Maybe it’s time to finally let Hollis go. Lord knows I’ve let this drag on enough, this hold on my heart I’ve continued to let him have. Even though the idea of closing the door on any prospect that we could ever be together, that he would come back for me and want a future with me, sends a sharp stab of pain radiating through me, the more rational part of my brain knows it’s for the best to lock it tight and throw away the key. He can have my friendship but nothing more.
Nothing more? an inner voice questions while I ignore the piercing anguish that follows.
Nothing more. Just friendship.
Because when it comes down to it, Hollis never did the one thing I’d hoped for him to do.
He never chose me.
Hollis
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Magnolia’s Graduation Day
I reckon I shouldn’t be here, but I couldn’t stay away. Least of all, on a day as important as this one.
As I watched Magnolia Barton walk across that stage and accept her diploma, a feeling of utter pride filled me from head to toe. I’m so damn proud of her.
Once the ceremony ends, I linger even though I know it’s dangerous. I’m not sure what her response would be to me being here.
Fuck. I scrub a hand down my face and over my short beard and release an inward groan. This is another sign of how fucked up I made things. Before, I wouldn’t have hesitated in being here, in letting her know I came.
“Hollis?”
I startle at the male voice calling my name. When I turn, I find a guy about my height wearing a button-down shirt beneath a sport coat and a pair of pressed slacks. He regards me with a mixture of surprise and recognition while I have no idea who the hell he is. He steps closer with a smile.
“Sorry to catch you off guard,” he apologizes and holds out his hand to me. “Grant Stevenson.”
I shake his hand warily. “Hollis Barnes.” I pause before adding, “But somehow, you already knew that.”
He grins, and if I’m being completely honest, I don’t detect any douchebag vibes. “I recognized you from one of the photos Magnolia has in her room of the two of you.”
It takes all my control to suppress the jolt that zigzags through me at his words. She still keeps a photo of us?
His eyes crinkle at the corners, and he lifts his chin to gesture to me. “Although I have to be honest, the ink and beard initially threw me off.”
A surprised laugh escapes me, and I slide my hands into my pockets.
Grant steps closer and glances around before lowering his voice. “I’m actually glad you’re here. I know you and Magnolia haven’t seen one another in a while, but you’re her oldest friend…”
Oldest friend. Not best friend. I don’t miss the phrasing. Although I don’t feel it’s intentional, it cuts deep just the same.
“I’m nervous as hell, and I’m hopin’ you can tell me if she’d like this.”
It takes me a moment to realize what he’s pulled out of his pocket.
A velvet ring box and a packet of Pop Rocks.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I resist the urge to rub at the center of my chest, where searing pain radiates.
He flicks open the box to reveal a ring with a large diamond that’s fancy as hell. Something Mrs. Barton would love and deem appropriate. But Magnolia? Hell no.
“Her mom helped me pick it out.”
Exactly.
“And I know she loves Pop Rocks since she always has a pack.”
Not the strawberry flavor.
But he’s trying. I can see the nervousness in his expression. The hope. The excitement.
I can’t crush this guy. He’s exactly what her parents have always wanted for her. The kind of guy who doesn’t get his hands dirty. The one with money and connections.
The one who can give her the future her parents expect her to have. The one who won’t come home with rough hands, callused to hell and back from working on a project that’s for a high-end client or due to be auctioned off to a car collector with more money than they know what to do with.
The man who wears button-downs like they’re second skin. Designer clothes.
So caught up in my thoughts, I don’t immediately realize that he’s pocketed the items and is gazing in another direction. When I turn and follow his focus, catching sight of her weaving through the crowd, I take advantage of the moment and let my eyes drink her in. She’s…so goddamn beautiful.
Her long blond hair spills down her back, and even beneath the shapeless graduation gown, her sleek, tanned legs peek out from the bottom hem, her heels accentuating her toned calf muscles.
When she catches sight of Grant, her entire face lights up, and…goddammit.
I can’t do this. This was a fucking mistake. It’s like someone’s performing open heart surgery and just cracked my chest open without anesthesia.
I spin around, my eyes trained on an exit. I can disappear, and she’ll never know. I’m sure in all the engagement excitement, he’ll forget to mention to her that I came.
I barely make it two steps when I hear it. The voice I’ve dreamed of every night since I left.
“Hollis?”
Fuck.
My eyes fall closed, and I battle against warring emotions. Slowly, so damn cautiously, I turn around.
Seeing Magnolia from a distance was both heartbreaking and wonderful. Up close, though, it’s downright devastating. Like an invisible hand reaches into my chest and rips out my heart.
I force a smile that feels brittle as hell. “Congratulations, Shortcake.”
Magnolia
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Graduation Day
“Can you believe it?” Stephanie squeals, doing a little side-to-side happy dance. She jostles me in the process, and my hands fly to keep my cap from shifting too much. I know my parents will want to take pictures, and Roy will likely post one on his social media pages, so I need to look presentable.
I knew I should’ve used more bobby pins to keep it in place.
Also, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen my roommate this bubbly before. Tommy’s had quite the influence on her. He’s softened a lot of her edges, and it’s nice to see her like this. She still dyes her hair fun colors and dresses how she wants, but she’s more affectionate and energetic and just so…happy.
If I’m being honest, I’m a smidge envious.
My parents and Grandpa Joe are here with Grant somewhere in the large crowd. Stephanie and I are milling around, trying to find our respective families in the crowd now that the graduation ceremony is over.
“Do you think Grant’s going to propose tonight?”
I jerk to an abrupt stop, causing someone to run into me from behind.
“So sorry,” I offer automatically before turning back to Stephanie. “Did he say somethin’?”
She gives me an odd look. “Um, you’ve been dating him for a while, and you two are like an old married couple.” She snorts with a smirk. “If the apocalypse happened right now, I’d be more surprised about that than if Grant proposed.”
She’s right. Grant and I get along so well that our relationship has been flawless. But still, something’s been holding me back.