That was quite alright with me.
I saw his car waiting, Jace saw my eyes trail over his shoulder. So I murmured, huskily, “I love you.”
“I know. Me too,” he whispered and bent for my lips.
It was the second time I’d kissed him since our cheated night.
It was soft, tender, and loving. It was the Jace that only I knew, no one else.
He pulled away and nodded once, in farewell, and walked to his car. As he climbed into the backseat, something inside of me went with him. Some part of me was sitting in that backseat of his, right alongside of him.
But it was the part that needed to go, because I felt every chapter in my book close.
Who knew closure could be so painful and so refreshing at the same time.
Fucking bittersweet. I hated this feeling. Really, really fucking hate it.
I felt Tray behind me without looking, without any sound.
“Hey,” he whispered, sliding an arm around my waist and pulling me against his chest.
“Hi.”
He kissed my neck and asked, “Everything alright?”
“It’s over.” It was the only answer I had. It’d be alright and a part of me already felt it was alright. But for now…I’d closed the last page of that book.
And it just hurt.
But I think it was supposed to.
It’s called healing.
EPILOGUE
The water felt refreshing. It always did. And when I surfaced, it was to the sound of the crowd going wild.
Two years now, I’d been the recurring champion at Nationals on the Columbia diving team.
In some ways, Shelley had been right. The scholarships had come in and I’d chosen Columbia. I’d won the first two years and this year I was competing again.
Except Shasta Yoiuen was my competition this year and fuck—she was good. Really good.
She’d beaten me at regionals two months ago, but I knew that I’d just won. I’d just pulled off the best fucking dive of my life. And there was no way in hell that Shasta was going to take that title away from me.
I hadn’t gone through hell and back only to be beat by someone like her.
“You fucking have it, girl!” my teammate, Sari, squealed. I loved Sari. Her and I had flocked together our first practice and bonded at a party that night. Of course, she was the incarnation of me in high school, except she slept around a lot more than me. I’d been with three guys my entire life. She’d been with three that first week. But you couldn’t help but warm to her jest for life.
She added, “Shasta knows it too. Look at her, she’s pissed! No way can she beat that, no fucking way. I love it, man. I love you, you kick ass.”
“Good job, Taryn.” Coach Mayer patted me on the shoulder. I loved it. He was reserved as hell and I knew the smallest pat shouted volumes.
A second later my scores came up and a deafening roar went around the pool-house.
I’d won. Shasta was a mere shadow compared to my near perfect scores.
Laughing, I ducked around most of my teammates, but a few managed to engulf me in hugs.