Page 154 of Heartache Duet
“Holy shit,” he mumbles, holding me to him, his arm around my waist while his other hand cups the back of my head. “I can’t fucking believe it, Ava.”
I release him and land back on my feet. “Well, fucking believe it because it’s happening!”
He grasps his hair, looking up at the sky. “This is insane.”
“No, it’s not!” I tell him, tugging on his arm. I lead him back to my porch and sit us down on the steps, my grin splitting my face in two. And it doesn’t matter what we are now, or what we were in the past. Dreams are dreams, and no one and nothing should ever take away the beauty of achieving them. I’ve shed so many tears lately that it feels so much more when the tears come from joy. “God, Connor,” I cry. “I’m so proud of you.”
Connor sits with his elbows on his knees, the letter still grasped in his hand, head down as he tries to settle his breathing.
“Are you okay?” I laugh, wiping the wetness off my cheeks. I know how much this means to him. It’s one step closer.
He looks up at me, trying to bite back a smile. “It’s happening,” he says. “Holy shit, it’s actually happening.”
“It’s just getting started,” I tell him, shaking his arm. “You’re going to go all the way! I can feel it in here.” I press a hand to my chest. “Everything you’ve worked for… everything you’ve ever wanted.”
He licks his lips, shakes his head. A beat of silence passes as his expression falls. Reaching up, eyes locked on mine, he fingers a strand of my hair. “Not everything, Ava.”
My heart strains against the meaning behind his words, and I push back the sudden ache. Because this is his moment. His time. And it’s bigger than he and I and all the what-ifs we carry. I rear back, plaster on a smile with little effort. “What did your dad say?”
“He doesn’t know.”
“What?”
He blows out a heavy breath. “I was—I just opened the mailbox and saw the letter and read the first few words and… and you were the first person I thought to call.” He swallows, his breaths short. “And I know that’s probably bad considering what we are, but—”
I cut in because I don’t want this moment to lead to questions about us, “Wait, so you only read the first few words?”
He nods.
I take the letter from him and pretend to read. “Dear Connor Ledger. We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to join our wait list—”
“Shut up! It does not say that!” He grabs the letter from me, his eyes wild as he reads it. “Jesus, Ava.” He palms his chest. “You scared the shit out of me.”
I giggle, shove his side with mine. “Go tell your dad.”
Connor shrugs. “He’s sleeping.”
“Connor!” I laugh out. “I’m sure he won’t care if you wake him.”
“I’m scared,” he says through a chuckle.
“Of what?”
“I don’t know,” he admits, rubbing his eye. “I’m nervous to tell him.” His gaze moves to mine. “Will you come with me?”
I get to my feet. “Sure.”
Taking my hand, I let him set the pace from my driveway to his. He unlocks the door and stands in the middle of the living room. “Dad! Wake up!”
“Connor?” his dad calls out from his bedroom.
“Yeah. And put on some pants! Ava’s here!”
I laugh under my breath.
A minute later, Corey appears, his eyes half squinting from having just woken up. He scans Connor’s hand linked with mine for only a moment before looking up at Connor. “What’s going on?”
Connor seems to stand taller as he gives his dad the letter. “From Duke?” Corey mumbles, then reads it aloud, “Dear Connor Ledger. We are pleased to inform you that…” And that’s as far as he gets before his eyes widen, and his entire face lights up as if sleep is ancient. “Oh, Connor!” And then his expression falls, and he covers his face, his shoulders shaking with his cry.