would be with somebody when I decided to make the trip back to Hope Harbor, but I think part of me was hoping that she had waited or that she would be alone. Which is ridiculous, since I gave her absolutely no indication that I was ever coming back for her. I only have myself to blame for the pain I’m feeling right now.
We watch as Cash hustles back into the house, clearly consumed by the conversation he was having with Bill before he heard Grace screaming at me.
“You should go in,” she says quietly. “My parents will be happy to see you. Goodbye, Tanner.”
And with that, she turns and walks away, leaving me to curse myself for ever putting us in this position in the first place. I stare, watching as she crosses the street, walks three houses down and disappears into the garage. It looks like she’s living in the old Robinson house now, not in California like I had originally thought she might be. As kids, we used to use their driveway as a turnaround with our bikes because our parents didn’t want us going close to the main roads. The aging couple was always so nice and would even bring out popsicles for us on especially hot days. I have a million memories with her in front of that house, and now she lives there with another man. The man that stepped up when I threw her out like she was nothing.
But the truth is, I loved that girl more than I’ve ever loved anything in my entire life. More than football, or winning, or any of the other accomplishments I’ve ever made. None ofthem even come close to making me feel the way I felt about Grace Valentine.
I thought I was doing the right thing to keep her safe and happy all those years ago, but I know now that I was wrong. Seeing her today made me realize that the closure I was hoping for will never come, and now my punishment for breaking us both is to watch her love someone else.
NINETEEN
GRACE
“We can movethis rack over by the front windows to make it visible to customers walking by. We have to try pushing it out before the new summer lines get here,” I say to Claire. She owns Praya, the luxury boutique I work at. After I graduated from Hope Harbor Community College two years ago, she was kind enough to hire me as a sales associate. She and my mom have been friends since my family’s company built the building, and she took a chance on a business major who hoped to work her way up the ladder. Six months ago, her head fashion buyer passed away, and she transitioned me into the position.
I know what you’re thinking. What a tragedy to lose a co-worker so unexpectedly. And while we were very saddened by Gladys’ death, it wasn’t exactly a shock since she was eighty-five years old. Four years to the day older than Claire. Six years older than our sales manager, Etta. Other than me, there’s only one other employee here that doesn’t qualify for Medicare.
“What’s up, sluts? Party’s here!” Monroe announces, busting through the door like she’s about to dance on some tables instead of head a marketing meeting. I shake my head,chuckling quietly as the two elderly women roll their eyes and go back to what they were doing before I interrupted them with plans for our new season launch.
“How do you still have a job here?” I ask, taking a sip of my coffee.
She rolls her eyes. “Please. These bitches love me. Also, I’m a goddamn marketing genius.”
She’s not wrong. At twenty-five years old, she has the knowledge of someone who has been in the industry for decades. Why she chooses to work at a small upscale boutique near the Boston Harbor is beyond me. She could be in some big city heading a marketing team wherever she wants, but I’m glad she’s here, because I don’t know what I would do without her. She moved into town after a bad breakup about a year ago, so we haven’t known each other for long, but I swear we were meant to be friends. Right from our first real conversation, I’ve felt like she understands and encourages me in a way no other girlfriend ever has.
When I first started working here, I was still at a point where I had no direction in my life. After that summer, I decided against going to California and put myself on the waitlist at both MCA and the New York Fashion Institute. Eventually, I was accepted to both, but something was holding me back. I haven’t designed an original piece in years, and every time I try, I end up hating the result. That’s why, when I was given the opportunity to work here, I decided it was the right move for me.
I love fashion. My goal has always been to have my own line and maybe sell it in a shop of my own, but that’s just not where I am right now. I keep waiting for my creativity to magically return so I can start designing again, but for now, I’m happy doing what I do. Filling this place with the latest trends and seeing customers come from all over to get them gives me a sense of accomplishment that I didn’t think I’d find when I decided to go to HHCC and get a businessdegree. At the time, it was just a placeholder. I had every intention of going to fashion school, but I wanted to make sure I was in a good place to do it. Unfortunately, I never got there.
I’m okay with it, though. It took me a while to start rebuilding my life after Tanner left me to pick myself back up alone, but I was finally starting to feel like everything was back on track.
