Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
Clouds coat the Bannport sky, threatening rain, as I shut the cab door behind me.
The streets are quiet. Nobody knows I’m here, standing in front of The Lair. Not even Travis, because I wanted this to be a surprise. A part of me was and still is afraid of his reaction when he sees me. He did say he’d always be there for me, but what if?—
No.
I’m here because I want to be. I can’t control how he’s going to react to me. What Charlie, Sandra, Jude, and everyone else in this town will say when they see Allison Buccieri.
I spoke my truth. This is who I am. This is what happened to me. If people have an opinion on it, it has nothing to do with me. And honestly? Even attempting to control the narrative sounds exhausting.
Life is uncertain, but I’ve learned to find the beauty in the unplanned. To appreciate the puzzle pieces falling into place at their own rhythm without having to force them to fit.
With that thought in mind, I push the door open and instantly revel in the familiar voices that filter through it.
“I’m telling you, boss. This is my best idea yet.”
Charlie’s words are followed by an unmistakable grunt. “I’ve heard this before.”
“A pool tournament will bring us new customers,” Charlie argues. “People my age too. You know, a new kind of crowd.”
“We don’t need new customers,” Travis argues back.
They’re standing near the kitchen at the back. Neither has noticed me.
“I know we don’t need them, but it’d still be good for business. I’ll organize everything. You won’t have to lift a finger.”
“Sounds good to me,” Jude says. Is Sandra in there somewhere too?
Their shift has already ended, so the bar is empty when I walk in. Holding my breath—not that I can breathe that well in the first place—my voice doesn’t shake when I say, “Hey, guys.”
Everything stops as the three men in front of me turn their heads.
Jude gapes.
Charlie blinks.
And Travis…
Travis smiles. A devastating, beautiful smile I want to see every day for the rest of my life.
“Holy fucking shit,” Charlie breathes out.
Before I know it, he’s wrapping his arms around me in a sealing hug. Not even a second later, my feet leave the sticky floor as he spins me around.
“You’re really here. Holy fucking fuck,” he says as he sets me back down, only to stare at me with a mixture of amazement and breathlessness.
“I am here,” I confirm, my smile still in place because this is where I want to be. Where my heart has begged me to come back to.
“Sandra!” Jude bellows before he takes a step forward, then another, and another—that’s when I notice his glassy eyes. “Come here, girl.”
It’s not a request he needs to repeat.
Jude hugs me tightly, as if attempting to glue all my broken pieces back together. “We’re so proud of you,” he mutters into my hair. “So, so proud. We had no idea what you’d gone through. God…”
A gasp makes me lift my head from the comfort of Jude’s shoulder. I barely have time to react before Sandra is hugging me too.
“Oh, sweetie,” she says. “You should’ve told us. We would’ve never blamed you for it. Never , Allie. You’re a survivor.”
“I’m sorry.” I choke up, their collective hug finally managing to break me. “I’m so sorry I lied to you. You didn’t deserve it.”
“Shush,” Sandra says. “None of that. We aren’t mad at you. We all wanted you to come back.”
“Especially that big guy over there,” Jude whispers playfully in my ear as they both let me go.
My eyes land on Travis then, as tall and imposing as I remember.
During those five weeks I remained in Los Angeles, we spoke on the phone some nights, texted a little bit throughout the day too… and learned that neither of us are big on calls or texts. We didn’t force ourselves to contact each other daily, and it was fine. Because I knew he’d be waiting for me when I was ready. I knew he’d keep his promise to me, just like I’d kept mine to the sky.
“Hi,” I say shyly.
His smirk kills me. “Hey, sweetheart.”
“I think this is our cue, people,” Charlie chimes in, throwing me a wink. “Allie, please tell us everything later, okay? You two, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
I roll my eyes at him at the same time as Sandra grabs my arm and asks me in that motherly voice I’ve missed so much, “You’re staying for good, aren’t you?”
There are no doubts in my mind when I say, “Yes. For good.”
For good . Nothing has never sounded more right.
“Then that’s worth a welcome back party,” Jude suggests.
Charlie gasps dramatically. “Jude? Suggesting we throw a party? Quick, someone check if pigs are flying outside.”
“Respect your elders, boy,” Jude chastises him, but he’s smiling.
“Yes, sir. Wouldn’t dream of ever offending you, sir.”
Sandra chuckles. “Let’s get out of Travis’s and Allie’s hair, yeah? See you lovebirds tomorrow.”
A blush creeps up my cheeks at her words, but weirdly enough, I don’t feel self-conscious. Travis and I… make sense. Despite our age difference and our opposing personalities, he complements me in every way. I’d like to think I complement him too.
Being with him is easy, familiar, and right . And so, when the door closes behind our co-workers and friends, I don’t waste another second.
He catches me with ease as I throw myself into his arms, breathing him in. Standing on my tiptoes with my arms around his neck, I pull him closer until there’s no space between us.
The way I want him, the way I need him, is beyond anything else I’ve ever experienced before. And it’s time I let him know.
I’ve already wasted too much time hiding who I really am and what I truly want. I refuse to waste any more.
“I love you,” I breathe out. “I love you so much, Travis. I’m ready for this. For us . I’ll have bad days, and I can’t promise I’ll be happy and cheery all the time, but I’m done waiting. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and only you.”
He wipes away a tear I hadn’t noticed. The love shining in his eyes fills my heart, my soul, every fiber of my being.
“I love you too, sweetheart. More than I’ve ever loved anyone else. I’ll always be here for you, Allie. On your good and bad days. You’re it for me. Until the day I take my last goddamn breath.”
I let out a throaty chuckle, smiling through the tears that have started to fall. “Oh, no way. You’re stuck with me forever. That includes the afterlife.”
He brushes his nose against mine. “Is our next life included too?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good.”
The world turns quiet for the next two seconds. And on the third, his lips find mine as if we’d kissed a thousand times before.
His hands rove over my back as his mouth moves in sync with mine, devouring me in the sweetest yet most possessive way. And when he tears his lips from mine, he starts kissing his way down my neck in a slow way that has my knees buckling.
Travis can say whatever he wants—that he has trouble identifying his feelings, that he struggles with voicing them—and I believe him, of course I do. But I don’t need flowery love confessions to know what he feels for me is raw and true. I don’t need grand gestures or pretty words when life has taught me that actions are all that matter.
And Travis? He shows me every day that I matter. That I deserve to take up space. That I’m lovable. For me, that’s enough.
“I’m so fucking in love with you,” he mutters against my skin as he kisses his way back up to my mouth—and all right, it feels incredible to hear it too.