Fifty-Four
Stacy
Mae: They’re on the move.
Mae’s text makes my stomach fall out of my ass, my already slick palms beginning to sweat profusely as I nibble on my lower lip and glance around at my surroundings.
I’m standing in a vast, curved dome, in the still darkness that scarily replicates night.
The room is dimly lit solely so that the focus settles on the projection onto the ceiling of the night sky.
I’ve never been in the planetarium before tonight but the scene is breathtaking: pinpricks of light, twinkling whites and blues arranged into different constellations across the dome.
The galaxies, the star clusters, the spots of yellow and bright, colorful clouds of gas, all reflect on a black ceiling that makes the room feel endless.
It’s like I’m actually staring up into space.
Occasionally, a flicker of light will shoot across the black background, simulating a shooting star I would assume, and it’s almost hard to believe I’m inside of a building.
It’s enchanting. It’s captivating. Yet, it does nothing to calm the roar of anxiety in my belly or quiet the buzzing in my ears as I wait for Lily to lead Reece into the dome.
I was pleasantly surprised when Tashia called her best friend and asked her for help getting into the planetarium. Lily hasn’t always been my biggest fan so her willingness to assist really shocked me.
Although, I know she only helped because Tashia called. She’s certainly not doing me any favors. Either way, I’m immensely grateful for Lily and her position as a graduate assistant for an astronomy class that gives her faculty access to the planetarium.
Never thought I’d be grateful for Lily Park. Or Tashia Jenkins for that matter, but here we are.
My pulse is thunderous in my ears as the door to the dome cracks open.
A little bit of light from the hallway filters in along with Lily ushering in a befuddled looking Reece.
She gives me a curt nod before leaving and shutting the door again, shrouding Reece in darkness as I stand a room away from him.
I rock back and forth on my heels as his silhouette approaches, his features just barely illuminated by the faux stars above us.
His expression is unreadable, his brows pulled low and his mouth set in a grim line as he stops up short a couple feet in front of me.
I nibble on my lip before finally whispering, “Hi.”
Reece huffs out a chuckle. “Hello.”
We stand in a deafening silence while Reece takes in his surroundings. He cranes his neck to look up at the ceiling of the dome before his gaze settles back on my face. “Planetarium?”
“Yeah.” I swallow, my throat parched. “The planetarium was where you asked me to be your girlfriend, remember?”
Reece’s lips tick up. “Yeah, but in that story, I was the one who invited you on a date to the planetarium, not the other way around.”
“In that story I hadn’t broken your heart, either,” I choke out, my voice wobbling to match my chin.
The faint humor falls from Reece’s expression as he closes the space between us and cups my face in his hands. His eyes search mine in the dim light, his thumbs stroking soft circles along my jawline as his fingers tangle in the hair at the nape of my neck.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, tears slipping free. “I’m so sorry for hurting you and for pushing you away. Fuck, I’m sorry I’m so messy. I’m sorry—”
“Stop apologizing.”
“But I have a lot of baggage. There’s a lot—”
“And I want to carry it all,” he interrupts me, his voice far more tender than I deserve.
His thumbs move up to my cheeks, stroking away the constant stream of tears.
“Stacy, I don’t want perfect. I don’t want the shiny version of you that you show to everyone else.
I want the real you. The chaotic and beautiful version of you that drives me crazy.
” A faint smile passes over his lips. “Messy means it’s real.
And that’s what I want with you, Stace. I want something real.
While we’re on the topic of apologizing, though, I just want to say that I am so sor—”
“Whatever you’re about to apologize for,” I cut in, reaching up and pressing my index finger to his mouth, “it’s unnecessary. I believe you. I trust you. I love you.”
Reece’s bottom lip quivers as he pulls in a shaky breath. “You know I’m fucking scared,” he whispers.
I nod. “I know. I am, too.”
A tear falls as Reece blinks, my heart cracking as it slides down his cheek. “You can’t walk away from me again. You’ll always be my only choice, angel, but I need that same promise from you, too.”
I nod fervently. “I understand that now. I know I’m your only choice, I know I’m worthy of being your only choice.” I pause to try and clear the lump out of my throat as Reece’s lips quirk up. “You’re it for me. I’m not going anywhere ever again,” I whisper.
A smile unfurls on Reece’s lips before he leans in and brushes his nose against mine.
“I didn’t think it’d be worth it to fall in love again.
But then you happened. When I wasn’t looking, you showed up — and you were exactly what I needed.
You came at the right moment and I didn’t even know I was waiting for you. ”
I bite on my lip to keep it from wobbling as something in my chest cracks open and sews itself back together over and over again. “I think I’m really in love with you,” I whisper so my voice doesn’t break.
Reece’s lips skim against mine and I can feel the smile in his voice as he murmurs, “Against all odds. Me and you.”
Words fail me as I reach up and wrap my arms around Reece’s neck, pulling his lips to mine at the same moment a sob breaks free from my chest. His mouth crushes me, his hands immediately tangling in my curls as his tongue slides against mine.
It’s the kind of kiss where you can’t tell where you end and the other person begins, a chaotic symphony of lips and tongues, teeth and moans.
Reece groans against my mouth before pressing a kiss to my jawline and my whole body starts to sing.
“How much trouble do you think we would get into if we were caught naked in here?” I pant .
Reece pulls back from my jaw, a devilish grin on his mouth as he presses small, soft kisses all over my cheeks and forehead. “I think we might already be ruining Lily’s grad assistantship as is.”
“Hm.” I twist my fingers in Reece’s jacket, pulling him impossibly closer to me as I inhale the woodsy smell on his clothes. It’s a smell I never want to lose again. It belongs to the person I never want to lose again. “I guess we do have people waiting for us outside, huh?”
Reece blows out a noisy breath. “We can make them wait a few more minutes.”
I grin as Reece pulls my lips back to his, slower this time.
An unhurried kiss, as if we haven’t missed out on two months of each other.
It’s a tender touch that reminds me we have a lifetime worth of kisses left, that there’s no reason for us to rush.
His lips are a promise as they move against mine.
I let myself melt under his mouth, his tongue, the way he bites ever so slightly at my bottom lip while his fingers thread through my hair.
It’s a feeling I want forever.
My greedy fingers drop to Reece’s waistband and he pulls back, chuckling as he tilts his forehead to mine. “Why don’t you let me take you home before you start trying to undress me?”
“Okay.” I nod embarrassingly fast before taking a step back. “Oh, but one more thing before we go.”
He cocks his head. “Go on.”
My cheeks flush a little bit as I bite down on my lip. “Will you be my boyfriend?”
Reece throws his head back and howls, carefree laughter filling the dome as he winds his arms around my waist and picks me up. “I kind of thought that was a given.” He spins me around.
“Just answer the question,” I laugh as my feet find solid ground again.
Reece’s smile tilts up on one side as he takes my hands. “Yes, angel. I will be your boyfriend. Your real boyfriend.”
“I’m so glad you said yes or this would’ve been really embarrassing.”
He chortles, throwing his arm around my shoulders to lead me out of the planetarium.
I don’t know what the hell is going to happen when I cross the graduation stage in two months. I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m just a little bit afraid of where I’m headed. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Tashia and Evan, with Reece and his brother, with the future .
But I know I’ve got a constant by my side.