Page 85 of One More Chance
"Wow," I said with genuine shock and mock gratitude, "I didn't realize his nonprofit could cover that much."
"Benefits of being an employee, I suppose." She withdrew her hand from my face, sipped her coffee, then continued. "Charlie only started the nonprofit recently. He had some really well-timed investmentsskyrocket. He made enough to found the nonprofit and buy out the clinic's previous owner.” She trailed off, but her voice sang with relief and admiration.
I forced a smile that probably looked like cracked plaster smeared over a hole. "Wow," I repeated like an idiot, "what a lucky guy."
Thankfully, Sloane didn't see how unhinged I had to look. She stared off, appearing wistful, as she let loose a soft laugh. "Yeah, it was like he’d won the lottery. He barged into the clinic and lifted me off my fee- ” She stopped. Her words twitched between us, like a thread waiting to be pulled.
Fuck me, when was this? How long ago?
I didn't say anything, though. I didn't trust myself to say anything. Instead, I gave her time and space to speak.
She shifted on the couch, her eyes wide and fearful. She was expecting me to explode, to rage, to break things; the Old Me would have.
When she spoke, her voice was filled with trepidation. “Levi... nothing happened. He gave me a hug. A spinning, affectionate, and 'inappropriate for the workplace' hug. But that's it.”
Sloane has never lied to you. Not in this life or the previous one.
I nodded as I tried to quell the rush of confusion and dread rising inside me. "My love, you're preaching to the choir over here. In what reality do I have the right to be angry over a hug? Really… it's okay."
Relief evident in her posture, she relaxed, "I think anybody would have had that reaction, right? Being able to quit working for somebody else and focus on your own dreams?"
"Of course."
We fell into silence for a time.
My thoughts were a chaotic mess, each one tumbling out faster than the one before it. I didn't know how to process these feelings, these revelations. It was all too much to unpack in that moment.
“When can we get Rufus?” I asked. The question felt out of place, but I needed something to ground me, distract me.
Also, I missed my old boy.
Sloane leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder. Her scent threatened to overpower me: lavender, honey, citrus. She murmured, “They'll call us. But hopefully soon."
I felt Sloane shift.The tension in her body told me she was still processing everything that had happened. She was so strong holding it all together, but I could see it in her eyes. The fear of what might be unfolding that none of us could fully understand yet.
"Levi," she whispered, "what if this… what if all of this is bigger than we think?"
I wrapped an arm around her, pulled her against me. I wanted to reassure her, but the truth? I didn’t know how to. I could plan and place pieces in hopes that things would go my way, but nothing felt certain anymore. Nothing felt solid, not even the ground beneath me. The world had become this swirling mess of possibilities, and I was just grasping at whatever I could hold on to.
I looked into her hazel eyes, those fierce, fiery, stubborn eyes, and in that moment, all the chaos faded to the background. Even with the world broken and laden with uncertainty, there was no one else I would rather be facing this mess with. No one else I wanted beside me as we tried to find a way forward.
Gently, I cupped her cheeks in my hands, my thumbs brushing her soft skin. “It will be okay. We will work as a team. Together.”
She smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I just don’t know if I can handle anything else, Levi. Everything… everything’s too much.”
I leaned forward, pressed my forehead to hers, and closed my eyes as I felt the connection between us. I reminded myself why I had to keep going. I whispered, “You don’t have to handle it alone. Not anymore. Never again.”
She didn’t pull away when I kissed her, delicate and reverent, letting my lips linger at the corner of her mouth before trailing down to the warm hollow of her neck. Her breath shuddered into me, her body tight with all the things she was still holding in.
“I know a few ways to help you relax, my love,” I whispered, the words slipping out like a promise.
She chuckled, low and unexpected, the sound curling around my ribs and anchoring itself deep inside my chest. “Since when have you been so quick to offer?” she asked, voice teasing but eyes still watchful.
“Since I realized I can’t live – hell, I can’t even breathe – without you.”
That earned me a real look. She peeked up through thick lashes, her cheeks tinted rose, lips parted just slightly. “You are such a sneaky devil,” she said softly, the edge of a smile ghosting across her face.
"Only for you." I brushed my thumb across the bottom of her lip, enjoying the way her lips parted for me.
