Page 77 of When There Was You
Butch releases a long exhale. “You have no idea how much I relate to that. Are you scared of this…the potential of us?”
“Yes,” I whisper. Am I seriously falling for another handsome, muscle-car-driving mechanic?
“Me too. It seems too good to be true, and that’s my biggest fear.”
“It does.” My gaze latches on a water stain spreading across the ceiling.
“You aren’t getting cold feet on me, are you?”
Isn’t that a wedding-day jitters thing?Donotweave marriage into this conversation. “Not yet.”
“But you’ve thought about it?”
“Truthfully? No. I really like you, Butch. And I mean everything about you. Do you have some ugly flaws you’re hiding from me?”
He hums. “We already determined I might be a serial killer.”
“I can put a hurtin’ on some Cap’n Crunch myself.”
After a pause, he barks out a laugh. Quieter, he says, “I more than like everything about you, Sundance.”
But will you always? Will it be enough? My unspoken fears hang between us.
“I’m sorry you’ve lost faith in love,” he adds. “Or at least in men. It takes a lot of resilience to push through heartbreak.”
“Spoken like a true veteran.”
“Yeah,” he answers softly. “Which is why I’m fucked up about it too. I’d put the idea behind me.”
His use of past tense doesn’t escape me. Does that mean he thinks we have a shot? Why am I hopeful? Goddamn, stupid, motherfucking hope.
“And now?”
“Now I’m wondering if building a life with another person might be possible after all.”
My breath catches. “Because of me?”
“Because we’re good together. You feel it too, right?”
“Yes,” I admit.
“What if two people who don’t believe in love and never want to be hurt again took a risk?”
I tug at a loose thread on my comforter. “I don’t know, and that’s what worries me.”
“What if it turned into something far beyond what they could have ever imagined? Became the greatest love known in the history of the universe? What would you say then?”
I’m stunned into silence, Butch’s poetic words landing a direct hit. “I’d be inclined not to argue with the powers that be.”
“My point is, baby…no risk, no reward. Let’s stay open to whatever this is. Regardless of what happens, we both know we can get back on our feet again.”
Before I can answer, his voice turns gruff. “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place. I don’t care how tough?—”
“Are you quotingRocky?”
“Just trying to lighten up a bit.”
“If you were here, I’d kiss you. That’s how much I love that you just quoted Rocky Balboa.”
