Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 115263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
I prayed that Ana would be by my side. I’d turned down the Denver job to stay close for her. I had that much faith that she would pick me.
She had to.
Just as I sat back in my seat, I watched her make her way down the aisle a few rows back. My chest inflated with hope and happiness, like it was going to explode. She turned in time to catch my smile. I hadn’t seen her in so long, and when I met her blue eyes, the fire exploded inside me, and I fought to sit still and not run to her.
She gave me a tired smile just as she walked past my row. I hated that I probably had something to do with the dark circles under her eyes. It seemed so obvious that she would pick me. We were Anabelle and Kevin. She was my Ana. Always had been, and she always would be.
When the announcer called her name, I made sure I cheered the loudest, letting my love and pride in her outshine the rest.
She was my Ana.
We were meant for each other.
After finally seeing her, my body shook with excitement and anticipation of the ceremony ending. We tossed our caps in the air and were announced as free. With the bare minimum of civility, I moved through people to where I saw her sit. She stood, bent over her chair, gathering her belongings and had just turned when I reached her.
Wrapping my arms around her waist, I lifted her up and hugged her, holding her as close to me as possible. “We did it,” I whispered in her ear, her hair falling to tickle at my lips. I wanted to push it back and kiss her—devour her—and then drag her off to celebrate in a bathroom.
I pulled back to meet her smiling eyes. They sparkled with the same excitement coursing through me. “We did,” she replied.
Setting her feet back on the ground, I stared at her genuine smile. So much different from the hesitant one she gave me earlier. It reached her eyes and warmed my soul. Seeing it, I knew she would pick me, she just needed the right place to tell me. I loved her and I knew she loved me. More than friends. I refused to believe anything else.
Her eyes shifted over my shoulder and she pulled out of my grasp.
“Hey, babe. Congratulations.” Andrew moved past me to Ana and leaned in to kiss her on her lips.
My eyes blinked rapidly as though the sight of his lips on hers would change. My heart clenched, pulling in, trying to protect itself from the pain hammering away at it. I fought a wave of nausea as my stomach bottomed out.
He’d never kissed her in front of me before, and Ana had never let him.
“Hey, Kevin. Congratulations. It’s finally over,” Andrew said, smiling as he threw his arm around Ana’s shoulders. His words held more meaning than the graduation ceremony we’d just finished.
Ana had picked him.
She had picked his normal and his waiting in the wings was finally over because she was his. Not mine.
“Yeah. I guess it is finally over,” I responded, keeping my eyes glued to Ana’s downcast face. She refused to meet my eyes, no matter how much I willed it. I couldn’t stand there anymore. I needed to get the fuck out of there. “I should go find my family.”
I’d turned and made it three steps when a small hand wrapped around my wrist. Turning, I met her glistening eyes, pleading with me to forgive her. I didn’t know if I ever could. My heart hammered so hard in my chest, it pumped through my veins and the whoosh was the only sound in my head, making everything else a blur. Her soft skin skimmed down my hand and linked her pinky with mine, sending a shard of pain into me. A nail in the coffin of what we’d never have.
“We’re going out to eat later,” her voice wavered, “to celebrate graduation. My mom and everyone. I’d love for you to come.”
Taking a deep breath, I scanned her face. Her blond wavy hair pouring out of her cap and flowing over her shoulders. Her dark eyebrows over her gray-blue eyes. Her long nose resting over her perfect cupid’s bow, the perfect match for her overly full bottom lip. It trembled when I said nothing.
With a final squeeze, I pulled my hand out from hers, unlatching our final connection.
“I don’t think so. I’m probably going to hang out with Will and my parents.”
The sheen that covered her eyes grew until it spilled over, running down her cheeks, “Kev . . .”
This was goodbye. I couldn’t stand by, being her friend, and watch the woman I love be with someone else. She couldn’t move past the shame she felt about her desires, even though she never denied it with me.