Aidan was right all along.
Jack is a horrible mistake at best, but he isn't and hasn't ever been the main issue between Aidan and me. He's never been the reason I've withheld my feelings from Aidan, and he certainly isn't the reason I ran out on Aidan when he said—-
I think I'm falling in love with you, Serafina Edison.
—-that.
If anything, I've only been using my so-called relationship with Jack to keep me from making a decision, and—-
SPLASH!
I sputter in shock, my thoughts crashing mid-halt as Jack ends his tirade by shooting to his feet and dumping his glass of water straight down my head.
Click! Click! Click!
And now everyone around us is taking a photo of me, and the nasty smile on Jack's face things are going exactly as he planned. "You're fucking through in this city," he sneers under his breath, "and don't even think of begging me to take you back once you've come into your senses."
Jack makes a show of holding his head high as he storms off, and oh my God, it's all I can do not to laugh. That's a yaas-queen-exit right there, but whether it's what he's hoped to achieve, well...whatever. I don't even feel an ounce of hurt at the thought of Jack and me being through, but when I reach for a dinner napkin to wipe my face, it's at that moment I see my fingers shaking.
Riiiight.
The sight reminds me that things are far from completely fine, and I bite my lip hard. It's great that the issue about Jack is resolved now, never mind if the price I have to pay is becoming a viral meme of my ex-boyfriend dumping a glass of water on my head. Things like that used to matter, but now...
I gulp and feel my throat convulse as I reach for my phone.
Now or never.
I switch my phone on, and Aidan answers my call on the first ring.
"Are you okay?" he asks right away.
"Hello to you, too," I say lamely.
"Are you okay?"
The harshness of his voice makes me sigh. "That fast, huh?" That he's asking so insistently tells me my photo or video or whatever form of laughingstock the Internet has turned me into has already made the rounds.
"Serafina."
Aidan turns my name into a growl of warning, and my heart aches. He's obviously worried, and that means...there's still hope for us, and he hasn't yet given up on me.
Right?
"I'm fine," I finally manage to say. "My ego doesn't even feel the slightest bit bruised for some reason, but..."
"But what?" Aidan demands.
"I'm not fine about last night," I admit in a small voice. "I'm sorry, Aidan. I'm just so sorry—-"
"Then come back," he says so simply that I'm no longer surprised when I feel a now-familiar urge to laugh and cry at the same time.
"It can't be that easy—-"
"Why not?"
"Because you're supposed to make things hard for me."
"Am I?"
I'm definitely hearing a smirk in his voice, and it's such a perfectly typical Aidan response that I'm not surprised when I feel a smile wobble to my lips...just as the tears finally start falling.
"Can it really be that easy?" I ask jerkily.
"Maybe not for others," Aidan acknowledges evenly, "but when it comes to the two of us? It's always been that easy, baby."
I squeeze my eyes shut, but the tears keep falling, and my heart...it's still a crazy mess, but it's definitely beating harder and faster, and it's all because of him.
Because...I love him.
The tears rush faster, but I'm also smiling so widely that when I hear it—-
Click! Click! Click!
I don't even care if the Internet thinks I've lost my mind. All I know is that I'm done. I'm truly done pretending. I'm truly done believing I don't deserve more just because I already have the moon and the stars. I want the fucking sun, too, and Aidan is that for me.
He's my sun, and...and...
Let's do this, Raffi.
I open my eyes, and it feels like the whole world's changed. It's just brighter and prettier now...or maybe I'm the one who's changed, and I've finally allowed myself to see that life can still stay beautiful even if I don't have all my ducks in a row.
"Gimme a minute," I hear myself say as I hurry out of the cafe, "and I'll call you back." I hang up before he can answer, book myself a ride, and I hit the Call button the moment I'm in the backseat of an Uber.
"That's been more than a minute, baby."
There's just the slightest bite in his voice, and the sound of it makes my heart skip a beat. "Are you missing me already?"
"What do you think?"
"I miss you, too," I say sweetly, and I can't help laughing when I hear him snort. "I'm on my way back—-"
"Coming from where?"
"Somewhere?"
There's a slight pause, and then he asks very calmly, "Do you remember what I said about not being understanding?"