by Violet Paige
“Beau, I am telling you right now that this is what I want. You are who I want. I was wrong before. I get it. I pushed you away. It was as if I couldn’t get out of my own way or something. Can’t you just give me a chance to show you?”
“No. I can’t. It doesn’t matter that I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “The semester started off as fun, I liked showing you new things, and I laughed every time you crept out of your comfort zone. How could I not fall in love with you, London?”
“But—” I was trying to sort through what he was saying. My heart was stuck on the fact that he had just said he was in love with me.
He continued. “But, loving you and wanting you isn’t going to change the reality. You’re moving three thousand miles away and I’m not going to have a single break in the first year of law school. We’ll never see each other. We’ll be lucky if we get to talk on the phone. And you don’t deserve that. I can’t do that to you. So, I’m out. I know I said it weeks ago, but now that we’re actually going to have distance between us, I can finally stick to my word, because anytime I’m near you, I can’t trust myself not to—”
I didn’t let him finish. I didn’t want one more word building a wall between us. I threw my arms around his neck and jumped toward him so that my lips landed square on his mouth. Beau wasn’t ready for my full throttle tackle. His feet slipped as he grabbed me around the waist, taking us both to the grassy ground.
I looked over Beau’s shoulder. The circle of onlookers began clapping and throwing wolf whistles. Beau started laughing.
“London, what am I going to do with you?”
“Kiss me.”
“Didn’t you hear anything I just said?” He was attempting to sit up. “Nothing is different except now I know you can tackle.” He rested on his elbows.
“I heard you. But you are so wrong. Everything is different. I am in love with you, Beau, and I am absolutely not letting you break up with me again.”
“Really? You can rewrite the future?”
“If that’s what I have to do, then yes. I will rewrite anything you want. We are not over.”
“Is that so?” His eyes sparkled and he was grinning.
“It is.” I gently pushed on his shoulders and let my hair fall around his face before pressing my mouth into his. The rest of the quad faded from my view. All I remember was Beau’s warm lips and his arms holding me against his body for all of campus to see.
“How much popcorn are you popping in there?” Beau called from the living room.
“It’s the finale. Nina is watching with us and it’s three hours long. We need snacks.”
“Three hours of this Love Match crap? I didn’t know that’s what I was signing up for when I said I would watch it with you tonight. You know the project is over. We don’t actually have to watch the show anymore.” Beau grabbed the heaping bowls of popcorn from my hands and set them on the coffee table. “There are so many other things we could do tonight.” His hands gripped my waist and he pulled me on top of him. He began working the straps of my tank top down my shoulder with his teeth.
“So, was it worth an entire semester of dating me to get that A?” He kissed just below my ear, pressing his mouth into the side of my neck.
It took me a second to regain control of my thoughts. “Um hmm. Definitely worth all of the terrible things I had to endure.”
“Good.” His hand slipped down the back of my shorts causing me to arch forward. He growled into my neck and I could feel his muscles tightening. “I can think of a few other things we haven’t tried yet this semester.”
“Beau! Nina is going to be here any minute.” I laughed, while fighting the fire building under my skin. It would only take him a minute to dissuade me completely from watching the show. Admittedly, I wanted him to carry me to my room and abandon our TV plans. Wrapping myself up in Beau was so much better.
“You know I can’t keep my hands off you.” He was slowly sneaking his other hand under the front of my shirt.
Maybe just a minute wouldn’t hurt. I closed my eyes and rolled my head to the side as he pressed under the edges of my lacy bra.
“Ok. Ok.” He unlocked my legs from his hips and lifted me from his lap. “But, as soon as it ends, you’re mine for the rest of the night. Deal?” He reached for a handful of popcorn.
I sighed, wanting to plant his hands back under my shirt. This would be a long three hours. “Deal.” I pouted.
Within seconds, I heard the familiar rattle of Nina’s keys in the door. “Hey, y’all. I made it just in time.”
“Yep. Just in time.” Beau smiled at her. I nudged him with my elbow.
She dropped into the open recliner. “Can you believe it’s the finale? How cool is it that we’re watching it together? I mean, this show is responsible for bringing you two together. And by two degrees of separation, it’s responsible for Austin and me being together.” She beamed.
Nina and Austin had spent every weekend seeing each other since I had schemed for Nina’s help on the hometown date. They didn’t seem to mind the weekend drives and the phone calls every night. Nina hadn’t said much about what she would do after graduation, but I had a feeling Austin’s zip code was in her job search area.
The front door breezed open again. “Do you have room for two more?” Candace smiled, pulling Pearce into the living room with her.
“Sure. We didn’t know you were coming home.” I hopped up from the couch to hug Candace. “I can’t believe you two came to watch with us.”
“Well, the London James and Beau Anderson Love Match story is kind of famous. We had to be with you when you watched the finale together.”
“That’s so sweet, Candace.”
The towering football player looked uncomfortable by the front door. Watching Love Match was probably something he had never done. I nodded at Beau.
“Hey, man, I’m Beau.” He reached out to shake the wide receiver’s hand. “Want a beer?”
I saw the look of relief spread across Pearce’s face. “Definitely. Thanks, man. Nice to meet you. I’m a huge fan of your blog. I’m down to just a few things on my bucket list.” He followed Beau into the kitchen. I laughed. If only Pearce knew how much Beau admired his stats and skills on the football field.
Candace gave me a “thank you” smile before settling in on the end of the couch. I would have to ask her later how she convinced Pearce to give up a Monday night for our favorite dating show.
Nina squealed, “It’s on! It’s on.”
