Celeste bites her lip and nods. “I’d understand if you’re not up for it, because God knows you already gave me enough chances. But I want to try seriously dating you again, Gem. We don’t have to jump into a relationship right away, especially not since you’ve been enjoying being single so much. We can go as slow as you want, maybe go thirty-five miles per hour instead of doing a hundred twenty. Whatever you’re comfortable with. I don’t care as long as we do things properly this time.”

I laugh at Celeste’s random driving metaphor. It’s funny, but effective, since I know exactly what she’s talking about.

“To be fair, we had absolutely no chance of going at a normal speed from the very beginning,” I reply. “Since we started off as roommates.”

Celeste’s eyes widen with realization. “You’re absolutely right,” she says with a groan. “And they were roommates! Ironically that’s one of my favorite romantic tropes.”

“Jeez, I wonder why.” I snicker, and so does she.

When we’ve grown serious again, I say exactly what I want to Celeste. I don’t dance around things, nor do I say what I think she’d want to hear. “I want to try again, too. Just slowly, like you said. But also—and sorry, I’m not trying to be mean here—I thought you don’t do relationships, Celeste. I get that you still have feelings for me, but why did that change?”

She shrugs. “My therapist said this thing. She told me that just because I’m scared shitless, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try something. Well, I’m paraphrasing, but yeah. And it made me realize that, even though I’m terrified and may still have a lot to work on before I feel completely ready, I do want to try everything with you, Gem. I want a shot at our happily-ever-after.”

I kiss her, unable to resist any longer.

“You don’t have to be perfect,” I say, resting the tip of my nose on hers. “No one is. We all have our faults, and we all have our own baggage. You don’t have to be this flawless goddess to date me. I’ve always just wanted you.”

Celeste nods. Her voice comes out raw, sounding more vulnerable than I’ve ever heard it before when she says, “I’ve always just wanted you, too. I don’t want to share my life with anyone else.”

My vision goes blurry with tears. “Same here.”

She stares at me for one long moment. Then, a mischievous quirk appears on her lips. “So, does that mean I got the job?”

I smile and pull her in for another kiss.

Epilogue