“You really mean that?” she whispers as her eyes fill with tears.
“Yeah, babe. I do.”
“I…”
I shake my head as I pull her in a little tight. “You don’t need to say anything,” I tell her, pressing my lips to her temple. “You’ve already told me that you’re not ready to discuss this, and I’m not about to push you on it. I just want you to know that I‘m coming for you, so if you need to make some kind of escape plan, then you’ve got time.”
Brooke looks up at me with joy in her eyes and something tells me that she won’t be needing an escape plan after all. Hell, maybe all she needs is just a little time. “You’re such an idiot,” she laughs, warming every tiny piece of my broken soul and reminding me that without a doubt, I’m so desperately in love with this girl.
“I know,” I tell her, grabbing her hips and spinning her around so she can see the track. “Now, shut up and watch your girl race. I have a feeling she’s about to kill it.”
With that, Brooke leans back into my chest and slips her hands into mine, both of us as content as ever as we bask in this stolen moment.
Chapter 13
Maxen
“Hit me with it,” I say as I wait for Brooke who actually agreed to let me take her out for dinner tonight.
Tora walks through the living room, collecting all her textbooks and preparing for her day tomorrow. At my voice, she glances back over her shoulder and takes me in. “What do you mean?” she asks, making a pile on the coffee table before turning and giving me her full attention.
“I’m not an idiot,” I tell her, making her scoff in disbelief. I roll my eyes but know I need to do this. After all, Tora is Brooke’s best friend and if I intend to get Brooke back, then I need to prove to Tora that she can trust me again. “I know you have questions and concerns about me, so go ahead. Ask them.”
Tora raises a brow and looks at me as though this is some kind of challenge. “You sure you want to go there?”
I nod as confident as ever. I’ve got nothing to hide. “Like I said, hit me with it.”
Tora raises her chin and all the venom and anger she’s had for me over the past year comes sailing out. “Why the hell are you sneaking your slimly little ass back into Brooke’s life?”
Well, damn. She’s not sugar-coating anything, but that’s probably what she needs to get past this so I look into her eyes and let her see right down into my soul. “Because I love her.”
Tora crosses her arms over her chest. “As simple as that, huh?” she scoffs. “I’m sorry, but I’m not buying it. Someone who loves another does not cheat on them and treat them the way you did during our senior year.”
“I know,” I tell her, letting out a regretful sigh as I recall all the times I fucked around and hurt her. “I was an ass and I made the biggest mistake of my life. I had a great thing going with Brooke and I messed around on her. That’s something I’ll have to deal with for the rest of my life. At the time, I didn’t think twice about it, but now, I regret it wholeheartedly. I threw away the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“So, you want to worm your way back in so you can do it all over again? You know you don’t deserve another chance with her. Not after what you did. You broke her into a million tiny little pieces and I was the one who had to put her back together.”
I hate myself just a little bit more, but I keep going. I need to let her see just how much this means to me. “Believe me, I know that. I watched it all from a distance. I saw her hurting every day and it’s killed me knowing that I did that to her.”
“Then why come back? She was doing better. Hell, she even started dating again.”
“Yeah,” I scoff as an image of Lukas’ face beneath my fist comes shooting to the forefront of my mind. “We all know how well that went,” I let out a breath as a scowl flutters over Tora’s face. “Look, facts are that no matter what, I love her. I always have and I always will. I know that I don’t deserve to have another chance, and hell, I’m fucking lucky that she’s even giving me a shot to be in her life right now.”
Tora grumbles to herself before adjusting herself on the coffee table, and when she doesn’t respond, I continue. “You want to know my intentions?” I ask, prepared and ready to spill every last thing from within my heart. “Well, here they are. I want her back. I want to love her right and I want to love her more. I want to be consumed by her. Everything she does, I want to be a part of. Now, I’m no fool. I know there’s a very good chance she’ll never let me in like that again, but for now, I’m just happy being around her. If she decides later on down the road that she can forgive me and consider a future with me, then that’s amazing. If not, then she’ll know that I’ll always be right here, loving and supporting her. No matter what.” I pause for a second, watching Tora’s reaction. “Does that answer all your questions?”