by M. L. Young
“How are you feeling about it?” he asked.
“Nervous I’ll fail,” I said.
“Don’t talk like that, you know you’ll do great. Those kids are so lucky to have you, and they don’t even have you yet,” he said.
“I guess it’s all for the final goal, though. That center will be the best place anywhere one day,” I said, my eyes lighting up.
“You still really want to do that, huh?” he asked.
“Of course, it’s my life goal and passion. I would get to help kids the way I want to, without the restrictions of some bosses or whatever. I feel like I know how to help them most effectively,” I said.
“Who knows, maybe it’ll come sooner than you think. Life has a funny way of working out sometimes,” he said with a smile.
“What are we doing for my last day of freedom?” I asked.
“Disneyland?” he asked.
“I’ve never been there!” I said, perking up.
“We can do it all. I got us a tour guide so we can be taken to the front of the rides,” he said.
“Can I get a picture with Goofy?” I asked.
“Uh, sure, but why him?” he asked.
“I’m in love with him, don’t you know that? Since I was a kid I always wanted to be Mrs. Goofy,” I said.
“Learn something new about you every day, but somehow this one doesn’t surprise me. You are pretty goofy, you know,” he said.
“Look who’s talking, Mr. Face Mask,” I said, giggling.
“Hey! You told me to get them and made me use them!” he exclaimed.
“Just saying, you didn’t have to accept,” I said, and he ran around the kitchen counter and grabbed me, wrapping his arms around me and quickly kissing my neck over and over.
“Stop! That tickles,” I said, laughing.
“Yeah yeah, I bet it does,” he said.
I watched him as he made breakfast, really looked at him, and I felt good about my decision. I’d thought about it and him since we got back together, but three months had passed and nothing bad had even come close to happening. “How are you dealing with the Asian tour coming up?” I asked.
Kai had finished Europe, going almost immediately after that party, and never had any problems. He even had tracking and check-ins just to prove to everybody he was good, which I appreciated. His willingness to prove his sobriety just made me trust him even more. Besides, Percy was pretty dictator-like with him anyway, and that helped.
“It’ll be hard being away from you, but it’s only ten shows,” he said.
“How long will you be gone?” I asked.
“Three and a half weeks, I think. We have some leisure days in there,” he said, sucking some jelly off his thumb.
“Well, I’ll miss you,” I said.
“Miss you more,” he said.
•••
As the day came to an end and we stayed in the park watching the fireworks, I held on tight to him, not wanting to let go no matter how much I knew our lives were once again going to change tomorrow.
I wanted so badly to teleport back in time, to go to that hill under that water tower and tell that little girl things would get better. Maybe I wouldn’t have believed myself, or maybe I would’ve just out of sheer hope, but I wanted her to know things do get better.
I’d faced a lot of setbacks and challenges in my life, at least so far, but I never gave up on anything and always powered through them. I looked up at Kai, and he looked back down at me, before we kissed as the fireworks barked through the streets. I rested my head against his shoulder, his arm around me, and relished this moment with him. Things wouldn’t always be easy, but easy isn’t always worth it.
I was happy.
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About the Author
M.L. Young is a New Adult Romance author currently residing in northern Illinois. When not writing, she enjoys horseback riding, sewing, and dreaming about the hot guys she writes about in her books.
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