Page 143 of Damaged Boys Don't Fall For Bubbly Girls

“Okay. Same with what you’re comfortable with.”

I play with his hair. “There will be times when you’ll want to be left alone with your thoughts. Maybe you’re having a bad day or are triggered. I’ll need to give you space. I’ll need to be patient with you. But you’ll need to tell me how you feel. Don’t try to protect me.”

He frowns. “But I don’t want to hurt you.”

“It’s okay. If this is going to work, you can’t push my needs before your own. You need to take care of yourself.”

He puffs up his cheeks. “I’ll try. It won’t be easy because all I care about is your happiness, but you’re right. I need to take care of myself, too.” He gives me a brave smile. “You have no idea how happy I am right now. The old me would feel guilty because I’m here and Andy isn’t, but I don’t feel that way right now. Well, I guess I feel a little guilty, but I hope I’ll allow myself to trust that I do deserve good things. I think you’re right that he forgives me and wants me to live a good life.”

I smile “Of course he does.”

His face turns serious. “Lexi,” he says softly as he gazes into my eyes. “There’s something else I need to tell you. I can’t believe I forgot to mention it.”

“What?”

He hesitates. “Why I pushed you away for Andy in sixth grade.”

“He was a fun kid and a good friend. I shouldn’t have been jealous.”

He shakes his head. “No. That’s not the reason. I hung out with Andy because I wanted to stay away from you.”

I stare at him, my heart going still. “What? Why?”

He caresses my cheek with the back of his finger. “Because I was falling in love with you. I was only twelve and didn’t understand what was happening to me. One day, you and I were friends and everything was normal when we held hands or when you smiled at me. But then suddenly, things changed. I thought about you a lot. I dreamed about you. My cheeks were always hot when you were around. I got all weird and tingly when you held my hand. I thought about kissing you, like, all the time. As I got older, I realized I was in love with you.”

I continue to stare at him.

“So I hung out with Andy because I was confused about what was happening to me. I thought things would go back to normal and my feelings for you would go away. Andy made me forget. It was wrong to use him like that, but Ididlike spending time with him. He was a good friend.” I shake my head. “It was so silly.”

“Why didn’t you tell me how you felt?” I ask.

He shrugs. “We were twelve. We were best friends. None of the other guys felt that way about you and that just made me feel even more confused. I honestly thought something was wrong with me, which is why I pushed you away.” He rests his forehead on mine. “But I swear I’ll never push you away again.”

“I know you won’t.”

He pulls back to look at me intensely. “Lexi, my feelings for you have never changed, even though I ignored you for four years. I haven’t stopped loving you. I pushed my feelings deep inside me as a way to forget you, but my heart always cried for you.” He gives me a shy smile. “I love you, Alexis West. You’re my dream girl. You’re my everything.”

My entire body is abuzz. My heart pounds in my head, my lungs are about to burst, and the butterflies are working overtime.

I fling my arms around him. “I love you, too, Brock! I think I always have, ever since we were kids. I didn’t notice it back then, but my feelings for you have always been strong. And when you came back from Boston, it was like everything was falling into place. A part of me left with you to Boston, but I became whole again when you came back. Why do you think I’m so obsessed with you? I’ve been obsessed with you forever and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Because my life is nothing without you in it. Some might say that’s not healthy, but I don’t care. I know what I want, I know who I love. And that’syou.”

He holds me close. “I know who I love. Who I’m obsessed with. And that’s you.”

“We have a lot to work on,” I tell him. “We have a long way to go. But you’re worth it, Brock Hastings.”

I lean forward and kiss his cheek. His entire face goes red, which makes him look so adorable.

He rests his forehead on mine again. “Thanks for giving me a chance,” he whispers.

“It’s not a chance. It’s fate. We werealwaysmeant to be together. Our friends knew it. Our siblings and parents knew it. And deep down, we knew it, too.”

His face brightens in a way it never did before. And the emotion that stands out the most? Love. Deep, intense love for me. “Yeah, we did,” he says.

We stay snuggled together for what feels like hours. We don’t say much because we don’t have to. We’re just comfortable in each other’s arms.

It’s the only place we want to be.

Chapter Forty-One