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Words exist.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of any.
His brain went blank whenever he thought about trying to tell Sophie. He had to tell her. It wasn’t his secret to keep anymore.
He had to tell her.
She was going to hate him.
Well , he reminded himself, more then she already does.
This is going to stink.
Might as well bite the bullet.
He knocked on the door.
It opened and he met the most perfect set of brown eyes in the universe. “Hey, Foster.”
He made sure his smirk was set in place, “Can I come in?”
She stepped back, “Of course! We’re still eating dinner, but I’m sure you can join us.”
He nervously followed her inside.
When he walked into the dining room both Ruewen parents raised their heads to look at him.
Grady’s eyebrows came together slightly, but he said, “Hey Keefe! Would you like to join us for supper?”
Sophie turned and looked at him with a triumphant smile as if to show him she was right.
He smiled faintly at her, dreading the talk he was about to have with her.
He got through dinner ok, he only dropped his fork a couple of times and he didn’t think anyone noticed him shaking.
Finally, though, it was over.
He didn’t know whether to be relieved or more nervous.
When they finally got upstairs to Sophie’s room he was sweating.
This was not going to be good.
Sophie knew something was wrong as soon as Keefe walked in the door. He was fidgety and anxious; not at all like his typical self.
She was pretty sure he was going to pass out on the way up to her room. He was shaking like a leaf, and his face was pale with sweat, making his hair cling to his temples.
What was wrong with him? Was he afraid of something?
Instantly her mind went to the worst-case scenarios.
Did his dad do something? Did Mr. Forkle have a mission for them? Was Keefe here to tell her goodbye? Was he planning something?
Keefe was glancing nervously around her room as if he was marking the exits for a quick escape.
She said, “Keefe?”
At the same time he said, “Sophie?”
She blushed. “You first.”
“I really have to tell you something. Please don’t hate me.” He looked at his feet, not once meeting her eyes.
“Keefe,” she waited until he looked up at her. “I will never hate you. You can tell me anything.”
This was it she told herself, he was leaving. She braced herself but she found she couldn’t do it.
She had to stop him.
“Sophie I—”
“Keefe wait.” She interrupted. “Please don’t go. If you need a place to stay, we have a guest bedroom. If you need adventure we can put the registry pendant scrambler to good use.” Tears formed in her eyes. “I’ll do anything you need. Just please Keefe. Please don’t leave.”
Keefe moved forward and finally wrapped his arms around her. She let out a sob and leaned into him. “Foster, hey woah. Calm down. I’m not going anywhere.”
She sniffled and let out a huff, “Good. I love you too much to let you go anyway.”
Keefe’s arms around her stiffened and he asked shakily, “Foster? Did you just say what I think you said?”
She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “Yes, I love you. The thought of losing you was too much and I couldn’t let you go.” She buried her head in his shoulder.
“You love me?” His voice cracked and she pulled back again.
“Yes you silly boy! Now, what were you going to tell me?”
He looked dazed. “I love you. I knew you just wanted to be friends, but I love you and I had to come over here and tell you. So, can we date now?”
“So you were never planning on leaving?”
He smirked, “Nope. But I was nervous to tell you how I felt. Especially with your dad here.”
Grady’s voice yelled form down the hall, “We already knew!”
She slapped his arm, “You jerk!”