Stay With Me

by Kerber, Abigail

  “Lucky guess,” he laughed as he watched me walked toward him. “Or maybe I’ve been waiting here every night for the last week.”

  “You haven’t!” I exclaimed. “Have you?”

  Ty shrugged. “If I had, you’d be worth it.”

  Meeting him in the middle of the candles, I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you too, baby.” He smiled as he moved his hands to my waist and pulled me in closer. “I am glad that you don’t need your escape place as often as when we first met. That gives me a little more confidence.”

  Ty traced his thumb across my jawline and down my neck. His lips met mine and the soft kiss was quickly filled with a passion that left us both breathless. Pulling me down next to him on the bleachers, he pulled away, but left his forehead leaned against mine.

  “We might both flunk out of college next year if you keep kissing me like that,” he laughed as he ran his fingers through my hair.

  “If we flunk out, we’ll just have more time to kiss,” I smiled as I climbed onto his lap and wrapped my hands around the back of his neck. “That wouldn’t be so bad.”

  He shifted to the right and dug something out of his pocket. “So, I was waiting here to ask you a question.”

  “Oh yeah,” I laughed as we rocked back into a sitting position.

  “Well, there is this dance coming up,” he winked. “I hear it’s a pretty big deal in this small town. I wondered if you would go with me.”

  “Are you asking me to the Winter Formal?” I teased.

  “Will you go with me?” he asked with all seriousness in his voice.

  “I’ve been dying for you to ask me,” I said as I kissed his lips. “Of course I’ll go with you.”

  He seemed to relax as he kissed me.

  Pulling back, I looked into his eyes, “You bought the tickets before we got back together. Were you always going to ask me?”

  “How did you know I bought the tickets?” he questioned. “Were you spying on me?”

  “I’m in charge of the dance,” I laughed. “I have the list of who bought tickets.”

  “Of course you do,” he shrugged and kissed my cheek. “I was hoping for the best. Plus, I figured since I warned every other guy not to ask you, I would be your only option left.”

  “I wondered why no one had asked me,” I laughed. “I should have known.”

  “I do have one other question.” He fidgeted as he moved to hold my hands in his. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Bailey. I know you’re the one for me, and you’re the reason I ended up here in the middle of nowhere.”

  I felt my chest tighten and my eyes fill with tears when I saw Ty hold up a small black box. “It’s not an engagement ring.” He looked into my eyes. “It’s more of a promise ring. A promise that we will be together, and build our future together no matter what else comes our way.”

  Opening the box, I could see a small gold band in the candlelight. Tears filled my eyes as I watched him take the ring from the box and gently grab my left hand.

  “Will you wear this ring as a promise?” he asked. “A promise that we will stay with each other and love each other in the months and years to come.”

  Wiping my eyes, I had to clear my throat before I could talk. “I will.”

  I watched in awe as he slowly slid the ring on my finger.

  “I love you, baby,” he whispered as he kissed the ring on my hand. “I knew the first time I saw you run by my house that you were the one for me. I can’t explain it any other way. If we can make it through this year, we can make it through anything.”

  “I love you too,” I whispered back as I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. “We will make it through anything that comes our way. For now, though, we need to find you a tie that matches my dress.”

  5 Months Later…

  I pulled groceries from plastic bags and placed them in our small refrigerator and cramped cabinets, smiling as I realized that our tiny apartment was beginning to feel like home.

  Ty and I had officially lived in Providence, Rhode Island, for one month. We had left Milton within days of graduation, and despite my best judgment, I’d agreed to move into a small one-bedroom apartment with Ty. I knew it was the right decision for us, and with each picture we hung on the wall, I was enjoying the fact that we lived together even more.

  Looking forward to beginning our college careers at Brown in the fall, we were becoming accustomed to our surroundings and enjoying the mild summers the North had to offer.

  Connor and Lexy had both been accepted at Oklahoma State University and were busy deciding which fraternity and sorority they should join in the fall. I smiled as I passed the picture on our wall that showed me and Lexy holding the State Championship basketball trophy that previous spring. We had done it. Winning by an incredible twenty-seven points, we had defeated the team that had taken our trophy the year before.

  Lexy liked to remind me during our weekly Skype sessions that Ty had, in fact, edged me out for valedictorian. Due to the fact that I was living with the hottest guy on the planet, who also happened to be the love of my life, I didn’t let the past news bother me.

