But fuck it.
Fuck heartbreak.
Fuck exes.
I’m done with all that.
I am not going to chill the fuck out. I am not going to pretend. I am going to tell him the entire truth.
As I get on the elevator, I return to my texts, and I go for it like I’ve caught a beautiful pass, and I’m running it into the end zone, balls to the wall, nothing held back.
* * *
Nate: So, I learned a new lesson tonight. Want to know what it is?
* * *
I hit send. Still no reply. But that doesn’t matter. I keep going.
* * *
Nate: The lesson is this. Sometimes you meet someone, and you try not to fall too hard or too fast. You try to rein in all these feelings. And it doesn’t work. It just doesn’t work at all. Want to know why?
* * *
I send that, but I’m still not done when the elevator reaches the lobby, and I’m determined to go to the party and find him. Tell him the rest in person. I write one more note as the doors open.
* * *
Nate: And I will find you and tell you because there is no ghosting, babe. Not with you and me. No ghosting, no friend-zoning, and no lies.
* * *
I send that, then put my phone in my pocket and step out to find my top-notch boyfriend gazing at his phone screen, a beautiful, wonderstruck smile on his face as he types a reply. When he raises his face, he meets my eyes and grins wide.
His smile says everything, so I take his phone, shove it in my back pocket, and grab his face.
I kiss him deeply, desperately. When I break the kiss, I don’t whisper against his lips. I speak the truth, loud and proud. “I’m falling in love with you, and I want you to be mine.”
19
HUNTER
Someone should commission the last two days and nights for a Webflix holiday movie. I would buy the fuck out of that and put it on the home screen.
A true-life romance, with all the good stuff—a little conflict, a bit of banter, hot sex, and all the feels.
I wrap my arms around Nate’s waist and draw him even closer. “Want to know what my text said?”
“Yes.”
I’m dying to tell him. “I’m in love with you. You are the sweetest, kindest, cockiest, sexiest, most wonderful man.”
Nate’s grin is too much. It’s like I’ve made him the happiest person in the world. “Stop it,” he whispers, maybe a little embarrassed. But that only makes me want to tell him more. To tell him all the things I realized.
But maybe not here, as people stream on and off the elevators. I grab his hand, guiding him down the concourse, away from the noise and bustle of the casino. We stop near a closed jewelry shop.
“I realized during the show that you must have thought I kissed you to make Brandon jealous,” I say since I put that all together in the last hour while Nate was gone.
“I did think that,” he says.
“And you must have felt used,” I say.
“A little, but it’s okay. I felt that way at first, but I realized when I was away from you that you weren’t doing it for that reason.”
My brow knits. “How did you realize that?”
Nate shrugs, laidback and easy. “Because I know you. You’re not a wanker-tosser-jackwad. Because you wouldn’t screw with my heart like that. Because you’d know what it would do to me. And when all that hit me, when I realized you’re a great guy, I know you kissed me for one reason and one reason only.”
“And what’s that reason?”
He smirks, pleased with his detective work. “Because you can’t get enough of me, and I’m a really fucking good kisser.”
My heart glows as my skin sizzles. I press my forehead to his. Then I give him a firm kiss before I pull back. “You’re correct on both counts. You’re incredible, and your kisses are magic,” I tell him. “And I didn’t kiss you to make him jealous. I kissed you because, at that moment, I was so bloody grateful I wasn’t with Brandon. I was so glad it was over with him because it meant I could be with you. And you’re the one I want to be with. Completely. For so much more than this weekend.”
His smile is the most wonderful thing I’ve ever seen, but his eyes are etched with question marks. “Why is your suitcase gone?”
It’s my turn to be confused. “It’s not gone. It’s in the closet by the door.”
“It is?”
“Wait. You thought I was leaving?”
“I went up to look for you, but it was gone,” he says.
“And you still came to find me?”
“Yes, but I refused to think you were ghosting me. I figured you had a reason,” Nate says simply, and I can clearly see how he’s changed. Even in the short time I’ve known him. I can see how he’s chosen to trust me. How he knows I have a reason.