Curiosity and amusement lit her gaze, her tears forgotten. “How’d he find out?”

“When he went back to school, he went to one of the language professors. She clued him in.”

“Was he angry?”

“A little. But he started coming home on the weekends, just to fight with her. And the fighting was starting to feel less like hate and more like fun. When he came home for spring break, it took them three days to get caught steaming up the back seat of my grandfather’s Caddy.”

He smiled when she let out a gurgling laugh. “When she was supposed to fly back home, they eloped. And she stayed.”

She sighed. “That might be the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”

“She still calls him ‘fofo’,” he said, his gut tightening a little, because this was the important part. “And sometimes she’s still mocking him. But mostly, when she says ‘fofo’, what she really means is ‘I love you’.”

“Oh.” Her eyes filled with tears again. “Cade.”

“I wanted you almost from the moment we met,” he said softly. “And at first, that’s all I thought it was. Took me a while to figure out that it wasn’t just lust. By the time I did…”

“I was with Kyle,” she whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to interfere with your relationship,” he said simply. “I still got to be your friend, and that was enough for a while.”

“I can’t believe we wasted so much time,” she said, the tears slipping free.

“I don’t think it was a waste,” he countered, brushing at her wet cheeks. “I don’t think we would’ve gotten this far, this fast, without those years of friendship behind us.”

“I love you so much,” she choked out. “Even if you did ruin my surprise.”

He lowered his head so his lips brushed hers. “I love you, too, fofa.”

“Every time you call me that from now on, I’m going to cry,” she told him with a watery laugh.

“Good,” he said, and gave her his most sinister stare. “I like making you cry.”

“Beast,” she accused.

“You love it.”

“I really do.” She gave such a heartfelt sigh he couldn’t help but smile. “I never thought I’d find this.”

He traced his thumb over her cheek, gathering more tears. “This?”

“You.” Her lips curved in a tremulous smile. “Someone who’d love me, and take care of me, and who would fuck me up in the exact way I like to be fucked up.”

“I do love to fuck you up.”

“I know.” Her breath hitched on a sob. “I’m so happy. Sadie was right.”

He shook his head at the change in topic. “Yeah? What was she right about?”

“That this is special, and rare, and I should cherish it instead of pigeon-pecking it to death.”

“She said that, did she?”