Come Back With Me

You Deserve A Book Worthy Romance

Lizzie finally finishes crying and begins to think about what she's done.

"Steve, you can't tell Bucky I remember," Lizzie says.

"What, why?" Steve asks.

"I need to sort out my own head before I can deal with how he felt about what happened," Lizzie says.

"I don't know how I feel about lying to him," Steve says hesitantly.

"Well then don't lie. Just tell him that the night is pretty fuzzy for me, which is true," Lizzie says.

"What about Riley?" Steve asks.

"What about him?" Lizzie asks evasively.

"Are you going to tell him?" Steve asks.

"I don't want to hurt his feelings. I know my feelings for Bucky are one-sided. I know how he is with girls. He hasn't dated anyone in awhile and he was drunk and I was around," Lizzie says.

"You can't possibly believe that's all there was to it," Steve says.

Lizzie knows Bucky well enough to know that he wouldn't use her for a cheap thrill but pretending he was just makes it easier to swallow.

"That's what I have to think right now," Lizzie says.

"So you're going to stay with Riley even though you have feelings for Bucky," Steve concludes.

"I have feelings for Riley too," Lizzie defends.

"But you're not in love with him," Steve says.

"I don't know if I'm in love with him. I don't even know if I'm in love with Bucky. I just know how I feel when I'm with them is so different," Lizzie explains.

Steve sighs because he knows how torn his sister is. Riley is safe, he's easy. Bucky is dangerous because if things go wrong, they could lose each other forever.

"You're going to have to make a decision eventually Liz," Steve says.

"I know, I just don't want to make any rash decisions," Lizzie says.

"No matter who you choose, I'll support your decision. I want you to be happy," Steve says.

"Who do you think I should choose?" Lizzie asks.

"If I could help you with the decision, I would but in the end, you need to decide who's best for you," Steve says.

Who is best for Lizzie isn't always the same as who will make her happiest.

They each compliment Lizzie in different ways.

With Riley, he is intellectually stimulating. They could talk about books and academia for hours. They always have that in common even if that don't have much else in common.

Riley is predictable, Riley is safe. She could see herself growing old with him. If the situation was different, she could see marrying him straight out of high school and raising his kids while he teaches literature at the local high school. It would be a nice life, it would be a comfortable life. She would be content but not ever fully satisfied.

Bucky is so different. Bucky is an adventure. He always takes the dull and makes it extraordinary. He pulls her out of her shell and makes her live. He makes her laugh. He is brash and doesn't think things through always but that's why they work so well together. They temper each other's worse impulses.

They have the ability to balance each other but they also have the ability to drive each other insane with their differences.

There's definitely passion there. The kiss with Bucky left a fire in her that she never feels with Riley. Riley's kisses are always nice but Bucky's made her blood boil.