- “Does it still hurt?”
- <
- He’d always thought Sarah would be there, a
- constant presence in his life.
- He’d been so sure.
- But Sarah had moved on. Leaving Crestview
- had been a clean break.
- She had a new boyfriend.
- He remembered Sarah’s rigid back as she
- walked away that day, her ear bruised and
- swollen where the basketball had hit.
- His friend had sighed. “Aren’t you afraid she
- won’t come back?”
- He’d scoffed inwardly.
- Sarah’s dad worked for his family.
- Her family lived next door.
- Her whole life was tied to him.
- Just a transfer to another school. Of course
- she’d come back.
- That day, as the sun set, his friend had said,
- “Jake, your childhood sweetheart could
- become someone else’s ‘the one who comes.
- <
- after.“”
- He hadn’t listened.
- Now, those words were a cruel joke.
- While he’d been so smug about “first love
- can’t beat the one who comes after,” his first
- love had become someone else’s “the one.”
- 24.
- Ethan and I got engaged the summer before
- our junior year of college.
- Ethan’s parents came to the engagement
- party.
- It was the first time I’d met them since we
- started dating.
- He’d only told me he’d grown up with his
- grandparents in their old family home.
- As for his parents, just that they’d divorced
- when he was seven. Nothing more.
- Ethan’s mother, who had flown in from
- overseas, was elegant and poised.
- His father couldn’t take his eyes off her.
- Then my mom went over, her eyes wide with
- surprise.
- “Sandy? Is that you? You used to live upstairs
- from us!”
- That’s how I learned that Ethan’s family had
- lived in the apartment above ours.
- After the divorce, Ethan had moved away with.
- his grandparents.
- Then the apartment was sold.
- Over time, I’d forgotten about the little boy
- who lived upstairs.
- Until Jake’s family moved in.
- I often went upstairs out of habit, looking for
- Ethan without realizing it.
- I vaguely remembered a boy who’d buy me
- candy with his allowance.
- “If you eat my candy,” he’d say, “you have to
- be my wife when we grow up.”
- く
- The little boy’s voice echoed in my memory.
- I looked at Ethan, stunned.
- I remembered what he’d said to Jake during
- their fight.
- “As for childhood sweethearts, Sarah and I go
- way back.”
- “We knew each other before you even knew
- where she lived.”
- He’d been telling the truth.
- And then I remembered that day in the
- classroom, when he’d first seen me again.
- “Thanks, wifey,” he’d said, with that cocky
- grin.
- 25.
- After the wedding.
- I received an anonymous gift.
- A property deed.
- Signed by Jake.
- After I started at Harvard, Jake tried to
- <
- contact me a few times.
- But Ethan was always there, and I refused to
- see Jake.
- He’d stand outside my dorm, night after night.
- Then I heard he’d moved overseas and been
- injured in a shooting, hurting his leg.
- Mia occasionally asked about him in the old
- class group chat. Her SAT scores hadn’t been
- great, and she ended up going to a
- performing arts college in the south on a
- dance scholarship.
- She’d dated a string of wealthy guys, but
- nothing lasted.
- She’d tried to reach out to Jake overseas, but
- he never responded.
- Ethan came out of the shower, a towel
- wrapped around his waist.
- He saw the deed, his lips twisting into a
- humorless smile.
- “Still hasn’t given up, huh?”
- <
- It felt wrong to keep it. What was Jake trying
- to prove?
- I tossed it in the trash and wrapped my arms
- around Ethan’s waist.
- He looked down at me, his eyes darkening.
- “Someone’s feeling frisky.”
- Me: …
- We weren’t exactly newlyweds anymore, why
- was he still so…
- Cheeky.
- After a long moment, I nestled closer,
- changing the subject.
- “So, you recognized me the second you saw
- me in class?”
- Ethan nodded, his fingers threading through
- my hair.
- “Yep.”
- “And you liked me because of… when we
- were kids?”
- He shook his head.
- く
- “No, Sarah. It was more than that.”
- “With you, it was… a childhood reunion, and
- love at first sight, all rolled into one.”
- Music drifted from the living room speakers.
- “Right now, I’m incredibly grateful.”
- “My world, after all its detours, still led me
- back to you.”
- My fingers slipped beneath the hem of his
- towel, tracing the lines of his abs.
- He sucked in a breath, catching my wrist.
- He lowered his head, his lips finding mine.
- The kiss deepened, growing more urgent.
