Page 135 of Jace

“I’mnotleaving you.”

“So you said.”

“I mean it. I didn’t… You’re right. You’re always right. You’re my dream as well. I wasn’t thinkingstraight…It’s all happening so fucking fast.”

He spears his fingers through my hair, bringing my face close to his, and kisses me with a compassion that makes me breathless. I hold on to his wrists, fingers clenching, as his lips move over mine ever so slowly, mapping out every damn part of me. Like he wants to remember every detail.

I want to remember as well.

Because tomorrow, he’ll have to. Tonight, I’ll leave.

And I don’t know when we’ll see each other again.

I hold on tighter, pouring everything that I am into this kiss, into this touch, trying to tell him how freaking sorry I am for hurting him, trying to tell him with every move of my lips.

I vow to myself to never make that mistake again.

“I’m sorry,” I apologize again, pushing my brow against his. “I’m so freaking sorry for freaking out.”

“It’s okay,” my man says, holding on to my chin and lifting my gaze to his, a steely determination in those deep brown eyes. “You said when we first kissed that you were afraid to fuck-up at some point. Consider this the fuck-up, okay? But no morepulling back from me from now on. I mean it, Jace, I’min.You’reitfor me. I don’t care if you’re five thousand miles away, I’ll always come back to you.”

It’s not my Ty who’s looking back at me now. It’sTyler King, the quarterback. The resilient, head-strong, force of a man who can conquer anything that life throws at him.

“I’m in, too,” I answer softly. “We can do this,” I say, my voice more convincing now.

He squints in determination. “Yes. Wecan, okay? We should at leasttry.”

I nod. I nod so hard. “Yes, I promise. No, fuck that, Ivowto you that I’ll make this work.”

He gives me my favorite dimpled grin, eyes twinkling with so much love. “You vow?”

“Yeah.” I press my lips to his in a whisper of a kiss, my feet delving deeper in the sand, the breeze of the ocean ruffling my hair. “I vow it to the sea, the sand and the sun.”

“Ah, the holy trifecta of our surfer hearts,” he muses.

“Nah. Ilikesurfing. Iloveyou.” I hold his wrists tighter. “I have a Tyler-heart, not a surfer-heart.”

“So corny,” he murmurs, before dipping his head and capturing my lips in an all consuming, overwhelming kiss. “And I have a Jace-heart. I love you, too, babe. Never forget that you’re part of my dream.”

“And you’re part of mine,” I promise against his lips before getting lost in his touch once again.

We’re going to try. We’re going todothis. We’re going to dream together.

So with Tyler's lips on mine, I silentlyvowto him. The sea, sand and sun my witnesses. I vow to our future. I vow to our dreams entwined.

I vow to us.

The End