Jackson
“Closing early today?” Alex remarked, a bit stunned. “You never shut the shop down early.”
“Yeah, well, I got plans tonight.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Plans? With a woman named Grace?”
“Don’t do that,” I told him.
“Do what?”
“Smile.”
“I always smile.”
“Yeah, and it’s annoying,” I joked, tossing all the dirty towels into the back room.
“So, are you two, like…a thing?”
“What? No. We’re just…friends.”
“With benefits.”
“Something like that.”
“But it’s more,” he commented. “It’s so much more.”
“Alex, I’m going to need you to shut up right about now.”
“All right, but I’m just saying, it’s okay for you to like people, man. I know you think it’s not, but it is. It’s part of what makes humans…human.”
I frowned and shrugged my shoulder as I began tossing my supplies back into the toolbox. “I can’t like her, Alex. Even if I did, she’s leaving town in a few weeks.”
“So? Go with her.”
I rolled my eyes. “Right.”
“Dude, I’m serious. Get out of this hellhole and go live your life. Even if it’s not with Grace, you’re allowed to leave this place.”
I huffed. “It’s not like I can leave my dad. The only reason I was able to go off to rehab was because you stepped in, and I wouldn’t ask you to ever do that for me again.”
“Buddy, your father is not your burden.”
“I’m not going leave him to die. I’m all he has.”
“Okay, I’ll drop it because I can tell you’re getting upset. I just want you to know that the world will keep spinning even if you go off and live your own life. My main point is this: you are allowed to be happy—maybe more than most people, and I think Grace makes you happy. I think you make her happy, too.”
I swallowed hard. “You think so?”
“She was about to rip out some woman’s hair at the festival because they were talking about you. She’s as protective of you as you are of her. I’ve never seen something that made no sense yet made complete sense until I laid eyes on the two of you together.”
“She’s just so…good.”
He laughed, walked over to me, and patted me on the back. “So are you. I’m going to get out of here. Have a good time tonight, all right?”
“Okay. Have a good night.”
He headed out of the shop, and I kept cleaning so I could finish up before going back to my place to jumped in the shower. I rented a suit for the event because there was no chance in hell anything in my closet was going to be good enough for the Harris Gala.
I wanted to look my best for Grace. I didn’t want to let her down.
Her taking me to this event, her allowing my arm to be wrapped around hers was more than just a small gesture. She was making a statement to the whole town that she was free to live however she chose to live.
I loved that fact, and I loved that I was going to be the one holding her hand.
She showed up at my place around seven thirty p.m., and when I opened the door, I took a few steps back.
She was beautiful.
From her burgundy curls to her fitted silver gown, she looked like a goddess.
“Wow,” I breathed out. She began to blush, and I loved it.
“Wow,” she replied, eyeing me up and down. She held her hand out toward me. “Shall we?”
I took her hand into mine, and we walked down the streets of Chester together. People saw us, and we didn’t care. People judged, and we didn’t listen.
When we arrived at the town hall ballroom, everyone’s eyes turned to us. I felt it hit my gut, and I could only imagine what they were thinking.
How I wasn’t good enough to be holding Chester’s royalty.
How I was simply a deadbeat.
Right as I was about to ask Grace to retreat, she squeezed my hand, giving me comfort. “Powerful moments,” she whispered, pulling me closer to her. She then raced her lips against mine and kissed me as everyone watched. I kissed her back, because how could I not? All I ever wanted to do was kiss those lips lying against mine.
“Powerful moments,” I replied as we slowly pulled away.
Somehow, at that exact moment, everyone’s opinions were officially void because she chose me.
In front of the world, she held my hand.
