Ignite

Adaline wrapped her arms around me as she said, “Emmit, condom.”

The knock at the door caused me to let out a frustrated sigh. “Ignore it,” I whispered against her lips.

Adaline kissed me like it was going to be our last kiss as her hands pushed through m

y hair and pulled. “Emmit, condom or interview,” she breathed into my mouth.

Another knock. This time louder.

I kissed her deeper.

Another knock. “Emmit! Dude, everyone is waiting to talk to you.”

I let out a frustrated sigh as I rested my forehead against hers. “I’m sorry, Addie.”

“It’s okay. Go do what you have to do and then we’ll grab something to eat and relax for a bit.”

I pulled out of her and slipped on some jeans and a T-shirt and headed out to finish up the day.

By the time I made it back to the bus, Adaline had arranged for dinner to be delivered to us. Taking her hand in mine, I led her back to the bedroom and slowly made love to her. Dinner could wait.

My hand reached under my pillow as I took the box holding the ring out and looked Adaline in the eyes and smiled.

“Adaline, you mean more to me than anything. My life is nothing without you in it. Will you marry me?”

I smiled as I opened the ring box while Adaline stared at it. A tear rolled down her cheek as she pressed her lips together.

Her eyes met mine as she swallowed hard. “I love you so much, Emmit. But I can’t marry you right now.”

My heart dropped to my stomach as I pulled away from her and stood up. “W-what?” I asked as I looked at her.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she wiped them away. “I was going to talk to you tonight, but then you won and I didn’t want to take away from that.”

My mouth dropped open as I stared at her with a stunned look on my face. “Well fuck, Addie. I’d say you turning down my marriage proposal is a pretty big downer.”

Adaline jumped up and pulled one of my T-shirts on over her head. She looked so damn adorable. All I wanted to do was pull her into my arms and kiss her to erase the last few seconds.

“Emmit, this is the last thing I want to do, but I need to be honest with you. I’m not sure this is the life I want. Being on the road like this and living out of this bus. At least not right now.”

My knees shook as I reached out for something to keep me from falling. “What are you saying, Addie?”

Adaline’s blue eyes looked into mine as she said, “Emmit, I’ve always dreamed of being a nurse, and I can’t go to school and be on this bus every week with you and go to school. As much as I want to be with you, I can’t give up my own dreams.”

“Addie, I want you to follow your dreams. If you want to go to school, I’ll stand behind you one-hundred percent. I can fly you in for the races, baby.”

A look of despair moved across Adaline’s face. “Emmit, I can’t be going to school and then fly out every weekend. It would be too much.”

My heart was pounding so loud in my chest, I was sure she heard it. “Okay. So we’ll figure something out, Addie. Just tell me you’ll marry me and, baby, you know I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

She shook her head and wiped more tears as she looked away. Glancing back at me, Adaline’s blue eyes looked empty as a small sob escaped her lips. “Emmit, I don’t know if it’s going to work with us being apart for so long. I know you. You’re going to want to fly in and see me or want me to fly out and see you. It will become too stressful.”

My chest tightened and fear raced through my body. “What are you doing, Addie?”

“I think we should maybe take a break for a bit. You need to get settled into this life and I need to get settled in Austin.”

“Austin?” I asked with a confused look on my face.

Adaline barely spoke. “I got into the nursing program at UT.”