Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Is she okay? Did our interaction affect her like it did me? My instinct is telling me it did. The way she fisted my shirt, the way her big blue eyes stared up at me. She felt something. I can only hope it was more than hate. Because if I know anything to be true, it’s that I want her.
I want her in my life. I want her in my bed. I want her with me. I want to call her mine, and for us both to be on the same page with that. I should have been the one with my hands all over her on the dance floor. I should have been the one to take her home. To a house we share, to a life we’ve built together.
I don’t know how, but I’m going to fight like hell to make it all happen. I’ve always told myself that it is too late. That she’s moved on, but the evidence is in front of me. She never moved on, and neither have I. There’s a reason for that. That reason is two hearts that combined as one when we were just kids trying to find our way, and the bond, although years have passed between us, has never been severed.
It’s time to get my girl back.
When I reach the four-way, I turn right to head out of town. This is definitely a back road driving kind of night. The only thing that would make it better would be if she were sitting beside me.
I’m just about to turn up the radio when my phone rings. I hit accept on the dash, and my buddy Kip’s voice rings out through the cab of my truck.
“Cope, are you sitting your lazy ass on the couch eating bonbons?” he jokes.
“Right.” I laugh. “You know better than that. How are you, man?” I ask him.
“Good. Good. You know, working out my last three years before having to learn how to live outside of the Marine Corps.”
“It’s not so bad,” I tell him.
“How’s your mom doing?”
“She’s good. She’s fighting, and the doctors are hopeful. There’s not much more we can ask for at this point. Her spirit is high, and she’s determined to beat this shit.”
“Great news, brother. How about your girl? Have you seen her yet?” he asks.
Kip and I met in boot camp. We’ve been lucky enough to have our careers in the Marines intertwine more often than not. He heard all about my love for Ellison while we were training, and after I came home and found her living her best life, I’m embarrassed to say, I cried to him. I didn’t cry—well, not where Kip could see me, but I was devastated. That girl was my everything.
She is my everything.
“I’ve seen her.”
“And? You can’t be all broody and shit and say, ‘I’ve seen her,’ and not tell me how it went. It’s been too damn long since you laid eyes on her. Tell me everything.”
“She’s… beautiful.” So beautiful it almost hurts to look at her.
“I figured that. She’s ensnared my best friend for far too long not to be. Did you talk to her?”
“Yeah.” I pause. “We’ve talked,” I admit.
“Okay, what’s up with the cryptic shit? This is me, man. We tell each other what’s going on. Been that way for nearly twenty years. You’ve been with me through some shit, and I’ve done the same for you. Why are you holding back now?”
“Fine. Here it is.” I lay it all out for him. I tell him how I’m staying at the Manor, and how the guys think my mom made up the fact that the bedroom was too full for me to stay at her place. I tell him about every single moment between us since I’ve been home, including tonight.
“You should call and check on her.”
“What?”
“Call and check on her.”
“I don’t even know if she has the same number.”
“You’ll never know if you don’t try it, or even ask her for her number now. How many times have you typed out a message to her over the years?”
“Too many to count,” I grumble.
That makes him chuckle. “Copeland, I’ve seen you shy away from a woman’s touch because she wasn’t Ellison. I’ve watched you try to form a relationship with another woman, on more than one occasion, only to back away because it never felt right.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is, you still love her. You’re never going to be able to move on with your life if you don’t talk this out with her. Bare your soul. Tell her everything, and see where you end up. Maybe it’s closure you need. Maybe the two of you will find your way back to one another, and I’ll be getting a wedding invitation in the mail one day soon.”
I let his words bounce around in my head. They’re not much different from my thoughts just before he called. “I want her,” I confess.