“Bye,” he said.
“Bye.” As he started to walk down the stairs, I reached out and took his hand. He turned back to me, and I stepped closer and cupped his cheeks. “Promise me we’ll be okay,” I said. I couldn’t let him go without the reassurance. Time slowed until it felt like we were existing in molasses.
But then he looked right into my eyes. With a steady blue gaze and a voice thick with emotions, he said, “I promise, Juju.”
And I…believed him. 9
Vee kept his word and texted when he got home. He also sent me pictures the next morning; one where he looked adorably sleepy and hadn’t gotten out of bed yet and another at 5:15 of him and the biggest cup of coffee available at Starbucks. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d said he needed to be at work early.
At lunchtime, as I was glaring into my sad, empty fridge, my phone beeped again.
I want to take you out on a date tonight.
My face broke into a wide smile, and I typed a reply.
Okay.