Holding On Read Free Page A

to melt from my body.
    “So are you going to tell me why you ran out of the house before I got there or are we going to the movies with you looking like that?”
    Welcome back, tension.
    “Calm down, birthday boy. First, I think we are missing the movie right now. You should probably call the GF and tell her you are going to be a bit late. Second, you know you’re jealous of how hot I look in all these fabulous colors,” I stopped to smirk at him for a minute because he knows I never refer to myself as hot. “Last, I want to tell you, but I don’t really want to ruin your birthday. Let’s get out of the cold, and we can talk about it tomorrow.”
    He pulled out his phone, typed out a quick text, and shoved it back in his pocket. “I just told Claire that we won’t be making it to the movie. I told her that we would meet up with her and everyone else when the movie ends. So in the meantime, I think you need to tell me what’s wrong.” As if realizing that his phone was going to chime any minute with an unpleasant reply, he pulled it back out of his pocket and turned it off.
    He talked about his girlfriend so dismissively that I forgot she was not a fan of our relationship. If she saw us right now, with his arm around me, she would flip out and start to throw a tantrum in front of whoever was willing to watch her. She was a very sweet girl, but very possessive and clingy. It struck me as odd that Brad would even date her, considering he was so incredibly laid back. They were complete opposites, and I had been trying to figure out their relationship since they started dating last spring.
    Last week, we were celebrating my birthday. Today we were supposed to be celebrating his. Nothing about this situation constituted celebrating. We’ve always had a ritual for our birthdays since they are so close together, but my “situation” was messing everything up. We were supposed to be going to a movie and then to a party at Emma and Ella’s in celebration of his birthday. It was the same thing we did last Friday night on my birthday. It was the same thing we did last year for our birthdays. It was our tradition. This was not on the agenda for today.
    A quick poke to the ribs brought me out of my thoughts and back to reality. Ugh! I really did not want to talk about this.  I did not want to cry again. I did not want to think about what’s really going to happen in less than a month. This sucks!     I did not want to have to tell my best  friend that I was leaving him.
    Another nudge and I realized that he was not going to let me stall any longer. I stood up and started to pace the length of the dugout. As I pulled the blanket tighter around myself, I realized that I couldn’t feel my toes—my socks were wet and frozen to my feet. I must have gotten snow on my socks when I was wearing my slippers. My day just kept getting better and better. I quickly turned toward Brad before I realized that he was right behind me, and I ran square into the middle of his rock hard chest. He grabbed my shoulders to steady me and pulled me in for a hug. He smelled so good that I couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
    Deep breath in, exhale, repeat. This was my new mantra. I repeated it over and over in my head before I opened my eyes again and realize that Brad was still holding me, stroking his hand over my back and kissing my hair. I was crying, and I didn’t even realize I had started to shake again. Deep breath in, exhale, repeat.
    “Tell me, Becca,” he said, breaking the silence that I was beginning to appreciate. “Tell me, or I will have to call your mom, and you know she will tell me.”
    Crap! He was right. She would tell him my bra size if he asked. She trusts him with me completely. She knows that he will always take care of me, that he loves me in a way that is completely hard to come by and only happens once in a lifetime. It’s that special kind of love where nothing-will-ever-come-between-us-no-matter-what.