Lyrics filled the air between us, and I tilted my head. "Is this . . . is this *Stand by Me"?"
His lips curled into a smile as he nodded, the unfamiliar voice still singing in the background.
"But who"s singing?" I asked.
"Imagine Dragons. Isn"t it rad?"
I laughed at his word choice. "It is pretty awesome."
"Now hush and listen to the lyrics." He lowered his head to rest against mine and we moved together, our bodies swaying to the music.
It was romantic, the two of us dancing alone in my living room to the raspy tone of the lead singer"s voice, the simple lyrics striking a chord within my soul as he belted them out with so much emotion and grit.
"You"re all-in, right?" Dalton said softly against my hair. "You and me. Me and you. No going back."
"I"m all-in," I whispered. "No going back."
I rested my head against Dalton"s shoulder as my feelings for him grew. I didn"t care how crazy it all might seem to an onlooker; they didn"t know my heart. And my heart had wanted this man since I was fourteen years old. It was about d.a.m.n time it won the fight and got him.
"I hope you"ve got dating out of your system," he murmured into my ear, "because this is it for you. One p.e.n.i.s for the rest of your life."
"Now who"s the stalker?" I choked on my laugh as it stuck in my throat. "You"ve married us off already and attached me to your p.e.n.i.s?"
He leaned back and looked me right in the eyes as I waited for another p.e.n.i.s joke. "Married, kids, white picket fence-whatever you want, the whole shebang. It"s okay if you don"t admit that you want it too. I don"t care. I just want you to know my intentions. I want to be very clear about where we"re heading." He pulled me closer, pressing his lips to my hair as he whispered, "I"ve wanted this for too long."
"I think you might be moving at warp speed. This isn"t a movie. This is real life, you know?" I warned him jokingly, but every part of me loved his declaration. His words calmed me, giving me the rea.s.surance that I"d needed.
Dalton chuckled. "I think waiting ten years before getting the girl is the exact opposite of warp speed, if you wanna know the truth."
I leaned in and kissed his delicious lips without another word. There was no way I could disagree with that logic, and h.e.l.l, I didn"t want to. I didn"t know exactly what the future held for us, even with Dalton"s big plans, but I was excited to find out.
Sometimes life was messy and got in the way. But wasn"t that part of the beauty of falling in love and being in a relationship? You figured things out together as you grew, and faced the challenges that life enjoyed the h.e.l.l out of throwing at you.
Of course, I knew exactly where I wanted the relationship with Dalton to head, but not anytime soon. We still had a lot of learning to do about each other, and we were just getting started. Ten years was a long time to be away from someone, even if you had love in your heart for them the whole time.
Was I still scared about the possibility of losing him? h.e.l.l yes, but I had finally accepted that that fear would exist, no matter what Dalton did for a living. Loving another person brought out fear because you didn"t want to lose them, but I would have to deal with that insecurity regardless, no matter who I loved.
I"d read once that the greater the love, the greater the fear of losing that love. And to me, Dalton was worth it all. He was worth the fight, the risk, the issues that reared their ugly head at times, all of it. And he put up with me, claimed to like it, even. We"d see about that.
But I"ll bet you money that if you go to our twenty-year high school reunion, you"ll see Dalton and me there. Only by then, we will have arrived together, and we"ll be wearing wedding rings.
The End.
Acknowledgments.
I simply want to thank the people who continue to help me throughout this incredible journey I am on. To my family, my friends (both old and new), and all of my readers-I couldn"t do any of this without you.
Thank you so much in no particular order: Blake, my mom, Ali O (aka Hooch), Pam Berehulke, Mich.e.l.le Warren, Becks, Catjacks, Tray, Tara Sivec, Jillian Dodd, Tarryn Fisher, Jasinda Wilder, Carey Heywood, Kyla Linde, Shannon Stephens, Colleen Hoover, and everyone in the Sterling All-Stars and TPGC Facebook Group. I know every author feels like they have the best readers ever, and I am no exception. I love and appreciate you all SO much.
A very special thank-you goes out to Matt (aka The Man), for answering all my cop questions, not thinking I was an idiot, and getting super excited about the story I was writing and the characters. You helped me so much.
I don"t think it"s entirely necessary for me to mention this, but a part of me feels like it"s the right thing to do. As with any type of fiction, there are liberties that must be taken in order to bring the story to life and have it flow the way the author needs it to. While I have done my research, as well as interviewed people who have gone through the specific issues in this story (panic attacks, depression, grief, etc.), please keep in mind that any inconsistencies or inaccuracies only exist to move the story in a certain direction. Thank you for understanding.
About the Author.
Jenn Sterling is a Southern California native who loves writing stories from the heart. Every story she tells has pieces of her truth in it, as well as her life experience. She has a bachelor"s degree in Radio/TV/Film and has worked in the entertainment industry the majority of her life, until she became a writer-which she claims is the best thing that"s ever happened to her.
Also by J. Sterling.
In Dreams.
Chance Encounters.
The Game Series.
The Perfect Game a Book One.
The Game Changer a Book Two The Sweetest Game a Book Three.
The Celebrity Series.
Seeing Stars.
Breaking Stars (Coming Soon) Heartless, A Serial.
Episode 1 Episode 2.
Episode 3.
Heartless, The Box Set.
Episodes 1a3.
end.