“Does it still hurt?”
<
He’d always thought Sarah would be there, a
constant presence in his life.
He’d been so sure.
But Sarah had moved on. Leaving Crestview
had been a clean break.
She had a new boyfriend.
He remembered Sarah’s rigid back as she
walked away that day, her ear bruised and
swollen where the basketball had hit.
His friend had sighed. “Aren’t you afraid she
won’t come back?”
He’d scoffed inwardly.
Sarah’s dad worked for his family.
Her family lived next door.
Her whole life was tied to him.
Just a transfer to another school. Of course
she’d come back.
That day, as the sun set, his friend had said,
“Jake, your childhood sweetheart could
become someone else’s ‘the one who comes.
<
after.“”
He hadn’t listened.
Now, those words were a cruel joke.
While he’d been so smug about “first love
can’t beat the one who comes after,” his first
love had become someone else’s “the one.”
- 24.
Ethan and I got engaged the summer before
our junior year of college.
Ethan’s parents came to the engagement
party.
It was the first time I’d met them since we
started dating.
He’d only told me he’d grown up with his
grandparents in their old family home.
As for his parents, just that they’d divorced
when he was seven. Nothing more.
Ethan’s mother, who had flown in from
overseas, was elegant and poised.
His father couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Then my mom went over, her eyes wide with
surprise.
“Sandy? Is that you? You used to live upstairs
from us!”
That’s how I learned that Ethan’s family had
lived in the apartment above ours.
After the divorce, Ethan had moved away with.
his grandparents.
Then the apartment was sold.
Over time, I’d forgotten about the little boy
who lived upstairs.
Until Jake’s family moved in.
I often went upstairs out of habit, looking for
Ethan without realizing it.
I vaguely remembered a boy who’d buy me
candy with his allowance.
“If you eat my candy,” he’d say, “you have to
be my wife when we grow up.”
く
The little boy’s voice echoed in my memory.
I looked at Ethan, stunned.
I remembered what he’d said to Jake during
their fight.
“As for childhood sweethearts, Sarah and I go
way back.”
“We knew each other before you even knew
where she lived.”
He’d been telling the truth.
And then I remembered that day in the
classroom, when he’d first seen me again.
“Thanks, wifey,” he’d said, with that cocky
grin.
- 25.
After the wedding.
I received an anonymous gift.
A property deed.
Signed by Jake.
After I started at Harvard, Jake tried to
<
contact me a few times.
But Ethan was always there, and I refused to
see Jake.
He’d stand outside my dorm, night after night.
Then I heard he’d moved overseas and been
injured in a shooting, hurting his leg.
Mia occasionally asked about him in the old
class group chat. Her SAT scores hadn’t been
great, and she ended up going to a
performing arts college in the south on a
dance scholarship.
She’d dated a string of wealthy guys, but
nothing lasted.
She’d tried to reach out to Jake overseas, but
he never responded.
Ethan came out of the shower, a towel
wrapped around his waist.
He saw the deed, his lips twisting into a
humorless smile.
“Still hasn’t given up, huh?”
<
It felt wrong to keep it. What was Jake trying
to prove?
I tossed it in the trash and wrapped my arms
around Ethan’s waist.
He looked down at me, his eyes darkening.
“Someone’s feeling frisky.”
Me: …
We weren’t exactly newlyweds anymore, why
was he still so…
Cheeky.
After a long moment, I nestled closer,
changing the subject.
“So, you recognized me the second you saw
me in class?”
Ethan nodded, his fingers threading through
my hair.
“Yep.”
“And you liked me because of… when we
were kids?”
He shook his head.
く
“No, Sarah. It was more than that.”
“With you, it was… a childhood reunion, and
love at first sight, all rolled into one.”
Music drifted from the living room speakers.
“Right now, I’m incredibly grateful.”
“My world, after all its detours, still led me
back to you.”
My fingers slipped beneath the hem of his
towel, tracing the lines of his abs.
He sucked in a breath, catching my wrist.
He lowered his head, his lips finding mine.
The kiss deepened, growing more urgent.
