When we finally hung up, I sat up in bed and swung my legs to the floor.
On the nightstand was a smoothie and a bright yellow sticky note in Jan's aggressive block letters:
YOU'RE NOT STAYING HERE FOREVER. START LOOKING. YOU NEED A PLACE + A NEW CHAPTER.??I smiled. Then drank the smoothie.
By noon, I was at the studio.
The familiar smell of rosin and wood settled my nerves a bit. My students—bright-eyed, chatty teens who still think love is simple—brought a strange comfort. I led warmups, corrected posture, focused on the music. I didn't mention anything. Just danced. Teaching felt like a lifeline. After class, I grabbed my tote and slipped into my coat, heading toward the exit. I pushed open the studio doors, ready to breathe in some fresh air—and there he was.
Aaron.
Standing by his car like something out of a memory, hair tousled, eyes red-rimmed, hands shoved into his jacket pockets. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. My heart stuttered.
He looked up. Saw me and didn't move.
Neither did I.
Chapter Five: Choose Me
There he was. Aaron.
I pause, every instinct screaming to walk back inside, but my feet stay rooted to the pavement. I don't speak. I don't soften. He's the one who wanted space. Well, here it is.
"Hi," he says, voice small.
I cross my arms. "Why are you here?"
He pushes off the car, takes a step closer, then stops. His eyes are glassy. He looks like a wreck—like the ghost of the man who used to build dance floors with me and kiss my fingertips when no one was looking.
"I had to see you," he says. "I can't sleep, I can't think. I keep replaying everything and I don't know how to live with what I did."
"Then don't." My voice is cold. I don't recognize it. "Just say it, Aaron. Say what you came to say."
He nods, swallows hard. His face is pale, jaw clenched.
"I think I have feelings for her," he says.
There it is.
The words slice straight through me. My legs go a little weak, but I plant my heels deeper into the ground. He doesn't even say her name. Like that makes it easier.
"Selene," I whisper. Just to confirm.
He nods. Looks down at the pavement. "I don't want them. I don't. I've tried to push them down ever since I met with her, I tried to ignore them, but they keep coming back and I—I can't spend my whole life wondering what if. I can't lie to you like that."
I close my eyes. I want to un-hear him. Un-know this.
His voice breaks as he steps closer. "But I love you. I love you so much, June. I swear to God, I do."
"Then choose me," I say, barely above a whisper. "Right now. I'm giving you one last chance. Choose me."
He looks at me like I've asked him to slice himself in half. His jaw trembles. His eyes flood. He tries to speak. Doesn't.
That's all the answer I need.
"You don't love me," I say, my voice sharp and quiet. "You know how I know? Because I do." Then my voice breaks and I continue "And I would never have betrayed you like this. Never."
"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to—"
