Page 104 of Loved By The Bad Boy

The door creaks open.

I halt.

The portrait on the wall. The dresser. The antique table by the window. Two picture frames from our various dates sit on the nightstand. A sob tears out of my lips, and I clap a hand over my mouth.

It can’t… it can’t be what I think it is. I stagger toward the beautiful table with an envelope on it. His shadow falls over me. My knees buck. Too weak to stand on my own, I collapse to the chair.

“Open it,” Ben says.

Shaky hands reach out for the envelope. It smells like roses. I open it, and a folded note falls out. I laugh as soon as I see my name in Ben’s handwriting. I still don’t know what’s going on, and the thickness of the envelope excites me as much as it worries me. What other thing could be inside?

Dear Gracie,

I love you…

“I love you too,” I tell Ben.

… but I’m not going to SAS.

“What?”

“Keep reading, Gracie.”

My shoulders tense, and I nod. I resume reading his letter. He doesn’t want to go to SAS because he can’t bear to be away from me. I almost comment, but he squeezes my shoulders. SAS is not it for him. College was never an option for him. Though things are different now, he still feels unprepared for it and would rather not be pressured to attend one yet. Rather than being all the way in another state and college far from me, doing what he isn’t sure he loves, he wants to stay back in New York with his Gracie. And if I would have him as a roommate, it would make him happy.

I turn the letter upside down. It’s over. “What will you do?” I say.

“Work. I, um, I got a job already.” Ben sits on the edge of the table, watching me with a foreign expression. I’m still processing the content of his letter. He didn’t want SAS but applied mostly because of me. Whatever happens after today, I can’t pressure him, only support him. “I want to be in NYU with you, Gracie. But it can’t happen until next year. I’m sorry I didn’t apply earlier.”

“No, don’t be sorry. It’s fine.” My leg vibrates. I drum my foot on the floor. “No more SAS?”

“No more SAS,” he murmurs but doesn’t seem to relax.

“What is it?” I ask.

“You didn’t ask about my job.” I smile sheepishly. Ben motions to the envelope. I pick it up and extract a letter. It’s an employment letter at an architectural firm addressed to Ben Carter. I have always wondered if he wanted to do more with his sketches. Now, I have my answers. We both do. “Josef might have helped. It’s like a paid internship. I’ll work there until I apply to NYU.”

“Oh, Benny.” He bites his lip and nods toward the envelope. “What is it this time?”

“Just open it.” I reach for the envelope, and Ben yells, “Wait. One minute.” Pulling me up, he sits first and brings me down to his lap. He’s nervous. I am too. “Okay, now you can open it.”

This one is a document. A home document for a condo belonging to Benjamin Carter. I reread it, but my brain refuses to process any of it. I drop the paper on the table. “What am I looking at?”

“I wanted to put our names, but Josef said it wasn’t a good idea unless we were married.” I snort with laughter. His question from that day finally makes sense. Twisting on his leg, I throw my arms around his neck. He shakes with anxiety. “Would you like to stay with me? Roommates?”

“Benny, I’m still confused.”

“It’s Josef,” he says like a little boy confessing to taking candies from a prohibited jar. “The house is… well, it’s mine, and what’s mine is yours. It’s a graduation gift. But I honestly think he’s overcompensating. It’s not his fault, and I don’t blame him. I think he’s trying to make up for everything. Maybe he feels bad.”

“I think so too.” Ben puckers his lips for a kiss. “But oh my God, how rich is he?”

“Very rich.”

“Is he in need of a stepdaughter?”

Ben chuckles. “You didn’t answer me, Gracie.”

“Of course I want to be your roommate. I want to stay here with you.”

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