I turned up the volume just as the rose petals drifted across the screen. I smiled. Beau returned, with a beer in hand, sat on the couch, and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I snuggled closer to him.
“Hello, I’m Mitch Henderson and welcome to the finale of Love Match.”
Tails California
Epilogue
It was hard enough to keep my hands from shaking let alone make sure I wasn’t sandwiched between five cars on the interstate as I raced to the airport. L.A. traffic was supposed to be terrible, that was all part of the allure. Right now, it was making me a nervous wreck.
My turn signal blinked rapidly as I cautiously veered into the far right-hand lane. After one month of the traffic, smog, and fast-paced city life, I was starting to feel at home in the City of Angels and less like a fish out of water.
The apartment my parents moved me into after graduation wasn’t much. I had a kitchenette-living room combination and a bedroom that accommodated my bed and a three-drawer dresser. I had become especially creative about how to organize my shoes. It helped that I didn’t have to haul my sweater collection across the country.
I checked the rearview mirror one more time before merging onto the exit and spiraling into another stream of cars. I had plenty of time before Beau’s flight arrived, but I wanted to park and meet him inside baggage claim. It’s not everyday your boyfriend moves from one coast to the other to be with you.
&nb
sp; I grinned, thinking about the journey Beau and I had been on since January: a series of fake dates followed by real dates, and then a handful of confusing breakup dates, and then the best part—all the makeup dates. I giggled remembering the lengths I went to, to get him back.
I found an open parking space and shifted the car into park. This was it. Our real journey was about to begin. I took a deep breath, shook my hands, and marched into LAX.
Passengers scuttled by like ants. I watched warm embraces and smiles as families collected their loved ones by the baggage carousels. I couldn’t believe we were actually doing this. Beau was moving to L.A. into my tiny shoebox apartment and I was here to take him home. Home.
I’m not sure whose parents were more upset when he decided to forego law school: his or mine. We both knew his heart was never in it, but Beau needed to admit that to himself. I wasn’t there when he broke the news to his mother. I can only imagine she wasn’t thrilled that her only child was giving up law school to pursue a job in California. It was probably best I wasn’t there.
I glanced up at the arrival screen. Next to flight 752 from RDU, the word “landed” flashed. I bit my bottom lip. He was here. Beau was in California.
The day I tackled Beau in the quad, I was determined with every fiber in my five-foot being never to let that boy get away. Sure, kissing him was unbelievable, but without his arms wrapped around me, nothing made any sense. With him, I could take chances I never thought were possible. I tried new things and I saw old things in a completely different light. I knew I couldn’t live with three thousand miles between us. Lucky for me, he couldn’t either.
Neither one of us wanted to admit to the other that at twenty-two-years-old and fresh out of college, we were willing to give up everything for a match rivaled only by reality TV.
In my first thirty days in the Golden State, I had already landed two jobs as an extra. Spending an entire day waiting around to drink a cup of coffee over and over again wasn’t my ideal role, but it led to something much bigger—a speaking part in a pilot. I had been cast as the neighbor for two male roommates who were trying to make it as comedians in New York. The show was called Laugh Mates. No one even knew if the pilot would get picked up, but I didn’t care. I had one foot in the Hollywood door and was starting to make connections.
On our last night at Carolina, Beau surprised me with a re-creation of our planetarium date. Beau’s words from our rooftop date still echoed in my ear, “London, this project changed me. You changed me. I always talked a lot about living my dreams, but I wouldn’t be doing it if I hadn’t met you.”
His eyes were warm and playful, making it hard to concentrate on what he was trying to tell me. “I’ve made a decision.”
“A decision? What do you mean?”
“I’m moving to California.”
“You’re what?” The champagne in my glass sloshed over the side as my arms flew around his neck.
“Yeah, I can’t stay in North Carolina if you’re not here.”
“Are you serious? We don’t have to do the whole long distance thing?” I probably sounded like Nina squealing at the top of the stargazing perch.
“I’m serious. No long distance. I can’t stand to be away from you. I learned that the hard way.” His hands tangled in my hair as he pulled me closer in his lap.
“What about law school?”
He grinned. “Law school? I’m going to be a consultant for an outdoor equipment company. I’ll be testing out gear and working with adventure sports centers to give them the best recommendations. Who needs law school?”
I couldn’t think of a better fit for my adventurous boyfriend. “Beau, that’s amazing. When did you find out about it? I can’t believe you haven’t mentioned this.”
He stared directly in my eyes. “Truth?” I nodded lightly. “I’ve been applying for jobs in California for months.”
“Months?” If that meant what I thought it did, Beau had been planning on moving the entire time we were broken up—he had never given up on us.
“I didn’t want to say anything until I actually had something I could tell you about. I just found out today I got the job. I start next month. So tonight is about celebrating, not saying good-bye.”
I crushed my lips against his. “I’m so happy right now.”
He growled into my ear. “Me too.” His hands began nimbly releasing the buttons on my shirt. “You know, there’s something I’ve always wanted to do with you on this rooftop.”
I giggled. “Why don’t you show me?”
That was a month ago. Today, I watched as more passengers emerged from their gates into baggage claim. I was convinced everyone had gone into snail mode. I wanted to shuttle them out of the way. Then, I saw him. He smiled from the other side of the room and I took off running in a full sprint. I didn’t care about the rose in his hand or the backpack weighing him down. He was here.
“Hey, movie star.” He smiled as he engulfed me and swept me into his arms. My legs wrapped around him and I kissed him with every breath I had. All I ever needed and wanted was right here.
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