Chapter 40 - A Choice, Properly #3
tomorrow
Then Chloe:
you okay?
I stared at that longer.
Finally—
not really
Pause.
Then—
but i will be
Chloe:
okay
No joke.
Thank God.
Then Jane:
love you
Fuck.
love you too
Sunday, coffee.
Jane and Chloe.
I told them.
No play-by-play.
No kiss report.
Just—
"Celeste and I stopped dating."
Jane's face softened immediately.
"Oh."
Chloe looked at me.
"You okay?"
I shook my head slightly.
Then—
"Getting there."
Jane reached across the table and squeezed my hand.
No teasing.
No roster.
No final two.
Thank God.
After a while, Chloe asked—
"You chose Tori?"
"Not yet."
Jane frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I ended one thing because I knew I wasn't choosing it."
I took a breath.
"That's different from saying yes to another."
Both stayed quiet.
Then Chloe nodded.
"Yeah."
No joke this time.
Just—
yeah.
Monday.
I worked.
Actually worked.
Six PM—
I left.
No hiding inside the business.
Important.
Tuesday afternoon, I messaged Tori.
dinner tonight?
Three dots.
date?
I smiled.
yes
Then—
serious conversation?
Fuck her.
yes
Pause.
okay. 7?
yes
Dinner felt different immediately.
Tori didn't push.
Didn't ask before I was ready.
We ate.
Talked.
Then after—
walked.
Of course.
Apparently relationships were built through post-meal cardio.
Eventually, I stopped.
Tori stopped too.
I looked at her.
"I stopped seeing Celeste."
Her expression changed.
Not happy.
Not relieved.
Just attentive.
"Okay."
"She didn't do anything wrong."
"I didn't think she did."
"I don't want you thinking I chose you because she failed."
"I don't."
Good.
I took a breath.
"It hurt."
Tori looked at me.
"I figured."
"I really liked her."
"I know."
"I'm probably going to be sad about it for a while."
Tori nodded.
"Okay."
That mattered.
No insecurity.
No—
then maybe you're not ready.
Just room for something real to have mattered before her.
Then I said—
"But none of that changed my answer."
Tori's expression softened.
There.
"You told me you want a relationship."
"Yes."
"Exclusive."
"Yes."
"With me."
Tori smiled slightly.
"Still yes."
I laughed.
Then—
"I want that too."
There.
Tori went still.
Tiny.
Then—
"You're sure?"
Oh.
Look who was verifying now.
I smiled.
"Yes."
"Not because I asked?"
"No."
"Not because Celeste backed out?"
"She didn't."
Tori understood immediately.
I had chosen.
Fuck.
"Okay."
Then—
"Yes. I'm sure."
Her smile changed.
Warm.
Happy.
Not victorious.
That mattered more now than ever.
"So," she said.
"So."
"You're my girlfriend?"
I froze.
Fuck.
There was something absurdly terrifying about the word after decades of—
next life.
Later.
Maybe.
Eventually.
Girlfriend.
Simple.
Normal.
I smiled.
"Yes."
Tori smiled back.
"Good."
I laughed.
"Of course."
Then I remembered something.
"Wait."
Tori stared.
"What?"
I took out my phone.
"What are you doing?"
"Updating Jane and Chloe before they get the information from Julia somehow."
Tori started laughing.
I opened the group chat.
I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND.
Seen.
Immediately.
Jane:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Chloe:
TORI?
yes
Jane:
YOU FINALLY ACQUIRED ONE
I stared.
SHE IS NOT AN ACQUISITION
Chloe:
exclusive contract
I HATE YOU
Tori looked over.
"What happened?"
I showed her.
She read.
Then laughed.
"Exclusive contract is pretty good."
I stared.
"Relationship terminated."
"No."
She took my phone away.
"Too late."
Then Tori looked at me.
"Can I kiss my girlfriend?"
Fuck.
There it was again.
Girlfriend.
My brain needed adjustment time.
I smiled.
"Yes."
She kissed me.
Longer than before.
Still Tori.
Still unhurried.
Still no competition.
Just—
different now.
When we separated, she smiled.
"Good?"
I laughed softly.
"Very."
At twenty-five—
after an original life ending at forty-five,
after another thirty-three years of saying—
next life na lang ako magjo-jowa,
after waking at twenty-three again and deciding I was actually going to participate—
I had a girlfriend.
Finally.
I looked at Tori.
Then laughed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"That sounded suspicious."
"It is."
"Tell me."
I shook my head.
Because there was no possible way to explain—
Congratulations, Victoria Reyes. You have accomplished something I failed to do across seventy-eight remembered years.
So instead I said—
"Good choice."
Tori stared.
"Did you just compliment yourself?"
"Partly."
She laughed.
Then took my hand.
And this time—
there was no one else in the dating pool.
Just her.
For now.
There was also someone I had left behind who mattered enough that leaving hurt.
I didn't need to erase that to make this choice real.
Maybe that was part of choosing properly too.
I had learned enough about resets not to trust forever.
But I also knew better than to let fear of an ending ruin something while it was here.
So I held Tori's hand.
And went home happy.
Not uncomplicated.
Not without grief.
Still happy.