30. Boston

THIRTY

boston

Her head was resting comfortably on his shoulder, and her soft laughter reached me even at a distance. But, it didn’t matter. I was here for one reason, and one reason alone—to fight for her. As Reese's eyes met mine over the top of her head, they flickered with an understanding that didn’t need words.

In a single, fluid motion, Reese untangled himself from Chandler and stood. "I've got somewhere I need to be," he said to her, then stood.

"About time you showed up," he said to me, walking away with his hands shoved into his pockets.

Taking a deep breath to steady my thoughts, I walked over and sat beside her on the weathered dock. Our silence stretched out like the water's surface—calm, yet hiding so much beneath. I dared to glance at her profile. The breeze toyed with her hair, the moonlight painting her features in a soft silver glow that made my heart clench.

"Chandler, do you remember when you'd come over for frozen pizza?"

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Boston, you're talking about frozen pizza right now?"

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. "I used to hate it."

"You hated when I came over?" There was hurt in her voice, as she stared down at her hands.

"No. Well, sort of," I said. My words tumbled out as I tried to open up to her the best that I could. "I hated it because dinners at your house were perfect. You had both your parents and Parker at the table, your mom made a home-cooked meal, your dad helped do the dishes when it was done..." I trailed off, lost in the memories of her family, an extreme difference to my own reality.

"And when you and Parker used to come over," I continued, my eyes locked on the dark water, "Mom would throw a cheap frozen pizza in the oven." I hesitated, unsure if I should say more, but the stillness of the evening pushed me forward. "With my mom, it’s complicated. I’ll always love her and want to protect her, but it’s never been easy. I guess I’ve been distant because I thought keeping you at arm’s length was a way to protect you from the mess I’m dealing with. Every time I pulled away, it was because I didn’t want you getting dragged into it, too."

There was a long pause, and I braced myself for her response to the raw edges of my insecurities.

"Boston," she said softly, turning to face me, her eyes reflecting the twilight sky. "I don't remember frozen pizza. I remember the belly laughs we had at your house." A small smile graced her lips as she continued. "I remember your mom turning all the lights off and us playing hide and seek. I remember all the fun we had." She reached out tentatively, her hand brushing against mine. "I didn't care what was on the dinner table—or how many people you had around it. I liked spending time with you... and her. I just wanted to be with you. No matter what that looked like."

I realized then that it wasn't the perfection of the surroundings that mattered—it was the imperfect realness of being together that had etched those memories in her heart. And maybe that could be enough for me to accept too.

"Chandler," I whispered, my voice barely rising above the gentle lap of the lake against the dock. "I'm sorry for letting you walk away." I paused. "I'm sorry for accusing you of comparing me to him."

The silence that followed felt heavy, filled with all the things I’d left unsaid over the years.

"Reese and I," I continued before she could respond. "Things will probably always be complicated. But I know he's a good guy deep down. I know there’s a side to him that not everyone gets to see, and I understand why you care about him. Even if I’m not who you want, if you don’t choose me, I’ll walk to the ends of this earth for you. Today and always." I swallowed hard, trying to push away my ego.

Her eyes searched mine as she tilted her head to the side. "You're right, Boston," she agreed. "He is a really good guy deep down. Reese doesn't let many people see it, but there's so much more to him."

I felt my jaw involuntarily tick, listening to her go on about the great things about him—the way he listened when she talked, how he was smart, driving in deep the point she was trying to make.

She paused, her gaze still lingering on the dark waters as if they held the answers to our tangled hearts. "But unfortunately, there's a problem..." her voice trailed off, her eyes holding mine with a new intensity.

"He's not you," she said simply.

I felt like I could breathe for the first time that day. My heart hammered, daring to hope for something I thought I'd pushed too far away.

"See, unfortunately for me, my heart has always belonged to the boy who grew up next door." She paused, and then turned toward me. "You captured my heart the same night you captured those fireflies."

I struggled to process her words and she continued. “No matter how many times you tried to push me away, I knew one day we'd find our way to each other. And I’m sorry, too. For everything I said. I didn’t mean it. We weren’t just having fun. This is so much more than that."

It was as if oxygen had rushed back into my lungs, sweet and life-affirming. My hand found her cheek, almost instinctively, and she nestled into the warmth of my palm.

"It is more than that," I said earnestly. "You're the only thing that has ever truly made sense to me." Tears welled up in her eyes as I spoke. "When everything around me falls apart, when my world is spinning out of control, you're the one constant thing that I've always been sure about.”

Slowly, I leaned into her, closing the space between us. When our lips met in a kiss, it was like a reunion of souls, a remembrance of the perfection we’d been denying ourselves.

Chandler's breath caught, eyes wide with a mix of confusion and surprise as she pulled away. "Wait a minute," she whispered. "I thought you were in Illinois until Sunday."

"I was supposed to be," I admitted. "But I should have been here. Baseball is important—it's going to be my future, and I’ll figure it out. But you," I said, cupping her face gently, watching as her hazel eyes searched mine for certainty, "you are my home, Chandler. And honestly, I'd give it all up for you."

Then, slowly, she slid her arm around me, her head coming to rest against my chest.

"Wait," I murmured, just as I remembered something. "I got this for you." She sat up then, curiosity lighting up her features as I fished to my pocket, fingers closing around the small gift I'd picked up on my layover.

"I made it at the airport," I said, placing the delicate friendship bracelet into her open palm. "I didn’t have many options, so don’t ask me how many bracelets I had to buy and take apart to make one say what I wanted..." I trailed off, watching as her fingers traced over the beads that spelled out ”I love you.”

A glistening tear streaked down Chandler's cheek as she looked up from the bracelet. "I love you too, Boston."

I wiped her tear away and held her for a while, soaking up every moment of having her in my arms finally. She was mine.

"Hey," I said, breaking the silence. "You wanna go back inside the ball? I've got some dance moves that I can’t wait to show off." I gave her a playful wink, hoping to see the sparkle that always danced in her eyes when we were on the brink of adventure.

She laughed, and it was like music to my ears—the sound I'd been missing without even knowing it. "Let's go," Chandler giggled, her smile so wide it could outshine the moon.

I stood up first and reached out to help her to her feet, our hands lingering in the space between us. As we walked back toward the glittering lights of the ball, Chandler started chatting animatedly about the baseball awards I had won, recounting each with a pride that made my chest swell.

"Seriously, Boston, when they said your name—" she mimicked Caroline, nearly tripping over her own feet as she did. This night, this girl—everything felt like it was falling into place.

"Promise me one thing, though," she said, her tone shifting to something more serious as we neared the entrance.

"Anything," I assured her.

"Promise you won’t break my heart. We will do this together from now on—no matter how hard or tough it might be."

"Cross my heart," I replied, drawing an invisible X over my chest. "I’ll never let you go, I’ll never push you away. I’m all in when it comes to you. Now come on, let's show them how it's done."

And we spent the rest of the night on the dance floor, enjoying every moment to the fullest, as if every step, every turn, every shared glance was a testament to a love between us that had been waiting patiently to take center stage for most of our lives.