Summer Sanders is going through it. The pressures of school are mounting, and her home life is completely falling apart. Feeling bored and lonely on a Saturday night, she decides to get buzzed and surprise her hookup buddy with her best lingerie. Th...
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Ken's room is spacious and plain. Slightly messy with an overflowing laundry bag, multiple snack wrappers, and a pile of gaming consoles, but nothing repulsive. An ocean blue color covers the walls and he even has a small balcony through a pair of glass double doors.
Carter closes the door, turning the loud noise of the party into muffled background sounds.
I reach for the small box of his gift which sits on Ken's table, consciously twirling with the top bow. My thoughts are running a mile a minute and anxiety is surging through me. I have to tell Carter and the guilt feels crippling.
I decide to hand him his present before I begin talking. He sits on Ken's bed and accepts it with dancing eyes and a grateful nod.
"I think I saw Sam by the door when we were coming upstairs." I toy with my nails.
"Oh, that's cool. We'll meet up with her when we go back downstairs." He opens the box, completely oblivious to the dread in my voice.
"Have you noticed something off with her?" I teeter towards a confession with what I hope is careful stepping.
"There are several things off with her. She misses her son, she may lose custody, her job is demanding. It's a lot, but you know what? I'm really proud of how she's handled it. She's doing everything in her power to maintain her calm. We've really come a long way."
His hope makes me want to sink into the deepest pits of the ocean and drown before I break his heart. He has no clue, how am I gonna break this to him?
He lifts the custom silver necklace out of the box, analyzing the square ruby gem. He turns it around and reads the initials I engraved on the back.
"S.R. Sofia Reyes, right?" He asks, already knowing the answer.
"Yes." I confirm. "And the ruby is-"
"The ruby is my mother's birthstone." He gives me a look of gratitude so immense that it washes an ounce of the anxiety away. "Thank you, Summer."
I help him take the glowing neon necklace off and put this one on instead. He kisses the gem, then pulls me into his lap and further thanks me with his lips.
"Before we go back downstairs," I say.
"The party is great but let's take a small break up here, yeah? Just some quiet time to ourselves."
"Okay." I agree, all my courage diminishing. I'll tell him before we leave this room. Like right before we leave, not during the hour we waste away kissing and deeply discussing the events of the slew of shows we've started watching together.
I didn't even notice that so much time has passed. When I'm with him, no matter what we're doing, time just flies by, conversations just flow, and our connection blossoms so great that it blocks everything else out. That's what I love so much about us, that's what I love about him.
