Bubble Wrap

chapter twenty-nine

If I had known how hard it was going to be to move one without you., I would have held on tighter. I would have made sure to never let you go because when it came to you, everything was easy. It was easy to get lost in you. It was easy to feel free when I was with you.

Nothing and no one will ever compare to the way we were.

I was so in love with you. I still am. Everything felt right with you. Everything was better until it wasn't. I didn't want it to hurt, but it did. It does. We never should have taken our time for granted. Every moment should have been appreciated. Every moment should have been seen for what it was. I wish we had never let go, and if we could start all over again, it would have been different. It would be better.

Everything I did, everything I do—even now—it all revolves around you. You were my great adventure. My biggest dream.

I know you remember that feeling. You have to. The anticipation leading up to seeing each other. The way we could spend the whole day in bed and still want more. All of it was too good to be true, but it was. We were real. We were true. I was high on my addiction for you, and maybe that's where things with us went wrong. We got too use to the good, that when something bad came, we burnt out. We didn't know how to adapt so we crumbled.

And yet, I know one day we'll find our way together again.

I'm so caught up in the story that I barely even realize Luke's back until the dull thud of the hotel door fills the room. Instantly, my attention is broken by the dazed look on his face as I set the sheets down next to me and sit up.

"What happened?"

When he doesn't say anything, I'm hit with the worry that maybe they didn't see what I saw but then the words fall from his lips and excitement immediately bubbles to the surface. "They offered me a record deal."

"What?" I gasp loudly as I get up and jump into his arms. His arms move around my waist, holding me up as I lift my legs to wrap around him. "I knew it," I say as I wrap my arms around his shoulder. "I knew you could do it."

My hands move to his neck, brushing my thumbs over his jaw as I lean back, but what I see on his face isn't the joy I expect to see. He looks torn. "Why don't you look excited?" I ask, moving until my hands are rested on his shoulders.

"They don't want the band," he says. "Just me."

"Oh," I say as I lower my legs, resting on my feet again as I lift my head to meet his eyes.

He nods and moves to sit on the edge of the bed. "They said they're not looking for a group right now, but they think I have exactly what it takes to be a successful solo artist."

"What do you think?" I ask as I sit next to him, twisting to face him.

"I don't know what to think," he says before lifting his head. "The guys want me to take the offer. They... they think it's a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'd be stupid to let it go."

"It's an amazing opportunity," I say, moving until my leg is pressed against his. "But it won't be the only one. You're too good for that."

"What if I'm not? What if this is my only shot?" he asks.

"Then take it," I say. "You're going to be incredible either way, and maybe, once you get established you can do both. I mean, look at Stevie Nicks."

He turns his head to look at me. "Really?"

"I don't know! I'm trying to help. She did both, didn't she?" I say with a laugh. "I just want you to be happy."

His lips curl up as his presses his lips to the corner of my lips. "I need to do this, don't I?"