Page 41 of The One I Love
This makes her smile. “Yes. Wait…since then?”
“Since then,” I repeat. “I kissed you because I didn’t know if I was going to come back. I kissed you because I thought notkissing you would be the biggest regret of my life. I wanted to leave knowing that even if something bad happened to me, I knew what it was like to kiss you. Even if it was just once. And for that one second, I got to pretend that you were mine.”
This seems to shake her, and I see the tears welling in her eyes. “Shane…I never…why didn’t you ever…?”
Here it is. The moment of truth. The moment I tell her everything.
“I never wanted you to know. No one knew. None of the guys knew. Or my brother. No one. Because I was scared. I was scared you’d not feel the same way. I was scared to rock the boat. Like you, I was petrified of what it would do to us. To our families. Our friends. And then there was that whole you were with Paul thing…”
She shakes her head. “Another thing he ruined.”
“We’ll add it to the list,” I joke. “But, yeah, you and me? This isn’t a new idea I came up with recently. This is years of admiring you. Loving you from afar. Wanting to be in your life in every way I could. You’re it for me.”
Her smile hits me straight in the heart. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything.” I take her chin in my fingertips, locking our gazes. “I told you that because I wanted you to know that all those scary things like our families and friends? I’ve worried about them too. I’ve just had a little more time to game plan and think about the possible outcomes. But this? How easy this is? How I’ve noticed all night that your hand fits perfectly in mine? That I couldn’t prepare for. So yeah, while it’s scary this is so easy, it’s also a feeling I’ve never felt.”
This makes her smile. “I feel the same way.”
“Good. Because we’re just getting started.”
I lean in to kiss her as the band comes back on stage for their second set. I don’t let it linger, even though I want to, andwe slowly pull away as an upbeat song from our high school days fills the air. Amelia even gets out of her chair to dance. I just sit back and watch. She turns and looks over her shoulder, the smile on her face the biggest I’ve seen in years.
I can’t help but have a sense of pride that I was a part of that.
I just want her to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for her. She sacrificed so much over the years; she deserves more than anyone on this planet to be happy. She was a married mother at eighteen. It took her twice as long to get through nursing school because she was raising a child basically alone, even though Paul was there. Hell, she took time off when Mariah was younger because it made more sense for her to stay home. When they got divorced, she pulled herself up by her bootstraps and not only got back into nursing, but built a life for her, Luke, and Mariah. But in doing so, she’s made work and kids her entire life. Which I get. I’d do the same thing. But the kids are older. Her job is stable. It’s about damn time she starts taking some space for herself. No one has earned it more than her.
And if I get to be a part of that? That’s just icing on the cake.
The band has shifted into a slower song, and as soon as I hear the first two notes, I know exactly what song it is. It’s the one that has made me think of Amelia every time I’ve heard it since our junior prom.
“Do you want to dance?”
Amelia looks confused as she looks back at me. “No, that’s okay.”
Her mouth might have said that, but I know she doesn’t mean it. Her body is swaying to the music so subtly I don’t even think she realizes she’s doing it.
I stand up and walk the short distance around our table and hold out my hand.
“Amelia…dance with me.”
“Are you sure?” She looks to the dance floor then back to me before shaking her head. “No. It’s okay. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I know you don’t like to dance so?—”
She lets out a small gasp as I take her hand and pull her flush to me. “Amelia. Dance. With. Me.”
Her jaw drops a little as I lead her out to the dance floor. It drops even more when I spin her into me, effortlessly placing my hand on her back as we start swaying to the melody.
“Where did you learn to do that?”
“I’m a man of many talents.”
This makes her smile. “I’m sure you are.”
I bring her in a little closer so I can lean down and whisper in her ear. “And I can’t wait to show you.”
Amelia rests her head on my shoulder as we let the song and the lyrics run through us. Other couples have gathered around, but I couldn’t tell you how many or who is there. Right now, Amelia is in my arms and our bodies are moving together perfectly to the first song we ever danced to.
It’s maybe the most perfect moment of my life.
