Page 60 of Broken By the Bad Boy

“Babe, you’re scaring me.”

I throw my arms around his neck and hold him tight. “I’m just so happy. We won, Benny.”

Ben nods against my hold. Seconds later, he untangles himself from me, and we walk to the long couch opposite the dressing table. He helps me out of my bandage in silence, and I do the same for him.

“Where are we going to celebrate?” he asks.

The clock says I have thirty minutes until my curfew. Mom extended it by an hour. She thinks we are on a date, our last date before I leave. My mind fills with the best way to break the news.

“Babe, you’ve been distracted all week. We won. You can relax now,” he says. I can’t until I tell him. We need to discuss how to handle a long-distance relationship. He shrugs out of his damp shirt, and his lips spread in that proud smile. His thumb brushes my cheek. “Gracie. What is it?”

“Sorry.” I peck him and rush to the door of the connecting bathroom. “I have to change. We will pick a location when I get back,” I tell him from the door. His lips pull into a disapproving pout.

Ben waves me off. I clean up and change into my long-sleeved dress to match the combat boots. There’s no trace of the fighter who walked into that stage minutes ago. Ben is already dressed on my return. His hair is slightly damp, and water drips from his scalp to his forehead. He must have used the bathroom outside. He sits on the edge of the dressing table and stretches his arms to me. I cross over and stand between his legs. His smile is so big it brings a tiny one to my lips.

I’ll miss him.

His hand slides to the back of my neck. Before he gets a chance to kiss me, I blurt out, “I have to tell you something.” He stiffens. His arm falls to his side. “You have to promise not to get mad?”

Ben’s brows furrow as his gaze rakes my face. My poor heart beats so fast I expect it to explode. To my surprise, he holds my hands and kisses my knuckles, and my insides turn into a puddle. He cannot be mad at me. We can work it out. We will figure out a way. People do it all the time.

“Is it something bad?” On another day, this would have been great news. “Something you did?”

I lick my lips and shake my head. “Not me. My mom.”

Ben smiles. “Okay, I won’t get mad.”

Guilt tightens my throat as I squeeze his hands, and I almost feel bad for my next words.

“Say promise, then I’ll tell you.”

Ben laughs. It’s a beautiful sound I’ll miss.

“I promise, babe,” he says. The pressure in my chest stops me from talking. He smoothens my hair and slides his hands below my armpit. I squeeze my arms together to prevent him from doing anything rash. “Now tell me, Gracie, or I’ll tickle it out of you. I won’t get mad. Tell me.”

To be on the safe side, I kiss him. If he gets mad, I will remember our last kiss.

“Dad got a promotion.” Pride flashes across Ben’s face. He straightens up when he sees I am not as excited as he is. My heart picks up speed, and I almost do not say the words. “To New York.”

Ben drops my hands. “What does that mean?”

A tear rolls down my cheek. I exhale. “It means we have to move with him.”

“Oh.” His hands sink into his hair. He stares at his feet, and then his gaze returns to my face. “When?”

This is the hardest part.

A lump forms in my throat, and I wrap my arms around myself. Ben will hate me. I can feel it. My eyes shut, so I don’t have to see his face when I do it, then I force the words out of my lips.

“Tomorrow,” I whisper.

Seconds blend into minutes. I can hear a pin drop in the silence that settles over us. I peel one eye open, then the other. Ben is gawking at me. His face pinches into a painful expression, and my heart clenches.

“Tomorrow?” he says. I nod, and more tears spill out of my eyes. “And you’re just telling me?”

My heart breaks all over again for both of us. “I wanted to tell you. I didn’t know how.” He ducks when I try to touch him, and fear seizes me. “Benny. I don’t want to go, but I don’t have a choice.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

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