  Ty was a few blocks away at the gym when I heard a knock at the front door. Skipping across the room, I smiled at the obviously pregnant woman that stood on the other side of the open door.

  “Can I help you?” I asked, thinking she must have the wrong door.

  “Yes, is Ty Jacobs home?” the small but swollen woman asked as she looked past me.

  “No, he’s out right now.” I stared at her face, wondering why she looked so familiar. “Can I help you with something?”

  “I’m guessing you are Bailey.” The woman rolled her eyes as if my name left a bad taste in her mouth. “I’m Andrea.”

  Ty’s ex-girlfriend from Detroit.

  What was she doing here? She looked like she would go into labor at any moment, and I was almost convinced she should be at the hospital instead of on our doorstep.

  “Do you want to come in?” I offered with a polite smile. “You could sit down for a while.”

  “No,” she shook her head. “I just had a message for Ty. Can you give him this letter for me?” She pulled an envelope from her large, red purse and handed me the paper.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked, trying to get more information from her.

  “It will be,” she simply replied. “Tell Ty I’m sorry. I’m about eight months late on the message, but I still thought he should know. My number is in there, so he can call me.”

  I watched as Andrea turned and attempted to walk normally down the hall and toward our exit. What did she mean by eight months too late? Shutting the door, I sunk into the oversized chair in our living room. Counting back, I realized Ty’s dad was in the hospital eight months ago. That’s also the last time that he saw Andrea. Eight months ago was when we spent a week without talking while he was in Detroit.

  I sat paralyzed as I counted again the months that had passed since that time and compared them to how pregnant I thought Andrea was. There was no way. He said nothing had happened. Surely there was some other reason she was here.

  I stayed in the chair for what seemed like hours. I was still holding the piece of paper when I heard the key turn in the lock and saw the door open from the corner of my eye.

  I could hear Ty walking toward me. He had no idea what had happened. He had no idea what thoughts were running through my head. He had no idea that our perfect plan for attending Brown University and living together were about to crumble beneath us.

  “Hey baby,” he smiled as he leaned down and kissed my mouth. “How was your day?”

  I couldn’t reply with words. Instead, I handed him the envelope and waited on his reaction.

  I would like to thank my husband, John, for the few words you spoke that eventually led to me completing this novel. While walking through Rome in 2012, you simply said, “Life is short and most of what we do on this earth will be forg
otten. In the end, careers don’t really matter, but authors… They leave something behind that will be remembered forever.” And so my writing journey began…

  Thank you to my parents, Billy and Sandra Irvin. You taught me at a young age that hard work was the key to achieving my goals. Thank you for your endless support.

  Thank you Sarah Dosher for allowing me to follow in your footsteps. You have boldly paved the way as an author and have encouraged me to turn my never ending thoughts into a story line. Without you, this novel would still be a dream.

  Thank you Jason Stephenson. You are one of the first people I confessed to that I was writing a novel, and you have been a source of encouragement since that conversation. Your feedback throughout this process is what kept this novel on the right course. Thank you for spending so much time with my characters. Cousin Club for life!

  Thank you Cody and Rachel Smith. The time and energy you spent reviewing my mess of a Word document blew me away. Your thoughts and suggestions shaped this novel into what it is today and I cannot say thank you enough. You are simply the best!

  Thank you Brandie Humphrey and Amy Cook. You took the time to read my thoughts before they were published and provide feedback. I appreciate every minute you spent with Ty and Bailey.

  Thank you Jennifer Roberts-Hall with Indie After Hours. I could not have completed this novel without you. You are an editing genius and transformed my run on sentences into something worth reading. Thank you!

  Thank you Tracy McMurphy with Dream Designs and Angela McLaurin with Fictional Formats. The outside and inside of this novel are beautiful because of you.

  Last but not least, thank you to everyone who has encouraged me along this journey. This has been an incredible experience, and I hope to provide you with more fictional fun in the future.

  Stay With Me is the debut novel by Abigail Kerber.

  Kerber is an Oklahoma native who received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism and Broadcasting from Oklahoma State University in 2005. Beyond her passion for writing, Kerber and her husband enjoy traveling and spending time with their growing family.

  Kerber currently resides in Oklahoma City with her husband, two sons and dog.

  www.abigailkerber.com

  www.facebook.com/AuthorAbigailKerber