With his beautiful words and beautiful face and beautiful soul.
And I’m proven right — that he saved the moment — when suddenly I’m in his arms. And I’m drenching his hoodie in my tears as he rocks me back and forth. And when I still don’t calm down, he does the only thing that will get me to chill, that will lull me into submission.
He kisses me.
He puts his soft and warm mouth on me and drugs me with it. And again, it feels like we keep kissing for years and years as the world passes around us.
Coming up for air, I whisper, hiccupping, “You’re right.”
He frames my face with rough hands. “About what?”
I hiccup again. “I’m a drama queen.”
He plants a hard but sweet kiss on my lips. “You’re my drama queen.”
“I totally ruined your hoodie.”
“All my hoodies are yours to ruin.”
I sink my fingers in his hair. “I can’t believe you’ve been carrying around a ring for four months now.”
“This was the only thing keeping me sane and you safe.”
“Safe from what?”
His eyes flash. “From me kidnapping you and taking you away.”
“Like a bandit.”
“Yeah,” he whispers, his fingers buried in my hair and flexing. “And forcing you to marry me.”
“You don’t have to force me.”
His lips twitch. “No?”
I bring my hand away from his hair and put it on his chest. Looking down at it, I whisper, “Do it.”
He glances down as well, and untangling his fingers from my hair, he goes ahead and does it.
Puts his ring on my finger.
I bring it closer, staring down at it with all the love in my heart. A solitaire diamond sitting in the midst of tiny ones on a silver ring.
“It’s beautiful,” I say.
“Yeah.”
I look up and find him watching me and I know he isn’t talking about the ring, as always.
And I realize, yet again, that I was right.
While I was hell bent on staying at NYU and feeling trapped when Lucas had asked me the same question, now all I feel like is throwing my hands open and laughing with joy. Now all I feel is this crazy urge to jump up and down and fly like a free bird.
I guess it’s not the question, it’s the person asking the question.
And my person is him.
My Bandit.