Page 19 of The Space Between Heartbeats
“Owen, that’s not…What are you saying?”
He moves to push a strand of hair behind my ear, sending a shiver down my arms. “But you didn’t pick him. You picked me.” He smiles and it’s so genuine, so full of gratitude it just about kills me. “And I never take that for granted, Sunny. Not in these last two years together, not for a second.”
Waves of guilt crash over me. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I have no words.
“I know I’m not always exciting. I know I burn pancakes and lose at ring toss and probably talk too much about football stats…”
“Stop.” I press my hands to his chest, finally finding my voice. “You’re perfect. You’re…You’re everything, okay?”
He beams down at me. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” And right now I mean it. How could I not?
He pulls me into a kiss, and it’s sweet and warm and tastes like the cotton candy he ate after lunch. When he pulls back, he’s grinning.
“You know what I was thinking about earlier?”
My pulse speeds up as I wonder what other perfect thing he’s going to say. “What were you thinking about?”
“Us.”
“Really? Us as a concept…That’s pretty vague there, buddy.”
He takes my hand and pulls me along to an empty bench, and I’m grateful for the reprieve from his weighted gaze. I’m barely seated before he goes on.
“We should get a place next month. I know we’ve been holding off until your lease is up, but we’re ready. We’ve been ready for a while. Something small, maybe a fixer-upper…with your student loans and my shitty entry-level salary, we’ll have to see what we can afford, but it’ll be ours.” He starts talking faster, like he’s picturing the two of us as a movie reel in his mind. “We could get one of those tiny balconies, grow herbs or something. You’d probably kill them all, but still.”
I laugh even though my eyes are stinging. “I’m notthatbad with plants.”
“You killed a cactus, Sunny. A cactus.”
“That was one time.”
“It’s literally the hardest plant to kill.” But he’s smiling, and sliding in closer. “And we’ll come back here every summer. Keep up with tradition. And maybe…fuck it. Not maybe…I know I will win you that damn unicorn and it’ll sit in our living room for the rest of our lives.”
“That sounds perfect,” I whisper, and I think I mean it. My chest hurts, and I kind of need to vomit, but shit…does that mean I really do mean it?
He twists to face me and pulls me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear. I rest my head on his shoulder and breathe him in. His cologne mixed with sunscreen and just a tinge of sweat. He smells like comfort.
“I love you, Owen.”
I do and I need him to know it. Again…every day. He needs to know it always.
“I love you too.” He says it like there’s no doubt in the world.
We sit there for a moment, just breathing together, while I try to commit this all to memory. A moment in time that I’m so incredibly lucky and loved, that here, in this place, everything is the way it should be. Even the sound of kids screaming on rides in the distance and the questionably sticky bench we’re sittingon. Even with Knox here getting under my skin, and the looming dinner date with their parents.
I want to keep all of it.
Until his phone buzzes in his pocket, breaking the spell.
“Sorry.” He pulls it out, his brow furrowing as he reads the screen. “It’s Ella.”
“What does she want?”
“She’s asking where we are.” He types something back quickly. “We’re supposed to meet them soon, maybe she wants to meet earlier. Should we go to Velocity?”
The mention of that ride, and by extension, Knox, makes my stomach clench. All those bubbles of happiness I was just experiencing float up into the atmosphere. I shift away from Owen, needing space to breathe.
