“You love them,” I say, sitting up. “And they both knew what they were getting into. If either of them was against it, really against it, they would have told you to kick rocks already.”
“That’s what I deserve.”
“Well, love makes us do some crazy shit,” I say with a laugh. “I mean, come on — this group is nothing if not proof of that.”
Jess nods. “They really love me. And I really do love them.” She swallows. “But like Cassie said — I can’t have them both.”
“No, you can’t.”
There’s a knock at our suite door, and Cassie pops up, already jogging inside. “Room service is here!”
Jess closes her eyes and sinks down into her lounge even more, ignoring the call for food. “It’s going to hurt him so bad. It’s going to kill me.”
“It’s going to hurt who so bad?” I ask.
Jess sighs, opening her mouth to answer me, but then her eyes go wide as basketballs at something behind me.
I whip around, scared there’s a bug or a monster or a fucking tsunami.
Instead, I find Kip.
My jaw drops as he walks onto the balcony with Cassie trailing behind him, her face just as shocked as mine. He looks like absolute shit — wearing what I can only assume is the tux he wore to the premier the night before, a five o’clock shadow on his jaw, his eyes red and puffy.
In his hand is a bouquet of flowers.
“What are you doing here?” I breathe.
Kip’s eyes search mine, a thick swallow bobbing his Adam’s apple before he shrugs. “I came to fight and win my girl back.”
Jess rolls her lips together and smacks my arm as Cassie, Ashlei, and Erin all do a miserable job of hiding their collective sighs at his declaration.
“Actually,” he clarifies. “I came to grovel, and plead, and put all my chips on the table, to pray like hell my measly pair of deuces is enough.” He takes a confident step toward me. “Pray that I am enough.”
My heart squeezes in my chest, tears pricking my eyes.
“I am sick without you, Skyler. I could say my entire world has been flipped upside down, but the truth is that you are my world. The show, school, whatever future career I might have — none of it matters without you.” He swallows. “You are my dream. And without you, life is just… sleep deprivation. Punishment. Unrelenting torture.”
“Kip…”
“I am so sorry for hurting you, for not listening to you, for having my head so far up my ass I couldn’t see my mistakes. Please,” he begs, his own eyes watering, nose flaring. “Please forgive me. Please tell me you’ll give me another chance. I swear I won’t waste it. I swear, if you let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure you know you are my everything.”
“If you don’t kiss him, I will!” Jess says, shoving me until I have no choice but to either tumble out of the daybed onto my face or stand. I choose the latter, and Kip smirks at Jess before his eyes are on mine again.
Sincere and more apologetic than I’ve ever seen.
And I hate myself for putting him through this, for making him so sick he thought he could ever truly lose me.
As if I haven’t been his since the moment I laid eyes on his stupid glasses and his stupid perfect smile.
I inhale, exhale, and slowly make my way over to where he stands.
But I don’t say a word.
I just nod.
In the next breath, I’m swept into his arms, and then I’m spinning, my hair flying behind me as the girls laugh and cheer. I don’t have the chance to laugh, though — because Kip captures my mouth with his, holding me to him in a beautiful, long-overdue kiss.
“I will never hurt you again,” he swears against my lips. “I’m so sorry, Skyler. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too,” I breathe into him.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“Sure, I do. I put you through more torture than you deserve. I didn’t accept your apology.”
“Well, I didn’t apologize correctly. I was blinded… I couldn’t see your point of view, and I’m sorry for that.”
“Okay, okay,” Jess says, making a gagging notion with her finger, tongue sticking out. “He’s sorry, you’re sorry, we all get it. Now, can you two get out of here and go fuck already?”
I cover my laugh by burying my face in Kip’s chest, peeking up at him. “I… I love you, and I’m so happy you came all this way but… I’m here with the girls. It’s Ashlei’s bachelorette.”
“I know, I know, and I don’t want to take you from them. I just had to see you.” He sweeps my hair from my face, and I lean into his palm as he says, “I had to know you were okay. That we were okay.”