Another Chance For Us (SAMPLE ONLY)

Prologue

The young woman with caramel brown skin held onto her chestnut-haired boyfriend with desperation. Her grip was so tight that even the stiffest of winds wouldn't be able to pull them apart. His hooded ice blue eyes, set perfectly in his square-shaped face, were searching her oval-shaped face with more questions than either of them had the answers to. Graduating from college was supposed to be a happy occasion. It was supposed to be a cause of loud laughter, cheer, and drunken debauchery. It was a symbolic shedding of that last semblance of youth before stepping into the world and being smacked by cruel reality. For them, reality had come early. Heartache and regret surrounded them. It was their last night together. He would spend the summer on the other side of the country in New York interning at the same law firm that had started his father's legal career before beginning his first semester at Yale School of Law. She already had a job as an obstetrics nurse at a hospital in Berkley. The two twenty-two-year-old newly minted graduates had agreed to stay friends, but they both knew that their romantic relationship would not survive long distance and the stress of their new careers. They would both be too busy for the other. It was best for them to part now instead of hurting each other later. That didn't mean that their impending separation wasn't painful. Just because they knew it was coming, that didn't make it any easier.

"I've been dreading this day for months." Kailani sighed heavily in between the passionate kisses they shared in her bedroom.

"Me too," Wade's voice was filled with sadness. They were wrapped in each other arms on the queen-sized bed. They had spent the whole day together, forcing their families to have a celebratory dinner together after the ceremony, before sneaking away to Kailani's apartment and locking themselves in her bedroom. They lingered in the bubble they'd created, blocking out everyone and everything else in the world. Still, as the hours passed, they knew the end was near. Eventually, the sun would rise, and Wade would push away the covers, get dressed, and go home like he had done countless times before. Only this night wasn't like the times before. They wouldn't see each other later. They wouldn't meet for dinner or go to their favorite creamery for dessert. This was it. The chapter had ended. Their story was over.

"I'm going to miss you." She nearly cried as he pushed a fallen strand of her black-brown hair behind her ear.

"We'll still talk to each other damn near every day," Wade assured her. Mentally he hoped that his statement was true. He had been less accepting of them breaking up than she was. He believed they could put their relationship on pause and come back together after he graduated from law school. Kailani reminded him that three years was a long time to wait for someone. They would both grow and mature and become different people. There was no way of knowing that in their time apart, they wouldn't meet someone better suited for them. It wouldn't be fair for them to promise each other a future and keep themselves from exploring happiness with someone else only for their promise to each other to be broken.

Even knowing at of this, Wade wouldn't give up easily. "You could always come with me. I'll go to school, and you can find a job as a nurse."

She frowned at his suggestion. It wasn't the first time that he had made it. "Wade, you know that's not an option. I've already registered to take my licensing exam in Berkley."

He rolled onto his back, looking up at the speckled ceiling. "Can't you change your registration?"

She stared at him with a heavy expression. "Wade, this is it. We have to be okay with that."

"I'm not okay with it." He grumbled. He had always known this was their likely outcome when they began dating. His career path had been set for him since birth. He chose his own college for undergraduate but attending law school in California wasn't an option.

Kailani rubbed soothing circles on his chest. "Wade, we've talked about this."

"Actually, you talked about it. You decided. You gave up. I didn't get to say anything."

"There wasn't anything to say."

"In that case, I guess I should go home tonight. My parents are staying at my place." With a heavy sigh, he got out of the bed, grabbing his clothes, and getting dressed. His moves were sluggish in an attempt to cherish the few seconds they had left together.

"I don't want you to go." A tear broke free from her eyes and rolled down her dimpled cheeks.

His handsome face hardened. "I have to." They shared a final lingering kiss before he turned away from her and walked out of the bedroom.

She wanted to call after him. She wanted to tell him that she had changed her mind and would go with him, but she couldn't. It would ruin everything he was working hard to achieve. She reminded herself of that as she reached over to her night table and opened the drawer. The white plastic stick was lying on top of her things. The two pink lines were like a flashing neon light grabbing her attention. She had taken the test in the morning before the graduation ceremony after having taken one the night before. They both had the same result. She was pregnant. Even though the man she loved would be on the other side of the country, a piece of him would remain with her.

On January 3, 2017, she gave birth to her taupe-skinned, chubby-cheeked, baby boy. She named him Declan Hohler. Hohler was Wade's last name. Perhaps it was foolish of her to give her son the name when he would never know his father. There was a part of her that hoped someday in the distant future, Declan would meet Wade, and Wade would know that the boy was his son.

Her parents were surprised to learn that she was pregnant. They were even more surprised when she told them that Wade didn't know, and he never would. They wanted her to tell him. They threatened to do it themselves. Kailani held strong, reiterating over and over her reasons why he couldn't know. It was for the best for him and for Declan. Eventually, her parents quit trying to convince her. They could see that her mind was set. There was no way to change it.

She passed her licensing exam, which she took while pregnant. She was entering her second trimester when she started her job at the Berkley hospital. Luckily, her bosses were considerate enough to give her ten weeks of maternity leave even though she hadn't been employed a year. Her mother helped her find a daycare to enroll Declan in so that she didn't have to worry about childcare while working. Both her parents were still working full-time, and her siblings were busy during the weekdays as well.

Kailani didn't see or hear from Wade again after their last night together. She knew that he had returned to New York with his parents as planned. When Declan was a few months old, Kailani ran into Wade's cousin, Jodi, at the pediatrician's office. Jodi didn't ask about Declan's parentage, and Kailani didn't offer up the information. For a month, she was wracked with anxiety, worrying that Wade would unexpectedly show up at her apartment demanding to be a part of her son's life. He never did. He deserved to pursue his dream without additional responsibility. Having a senator for a father and a high-profiled attorney for a mother meant that he lived his life under the microscope. Kailani knew it was best to keep her son away from the madness of political games.

She made a good life for her and Declan. Every day she watched him grow. His physical traits were more like Wade's than hers. He even had his father's ice-blue eyes and chestnut-colored hair. By the time Declan turned one, she had accepted her life for what it was. She was a single mom raising an amazing boy who would know the man who helped create him. She and Wade would never have a second chance to be them.