Page 219 of Break Away
“I wanted coffee. Dinners. You at my games without pretending you were only there for Bliss. You in my truck with your lip gloss in my passenger visor. You knowing my mom’s name and my sisters’ weird habits. You stealing my hoodies in public instead of vanishing before morning.”
Her eyes turned glassy. “I was an idiot.”
“You were scared.”
“I was both.”
I nodded. “Yeah. You were both.”
She looked at me for a long moment. “You’re not going to let me make myself the villain to make this simpler, are you?”
“No.”
“That’s inconvenient.”
“I’m a complex man.”
“You are a wet hockey player with maternal wisdom and a body that looks sculpted.”
“Complex.”
“Fine.”
I kissed her forehead.
She melted into me with a sigh that made my chest ache.
“East?”
“Yeah?”
“When we tell Bliss and Charm we’re doing this, Bliss is going to cry.”
“Obviously.”
“Charm will pretend she isn’t crying.”
“Also obvious.”
“Ryan will make a face.”
“Ryan always makes a face.”
“Briggs might throw confetti.”
“Briggs has emergency confetti in his car.”
Aura lifted her head. “He does not.”
“He does.”
“Why?”
“He said morale requires supplies.”
She stared at me. “Your team is deeply unwell.”
“I know.”
