Colleen Hoover

“Speaking of, did you ever text Lily?”

“I did.”

“She text you back?”

“Sort of. It was a short text, so I decided to take her lunch today to see where her head is at.”

“That was a bold move.”

“I’ve spent my life not making bold moves when it comes to her. I wanted to make sure she knew where I stood this time.”

it’s

been a long time since I’ve felt beautiful in someone

else’s eyes

. “It stops here. With me and you. It ends with us.”

In the future . . . if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again . . . fall in love with me.”

I said that because . . . you looked happy that night. When I saw you telling him goodbye, it hurt like hell, but at the same time I was relieved that you seemed to be in a really good place. I didn’t want you to worry about me. And I don’t know . . . maybe I was a little jealous. I don’t know, Lily. I regretted lying to you as soon as I did it

“In the future . . . if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again . . .

fall in love with me.” He presses his lips against my forehead. “You’re still my favorite person, Lily. Always will be.”

“Give my best to Sherman.”

Patricia makes a face. “My husband’s name is William.”

Jeremy nods once. “Oh. That’s right. I get them confused.”

I hear Patricia scoff as we walk away. When we make it to the next aisle, I say, “Um. Who is Sherman?”

“The guy she fucks behind her husband’s back.”

What you read will taste so bad at times, you’ll want to spit it out, but you’ll swallow these words and they will become part of you

Two miles only takes two minutes when there’s no traffic, and two minutes isn’t all that long, but it sure does feel like an eternity when you’re spending it in a truck with a girl you almost fucked.

Music still makes me think of Scotty, but thinking of Scotty no longer makes me sad. Now that I’ve forgiven myself, the reminders of him only make me smile.

The End