Page 26 of Forever Yours on Christmas Eve
That he never, ever, wanted to let her go.
Except… he knew that he had to.
Chapter 7
Kelsey
Kelsey. Was. Floundering.
It was only a few weeks into her brand-new program, and she still felt the same way she had on day one. She had walked into a small classroom filled with other students who wanted to dedicate their lives to helping folks process their mental health issues with the beauty of art. She thought she was going to find her people.
Instead? She discovered that she knew absolutely nothing.
Week after week passed, and the more she tried, the further she fell behind. More times than once, she looked around at the other students in class, following right along and nodding their heads in agreement. All while she frantically tried to match the lecture to the book and her notes, pulling at her hair, and struggling to breathe.
She never thought of herself as dumb before. She’d always been a top student with excellent study habits. But this was entirely a new ball game from top to bottom.
A game she was losing.
Storming into her apartment with hardly any energy left after a long week, she locked the door behind her, tossed her bookbag to thefloor, and collapsed into her oversized living room chair. Staring off at the far wall that contained bookshelves, a couple of houseplants, and a window facing the brick building next door, she could feel an ugly cry coming on. One that was fueled by the frustration of trying and failing. And getting back up and being knocked down.
Of trying her hardest to be her best, only to end up the worst.
But just as her body felt free to let loose, a chime came through the speaker on her door.
She stopped short, thinking she’d started hearing things when she heard the chime again. Getting up and pressing the button, she answered. “Hello?”
“Awesome Blossom delivery for Kelsey Kramer?”
What the…?“Um, sure, come on up,” she said, releasing the lock to her building and letting the woman through.
Within seconds, the floral deliverywoman showed up. She clearly was busy, off halfway down the hall after handing Kelsey a small wrapped bouquet of roses. Red roses.
Three, to be precise.
And it was then that she realized it was Valentine’s Day.
Crossing the kitchen and pulling down the only vase she owned, she took out her phone to polish off a quick text. The roses hadn’t come with a card, but that was okay. She knew who they were from.
And once again, I feel bad. I didn’t get you a thing…
I’ll take a kiss the next time we meet up.
Kelsey’s heart started to race, remembering that kiss they’d shared on Christmas Eve. It had completely wiped her brain blank, forgetting all the reasons they couldn’t be together.
Why do I have a feeling you’re going to have quite a few in the bank by the time Christmas Eve rolls around again?
Maybe I will
She jumped slightly as the phone began to vibrate with an incoming call. Pleased to see that it was a video call, she didn’t hesitate to answer. She and Sev had shared calls like this already, and she secretly savored every moment she had to stare at his handsome face.
“Hey!” she said, feeling her spirit brighten for the first time since… Well, since the last time she had a call from him.
“Hey,” he answered smoothly, sitting back in what appeared to be a desk chair. A quick look at the surroundings behind him showed a couple of bookcases, white walls, and some landscape art. The room looked a little larger, too, which made her think he’d probably gone to visit with his parents over the weekend. “How’s the week been for ya?”
“Oh, you know…” she said, filling the vase up with water and hoping that the sound would be too loud for him to hear over. Which meant she could pause and not seem weird.
Or specifically, not answer him so she didn’t have to share her ongoing failure with him.
