Page 131 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
I’d taken care not to make any promises and hoped my answer would appease him, but he prodded, “When?”
“I’ll message you tomorrow.” Without my classes and dissertation, I suddenly had the time to fix my life. I could nolonger use my busyness as an excuse not to face my father—and maybe it was high time that I did. If I wanted to have a healthy relationship with Luna, I had to stop letting my past hold me back.
And since I was in the process of reconfiguring my future anyway, I might as well take every opportunity I had to shape it into the one I’d always wanted.
luna
As I approachedmy building, I found Gabe leaning against his car. His head was ducked as he focused on his phone, and it reminded me of the first day I saw him on campus. That encounter had influenced my perception of him early on, and I wondered how things would have turned out if he had returned my greeting that day.
He looked up, and the worry in his eyes turned to relief. “There you are.”
“Here I am.” I stopped in front of him and took in the faint lines on his forehead, the cloud grays of his eyes, the crooked but strong nose, the thicker than usual beard.
God, but I loved this man.
“Did you have a good walk?”
“Uh huh.” I gave him a small smile. “You up for a drive?”
His brows lifted. “With you? Anytime.” He reached for my bag, then hesitated. “Can I get your bag?” he asked with all seriousness.
I was completely capable of carrying it myself, but I let him take my bag anyway because he’d asked like I wanted him to.And there was something sweet about him offering to do so every time.
He ushered me into the passenger seat and put my bag in the back, then got in and started the car.
“Where to?”
I buckled myself in. “Wherever the road takes us.”
Glancing at me, he smiled gently. “Alright then.”
The sky was a gradient of soft blues and yellows as we drove away from my apartment, and it soothed the nerves that stirred inside me again. Like he could sense my tension, Gabe rolled down the windows.
My body relaxed as the wind swept in. I stopped overthinking my words and went with the first thing that came to my mind.
“I’m sorry for earlier.”
He shook his head even before I finished speaking. “You have nothing to apologize for. You told me what you needed, and you never have to say sorry for that. I shouldn’t have insisted on picking you up when you already texted me to meet you at your place. Regardless of my intentions, I should have listened to you—or at the very least, asked you first instead of assuming that would be okay.I’msorry for that.”
“Normally, I would have loved you picking me up. It would have made my day to know you were waiting for me,” I told him. “It’s just that this particular day has been a lot. One thing happened after the other, then I found out about the gossip and there were all these people at the store, and it felt like I didn’t have the chance to stop and breathe, you know?”
He nodded slowly. “I understand. I was so absorbed in my own plans that I failed to consider that they might not be what you wanted. I’m glad you didn’t let me stop you from having that time for yourself.”
“That’s the new thing I’m trying out—being honest about what I want and actually standing my ground.”
“Good. You deserve to be heard.” Reaching out, he laid his hand on mine. “I’m proud of you, Luna—and I don’t mean that in a condescending way.”
I turned my hand over and squeezed his. “Thank you. I know you don’t.” My eyes widened as I realized I’d been going on about myself when he had something bigger going on. “Hold on, you said you had something to tell me. What happened?”
“Right.” He looked at me and swallowed before moving his gaze back to the road. “I handed in my resignation earlier.”
“What?” I whisper-shouted.
“I also processed the documents to withdraw from my PhD program.”
“But—you can’t. It’s one of your life goals.”
“Not anymore.” A wince flashed across his face. “Luna, I love that you’re holding my hand, but you’re cutting off the circulation to my fingers right now.”
