Award winner 128 - Ever After Awaits

bChapter /bb128/bb: /bbAJ /bbPOV /b

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The porch light is glowing like a guiding light in the dark when Cade’s truck finally pulls into the

driveway.

I’m standing in the living room with Hunter, both of us half–pretending to scroll on our phones, while Xavier’s seated on the arm of the couch, hisptop long–abandoned. He’s been the most

rattled of the three of us, though I’d never say it out loud. Not when I’ve been fighting the same urge as him to pace the living room floor until the varnish starts wearing off.

The front door creaks open a few minutes after his car’s engine cuts out. And the first thing I notice isn’t La’s smile, but the way Cade’s holding her hand, like it’s second nature now. Like he couldn’t imagine not doing it.

Then I see her.

Her hair is a little tousled, and her cheeks are still flushed fromughter, or maybe from something

else entirely. Her eyes sweep the room as she steps into the living room, pausing when they meet

mine, and in that instant, I iknow/ii. /iNot just about their date. And not just about the carnival. But

everything that happened iafter/ii. /i

There’s a shift in her. A new glow that wasn’t there when she left the house this morning.

And the way she falters, just barely, under our gazes? Yeah. That’s confirmation enough for me.

Cade–respectful as always–doesn’t gloat, and he doesn’t tease her about it. He just gives us all a nod, like we’re in on some sacred secret. And maybe we are. “She had a good time,” he says simply, his voice quiet as pride hums underneath his words.

La squeezes his hand once, then lets go before she steps farther into the room, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear while not quite looking at any of us. Especially not at me.

And that tells me more than any confession ever could.

Hunter softens towards her first, walking over and pulling her into a quick hug and cing a tender kiss on her forehead. Xavier grumbles something behind him about ‘it better have been worth his heart attack‘ but doesn’t press the issue. Not yet, at least.

Me? I wait.

Because I can see her unspoken thoughts that are written in the way she keeps her shoulders too

Chapter 128: AJ POV

straight, like she’s holding herself together with tension alone. I can see it in how she still doesn’t quite meet my eyes, only brushing her gaze close to mine before skimming them away again, like she’s afraid of what she’ll find in them.

She’s glowing, yes–that’s undeniable. And it’s the quiet sort of afterglow you don’t get from ijust /ia night out. Her cheeks are a pretty pink from the chilly midnight air, her lips are a touch too swollen for innocence, and there’s a softness in her expression that didn’t exist before tonight. But beneath

that, there’s something else, too.

Guardednessb. /b

I’ve known her long enough to read the subtext in the tilt of her chin and the way she tucks her

hands into the sleeves of Cade’s hoodie. She’s proud, yes. But she’s bracing herself as well. And I have a damn good guess what she’s bracing ifor/i.

Guilt.

Not because she did something wrong. Hell, not even close. But because she gave something

precious to someone else first. And because she thinks it might change how I or any of the other guys look at her.

It doesn’t. Not even a little.

I can’t let her carry that weight for a second longer. Not with me. Not when love–real love–isn’t

about being ifirst/ii. /iIt’s about it feeling iright/i.

So I slowly and deliberately walk over to her where she’s hovering by the dining table, each of my steps steady as I give Cade a nod in passing. He catches my eye and, to his credit, doesn’t flinch or tense. He knows what this is, and he knows what she means to all of us.

Then I stop in front of her.

She’s small in the dimmed floormp light, dwarfed by the hoodie she’s wearing and the size of everything that’s currently unsaid between us.

She doesn’t look up when I’m mere inches from her, instead fiddling with the hem of her one sleeve.

“La.” Her name leaves my mouth like a tether that’s meant to pull her back to me.

At the sound of her name, her eyes lift to mine slowly, and they’re wide and unsure. But they don’t move away from mine this time.

Chapter 128: AJ POV

I cup her jaw gently with my right hand and feel the softness of her delicate skin against my palm. Her breath hitches as my thumb brushes her cheek softly a few times, and I know she can feel it. She

can feel that I’m not here to scold or question her. I’m here to make her feel seen.

“Did you enjoy it?” I ask simply.

She blinks, and her breath catches in her throat in that small, unmistakable way when a truth rises

to the surface. Then she nods once before answering, “Yeah. I did.”

“And was it what iyou /iwanted?” I ask, my voice low and intimate, meant just for us, and just for this

moment.

For several seconds, her eyes search mine like she’s trying to find a reason in them to feel guilty. But

she won’t. Not from me.

Then she whispers, “Yes.”

“Then don’t you dare feel weird about ianything/ii,/i” I say resolutely. “Not with me.”

I see the shift in her face–the way her guard finally lowers. It’s just a little bit. But it’s enough. It’s

enough for her to breathe easier again. And enough for me to step even closer to her.

Without another word, I lean down slowly but with intent and press my lips to hers.

It’s not urgent, and it’s not rushed. It’s just warm and genuine and full of every quiet thing I’ve

wanted her to know for weeks now. That I see her, like I’ve always done. That I love her, more than

she could ever know. That there’s nothing she could give someone else that makes her any less mine,

too.

When I eventually slightly pull back from her, her hand finds my chest, and I feel the pressure of her

fingers, small and certain, as they rest over my heart.

“I love you,” she says softly.

“Yeah,” I murmur with a slight smirk. “You better.”

Behind bus/bb, /bXavier clears his throat, but his demeanor doesn’t carry the edge it did earlier when he was almost frantic with worry. Cade mutters something about getting water and disappears into the kitchen, giving us some space. Hunter flops back onto the couch with a dramatic sigh, already pretending to be over it. But from the corner of my eye, I can see the relief in his posture, and in the way he looks at her like the night can finally end on the right note.

Chapter 128: AJ POV

But I don’t stop touching her. I keep holding her to me as I gaze into her eyes, where various hues of gold are swirling amongst each other.

Because right now, she needs to know that my love doesn’te with conditions. Only choices.