Page 128 of Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail

“Shit, no, I’m sorry,” Astrid said, taking a step forward. “I just wanted to give you a minute... to make sure you really want to be here.”

Jordan lifted her chin, trying to exude more nonchalance than she felt. Why, she wasn’t quite sure, but it seemed the safer route. “I haven’t decided yet.”

Astrid nodded. “That’s fair.”

Jordan didn’t say anything to that. She wasn’t going to give anything else. She couldn’t.

Astrid took a deep breath, took another step toward Jordan. “I had this whole speech planned,” she said. Her smile was wobbly, her voice thick. “But now that you’re here, I...”

Without her permission, Jordan’s feet moved her forward. “You’re what?”

Astrid swallowed hard, looked at the card in her hand.

“You’re what, Astrid?” Jordan said again, more firmly this time, even though her insides felt as though they were melting.

“I’m scared,” Astrid finally said. She met Jordan’s gaze. “Earliertonight, I was at Claire’s, thinking through my next steps. And her mom sent her this Tarot deck in the mail.YourTarot deck. The same one you showed me at the Andromeda. And I just... it felt like some sort of sign, you know? And so I drew a card and I got this.”

She turned the card around in her hands. Jordan knew what it would be before she saw the familiar colors, the two women facing each other, the golden cups in their hands.

“Holy shit,” Jordan whispered.

“Yeah,” Astrid said, feet moving closer. “I don’t believe in this kind of stuff. I never have, but I couldn’t... I didn’twantto ignore this. So I called you, but you didn’t answer, and then I knew you deserved so much more than just me freaking out on the phone about a Tarot card.”

“I do?”

Astrid nodded. “You deserve a grand gesture.”

Jordan’s stomach fluttered, a million wings spreading and taking flight. “Is that what this is, Astrid? Are you grand-gesturing me?”

Astrid laughed. Tears shone in her eyes, spilled over, but she didn’t wipe them away. “I am.”

Another step. The space between them was mere inches now, and Jordan didn’t move away. Couldn’t. Didn’t fucking want to. Astrid’s eyes were locked on hers, cementing her into place.

“I love you, Jordan Everwood,” Astrid said. “That’s what it comes down to. I thought I didn’t deserve you, that you deserved better, and that still might be true. I put you through hell these last few weeks. I used you. Even if I didn’t really understand what I was doing at the time, I still used you. And I’m so, so sorry. After everything. If you don’t feel the same, I’ll understand, but I had to tell you. I had to tell you that Iwantyou, more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my whole life. And it might sound silly or childish, but I don’t care.Youare my destiny, Jordan. Not because of a card or the stars or some sort of magic, but because I choose you. And I—”

But Jordan didn’t let her finish. She bridged the space betweenthem and took Astrid’s face in her hands, cutting off her words with a kiss. And not a soft kiss either—a wild, frantic, tongues-and-teeth, hands-raking-through-hair kind of kiss. A kiss that communicated a hundred words Jordan couldn’t possibly say coherently right now.

Astrid dropped that fated Two of Cups and wrapped her arms around Jordan’s waist, hands dipping under her sweatshirt and tank top, nails dragging down the bare skin of her back. She moaned into Jordan’s mouth, the sound so close to a sob, Jordan kissed her harder, held her tighter. She could feel the tears on Astrid’s cheeks, and she swiped them away with her thumbs.

Eventually, their kiss grew gentler, softer, and soon they were simply standing in the middle of a half-finished room, their arms wrapped around each other, foreheads touching.

“Would it be a cliché to say that you had me at hello?” Jordan whispered.

Astrid laughed. “I don’t care if it is a cliché. Tell me anyway.”

“You had me at hello,” Jordan said, pressing a kiss to her neck and spinning them around. Astrid laughed—her real laugh, her real smile—and Jordan had never heard such a beautiful sound in her life.

“Okay, I have to ask,” Jordan said, once they stopped twirling. “Where the hell did you get all these Tarot cards?”

Astrid grinned. “Claire had a lot of decks on hand. She and Iris and Delilah helped me put all this together. Placing the cards outside, the candles.”

“And throwing rocks at my window?”

Astrid covered her mouth with her hands, speaking through her fingers. “Sorry. That was Iris. She also might’ve been hiding in your rosebush when you came outside.”

Jordan laughed. “Holy shit, Parker. This was quite the production.”

Astrid’s expression went serious. “You deserve it.”