Pucking Ever After(Jacksonville Rays, #2.5)

by Emily Rath

“I don’t want that from you. Jake is enough bottled sunshine. I want you to be you. You’re enough, Cay. Just like this. It’s enough.”

But in here, in this moment, we’re just two storm clouds who like it best when it rains.

Do I still watch Shark Week? Yes. Religiously. You gotta know your enemy.

“Would you still love me if there was only half of me?”

“Did you want your friend to come back with you?” asks the dentist. Caleb glances back at him sharply. “He’s my husband, and no. I’m not fucking twelve.”

“If you diss Taylor to my fucking face right now, I will file for divorce so fucking fast, I swear to fucking god, Mars.”

“She should have just named the song ‘Say Don’t Go, Ilmari Price.’”

“Jake tells me to be patient, and I am being patient, Mars. I’ll keep waiting. I’ll keep pretending it’s enough because I know you’re not ready and maybe you never will be. But I’m gonna keep waiting, Mars. And maybe someday you’ll look at me the way you look at Rachel, and then I’ll know I don’t have to wait anymore. Because we could be so good together, Mars.”

Rachel is the slow beating of my heart, essential to living. Jake is the breath of fresh air in my lungs. But Caleb? He’s become my second set of ribs. He’s our protector, our center. He keeps us safe. He keeps us whole.

“Are you in love with me, Mars?” He closes his eyes and lets out a breath. “So much it hurts.”