“Insane for you, sure.”
Her eyes met mine and my heart grew two times in that moment. Two times bigger than what it usually was. Rae Cleaver—the outcast nerd of our school—was slowly filling a void I had ignored for a long time. A void I’d allowed to fester for much too long. A void I’d convinced myself didn’t really exist.
I love you. Just say it. Tell her how you feel.
“Rae?”
“Yes?”
My hand moved to cup her cheek. “I—”
“Yeah, Clint?”
“You mean a lot to me. You know that, right?”
She nodded. “And you know you mean a lot to me, too. Right?”
I nodded. “I do.”
“So then we mean a lot to each other.”
“We do, yes.”
She smiled softly. “Well, then…? Good.”
But for some reason, that statement didn’t seem good enough. Not for everything Rae had given me. Not for everything she’d done for me. Not for everything she’d filled within me.
One day, I’ll show you. I’ll write it down and shout it from the rooftops.
“Just like you deserve.”
Rae furrowed her brow. “What was that?”
I paused. “What?”
“You murmured something. But I didn’t understand you.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize I’d said anything.”
“Are you feeling okay?”
She pressed her hand against my forehead, making me snicker. “I feel fine, Rae.”
“You’d tell me if you didn’t feel okay, right?”
I brought her hand to my lips to kiss. “I would.”
“Promise?”
“Promise, promise.”
And as I placed a kiss to the palm of her hand, I felt her snuggle against me.
A place that almost seemed to be carved out against my body just for hers to have.
21
Raelynn