The tears come faster now. I squeeze my eyes shut, gripping the phone tighter.
God, this is the worst night ever.Opening my eyes, I realize I’m still in the lobby. I fumble for the button, pushing for the sixth floor.
I don’t even remember walking down the hallway. But when the door to our apartment slams shut behind me, my cry rips through the empty space. Rain and tears soak my face as I drop my stuff in the middle of the entryway and drift toward the living room, numb.
I collapse onto the sofa, a guttural moan tearing from my throat—one I’ve been holding in since the cab ride home. I fold my arms over my knees and press my forehead against them.
Holy shit. I can’t breathe.
The weight of it all—Jensen, Adam’s call, life. It’s crushing me.
I force myself to sit up, dialing Jensen one more time, knowing he won’t answer. I’m sent straight to voicemail.
“Hi, you’ve reached Jensen Adams. You know what to do.”
I scream. A raw, monstrous sound shreds out of me as my phone flies from my hand, crashing into the wall.
“FUUUUCK! ”
The voice isn’t mine. It’s unrecognizable—angry, broken, shrill. And most definitely crazy.
I gasp for air, but my lungs refuse to work. My heart pounds, hammering in my ears. I slide off the couch, onto the floor, and lie on my back. Panic grips me, sinking its claws in, and my chest tightens. My body forgets how to work, every muscle locked, nerves firing with no sense of direction, wild and out of control.
I shudder as the sobs wrack my body. Everything feels like it’s slipping away—noise, touch, my surroundings.
Jensen.
Chapter Thirteen
JENSEN
THEN—THREE YEARS AGO
OCTOBER
I slidemy arms into my shirt jacket, rolling the sleeves up a couple times before heading to the guest bedroom closet where the small box is hidden. I pick it up, its weight nothing compared to the enormity of what it represents—our future.
I open it one last time, giving it a long look. A lump forms in my throat, emotion rising as I picture slipping it onto Alley’s dainty finger. The love I feel for her—it’s overwhelming. I always wanted this but never truly imagined it happening until now.
My mind flashes back to the first time I told her I loved her. How it hadn’t been planned and it just slipped out. I asked her to move in with me after that. Now, here we are, eighteen months later, two years since we met, and everything is about to change in the best possible way.
Grinning, I snap the box shut, the sound echoing off the bare walls, pulling me back to the afternoon ahead.
“Jensen?” Alley’s voice carries through the house.
I shove the box into my pocket. It bulges slightly, but not enough to be obvious.
“There you are.” Alley says, stepping into the guest room as I walk out of the closet. “What are you doing in here?”
“Oh, I was just looking for something, but I can’t find it,” I lie.
My gaze travels down her body, my grin giving away every thought of how goddamn beautiful she is.
I’m taking her to a football game today, her first ever. Matt hooked us up with the suite. Honestly, I don’t have a detailed plan for the proposal. I didn’t want it to feel staged or rehearsed. Alley’s so chill; she’d hate some big, cheesy production. She’d want something real, something meaningful.
And football? Fuck, football is what proved how much Alley loved me. It’s what made me fall even deeper in love with her. It doesn’t sound romantic, but for us, it is.
“You ready?” She slides her arms inside my jacket, wrapping them around my waist, and kisses me.
