Page 140 of Any Second Now
“Here?”
“Here.” She wraps her arms around my neck, pressing herself flush against my body.
A tiny, desperate sound escapes my throat. “I would do basically anything to have you stay here in Fort Collins. Fuck your old life back in Connecticut. You belong here with me?—”
Raleigh pulls my head down and presses our lips together. I’m ready for her. She buries her hands in my hair, knocking my baseball cap off in the process.
The kiss is like coming home. Her lips are warm, her mouth inviting, and I could stand here forever with my arms wrapped around her. She makes a humming sound and it vibrates through my mouth and into my body.
She leans back an inch and smiles against my lips.
“I’m not leaving, rebound guy.” She pulls me back and kisses me again.
Raleigh’s. Not. Leaving.
The words swirl in my head like a tornado of autumn leaves, rearranging themselves and always falling back into the right order:she’s not leaving.
“I could kiss you all day and all night—and I plan to—but can you please explain exactly what you mean by you’renot leaving? I understand all the words, but I’m having a hard time processing.”
“All I know is I can’t imagine being apart from you. Maybe this won’t last?—”
“Are you kidding me?” I cut her off and move my hands up to cup her face. “This is forever.” I kiss her long and hard. “Forever.”
She lets out a noisy breath. “Forever?”
“Yeah. Do you disagree?”
“No, but, Atticus?—”
“Let me guess. You don’t want to get married.”
I cannot believe I am bringing up marriage to Raleigh Hayes. It should be terrifying. The thing I’ve been avoiding my entire life. But I’d marry her. I would. I’d do it tomorrow. Today, even. And I’d spend the rest of my life making it work.
“Right. But not because of you. Because of me. And I’m not saying never. But I need to make sure I understand myself before I do that, and that might take a long time.”
“I get it.” I slide my hands into her hair and kiss her deeply before coming back up for a breath. “As long as I can fall asleep with you in my arms at night. As long as I can text or call you when I’m having a bad day, or I want to know how yours is going. As long as you’ll come to my games when we’re in town and wear my jersey. As long as you’ll agree to be mine, Raleigh Hayes.”
Raleigh’s cheeks turn a deep shade of pink and she smiles at me, a promise in her eyes that I know mirrors my own.
“Your jersey! Wait here—I have something for you.” Raleigh flies out of my arms and darts back into the Pink Palace.
“Okay?” I laugh and memorize this moment. The joy and anticipation.
She comes out a moment later, cheeks flushed, holding… my jersey? I knew I’d left it with her, but I wanted her to keep it. I wanted to know she’d see it when she opened her drawers, maybe wear it if she missed me.
“Last night… I realized I’d made a mistake breaking up with you.” She shakes her head and clutches the jersey to her chest. “But I thought it was too late. So I, uh, stitched something onto your jersey.”
“Um, what?” I cannot suppress a chuckle. I have literally no idea where this is going.
“I just kept thinking about how you’ve been fighting so hard to prove you’re not like your father. You’re not a player. You’re a good person and, contrary to your request for me to be your dating coach, you are fully capable of being someone’s boyfriend.”
I feel a sweet, painful stab in my belly.
“Don’t be mad I desecrated your jersey.” She watches me with her brow furrowed. “I spent hours on it last night.”
“Now I’m incredibly curious.”
Raleigh holds out the front of my jersey, which looks just like it always does.
