Page 171 of The Incredible Ordinary

He nods, too, and inhales like he’s preparing himself.

“I have an issue with people leaving,” he says. “You probably noticed.”

“There were a few hints.”

He smiles the tiniest bit.

“There’s something that’s been nagging me, and I finally figured it out.”

I take his hand and squeeze it. Long fingers link with mine.

“When Kira left, do you know what the one thing I never did was?”

I shake my head.

“I never asked her to stay. Not once. I don’t know why that was. Pride, I guess. Some sort of stubbornness where if she didn’t want me enough I wasn’t going to beg, and I wasn’t willing to let her really see what the idea of watching her leave woulddo to me.” He shrugs and sends me a crooked, self-deprecating smile. “Pride.”

He falls silent.

I wait.

“Somehow, it mattered a lot that she wouldn’t know, and I was going to cry in the rain and all that.”

“But?” I say softly.

He squeezes my fingers and looks me straight in the eye. No hesitation.

“Stay,” he says. “Please. I know there’s a whole big world out there with all the adventures and everything, but please stay. Here. With me. With us. Because I love you. So much. I want you to stay. I want you to choose me. I’maskingyou to choose me. And I promise I will make this life with us an adventure. Because I love you. So please stay.”

I take his other hand in mine and slide my thumb over his skin. So warm and alive.

“I’m an idiot,” I say. I put my temple against his and lean on him. “I love you. I’m not going anywhere. I thought it was kind of obvious, but then I’m kind of a dumbass. I had this whole plan where I’d ditch this place the first moment I could and as soon as possible wouldn’t be fast enough. The idea of home terrified me. Always has. But then you… For the first time the desire to stay outweighs the fear. I want to be here. I want to stay. I want to love you. So staying will be the easiest thing I’ve ever done. The easiest choice of all.”

Jordan’s eyes have gone impossibly soft, and his mouth tips into an easy smile.

“Yeah?” he says hoarsely.

I nod. “There’s nowhere I want to be except here with you.”

He breaths out and leans his forehead against mine.

“That’s good,” he says.

And it is. Just pure, simple good.

MILÁN

By the timewe get back home the new day has long since dawned. We all had to give our statements to the police and get checked out at the hospital, all of which took forever and a day.

We stumble through the apartment door, and I send Rory off to bed the moment we finish reassuring Aiden we’re all okay.

“You’re not leaving,” I tell Jordan when I close my bedroom door behind us.

He smiles and shakes his head. “Wasn’t going to.”

I wakeup bleary and disoriented for a second, but Jordan’s face is right next to mine. His lips are slightly parted, and his breathing is soft and even.

The storm has passed, and the sky is an endless shade of blue. There’s still the aftermath to handle, but it doesn’t seem like something insurmountable. It’s just minutiae. Details.