Page 26 of Sinful King
“There’s something on your mind,” he mused before opening his door and getting out to open mine. “Let’s walk and talk.”
I took his hand and we slow walked what I learned was a park with a pier. Not too far from home but far enough that we could do this in peace.
“Can we amend some of our plans?” I asked softly. “The ones where I go to NYU and move to Philly with you.”
He came to a stop and looked at me, his brown eyes full of questions.
“I got accepted into Florida State on a full ride athletic scholarship.”
Running track and being good at it had given me the chance of a lifetime.
“Yeah?”
I nodded and he smiled and it was so genuine.
He was so… supportive, even if it meant we split up for a while.
“Congrats, Amoy. I know they were high up on your list…” he nodded and took my hand again, resuming our little trot down the pier. “I also know you applied to NYU for my sake, but this conversation would be counterproductive if I didn’t ask why the change of heart on Philly?”
I bit my lip, a bit of frustration taking over my spirit because I didn’t want him to reject me being more than just his woman.
Sure, his family was more progressive than mine but that didn’t mean he wanted me immersed in this life in a larger capacity than I already was.
“It’s okay…” he pulled me in front of him and wrapped me tight in his hold as we faced the water. “No one is here. Let it out and then tell me.”
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and screamed so hard my throat burned afterward.
There’d been so many days I held in my pain before officially meeting him in that storage room four years ago. Crying had never really been my thing but Sean taught me there were other ways to release what I kept buried deep.
He taught me my feelings mattered, that my desires mattered.
“I still want the same things as you,” I told him. “I still want us to be each other’s endgame but there’s also this desire to stand on my own two feet. To be the partner you truly need in this life.”
He dropped his chin atop my head and squeezed me tighter to his chest.
“I get the feeling you don’t want to tell me everything, and I’ll respect your right to have a secret or two but you have to promise me something in return.”
He spun me and when our eyes met, I might’ve melted a little. This version of me would promise him my soul if he asked.
“Anything…”
“Don’t hide the big shit from me, Amoy. The life changing shit. If we’re agreeing to be apart for a while…” he pressed his forehead to mine. “then promise to trust me with everything you are and everything you want to be. I’ll support it as long as you do that for us.”
For us.
“I promise,” I said softly, cupping his face. “I promise, Oisin.”
We’d made a lot of promises but this one felt most important to him, that and never doing anything to hurt his family.
Sean was everything to me, so I made a silent vow to always fight for him. If we ever found ourselves at odds, I would fightfor us.
We still had a lot of growing up to do, a lot of life to live, but I was his and he was mine. Together or apart.
Almost as if he’d read my mind, Sean gently pressed his lips to mine and I kissed him back with my whole heart.
Part of me wished to stay like this with him forever, but eventually he drove us back into New York and me home.
I stayed with him, in the same spot he’d parked in to get me, for a little while. Sulking but grateful we got the time we did.
