I held her in my arms last night as I opened up to her about my parents and Taylor. Holding her that close made me realise that it didn’t matter what curveballs were aimed my way because I had her, and what we had was real. I knew being with Mel wasn’t going to be easy. I wasn’t worried for one second. The only thing that scared me was knowing I would lose her if I ever hurt her again. I knew she planned on leaving Winslow to start a new life in a place where no one knew who she was. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t considered doing the same. This place no longer felt like home and I hadn’t realised how much I missed that feeling. That security. She knew how I felt about her leaving. It wasn’t something I could deal with. The words she said back to me last night echoed through my head repeatedly. If you want me to stay, then I will. But if you ever hurt me, Jake, I will leave. And there will be no second chances.

I’d made her a promise last night to always be honest and open, even if it didn’t seem important. I promised to make her happy and prove to her that she had something here worth staying for, and I intended on keeping that promise.

I held her in my arms after I claimed her body as my own. It stirred something inside of me I could no longer ignore. We’d had sex before, but last night was different. It wasn't a rush to get to the finish line. It was passionate. Slow. I’d made love to her. Just like I’d done the night she’d called out Taylor’s name in her sleep.

I held her in my arms as her breathing evened out. I brushed my lips against her forehead, breathed her in and made a silent promise to her that this time it would be different. This time, I didn't want her to leave, regretting the things we’d just done. I wanted her to stay. To welcome the new day together. Her face was all I could see when I closed my eyes last night, her laughter echoing through my mind as I let sleep take over

I felt Mel stir beside me, her head tucked into the side of me as my fingers drifted across her bare shoulder in a feather like motion. I peered down just as her big brown eyes found mine and a sleepy smile pulled at her lips.

“Hey, you,” I said, smiling down at her.

Mel blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the new light. “Hey, yourself,” she whispered back, dragging her teeth across her full bottom lip.

“Coffee?” I asked, shifting my legs from under the duvet.

“Coffee?” She frowned. Her eyes were wide with wonder, and then she shook her head. “No. I should leave you to it.”

I threw my legs over the bed and reached for my boxer shorts before slipping them on. I glanced back at her. Her eyes were down and she wore a frown that had me realising how much she’d been hurt before. I turned to face her, leaned across the bed and tipped her chin with my finger. “Mel…” I sighed. “I want you to stay.”

Her face lit up in surprise and I hated how unsure she seemed. She needed to realise that I wasn’t Taylor and I wouldn’t be kicking her out of my bed like he had. Like the rest of them had.

“I’d like that,” she eventually breathed out.

Dipping my head, I brushed my lips against hers. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

When I returned a few minutes later, Mel was up, sheet wrapped around her waist covering her modesty. Her eyes lifted to mine as her thumb scrolled over the screen of her phone.

“Coffee. Black. Half a sugar,” I said, holding out the steaming mug.

“You remembered how I take my coffee?” Her brow rose.

“I have a good memory.”

Mel paused her thumb on the screen just long enough to take the mug from my hand and place it on the bedside table. “Thank you.” She smiled.

“No problem,” I said as I sat down on the bed and rested my back against the headboard. Mel glanced across at me, smiled and continued scrolling through her phone. I watched as her brows furrowed, then straightened again as she read whatever it was on her phone.

We continued to sit in comfortable silence for a few more minutes before something on her screen caught my attention. I could tell it was important with the way Mel’s demeanour had changed. Her back stiffened, her eyes went wide and her thumb hovered.

I leaned in close and that's when I noticed an image of a girl. She must've been in her early to mid-twenties, long blonde hair pulled to one side in some twisty thing with perfect full lips and a killer body.

“Who's the hot chick?” I asked, squinting my eyes to get a clearer look.

“Seriously?” she said, smacking my arm.

“What?”

“That hot chick is none other than Daniella freakin’ Marston.”

“Right…”

“The model? She's only on every fashion magazine that's ever published these days.”

I raised my brows and nodded. “So, she's pretty big then?”

“Bigger than big. She's huge! Seriously. Sure, she came out of nowhere, but I can't believe you've never heard of her before.”

“I’m a guy. Fashion is the last thing on my mind,” I said, raising my brows.

“Typical,” she huffed, rolling her big brown eyes playfully. “She's scouting for new local talent to design her dress for the Lights Out premiere.”

“The what premier?”

“Lights out? The new movie starring Jason Brooks and Katie DeRulla?”

“Who and what?” I was confused as fuck.

“Forget it. It doesn't matter,” she said, waving it off. “It says here that each candidate has two weeks to submit their design and the winning design will be published in Be You magazine next month.”

“Yeah?” I gazed across at her, then down at the screen before I met her eyes again. “You should do it.”

Mel scoffed. “Yeah, right. This is Daniella freakin’ Marston we're talking about. Measuring up to Gucci and Dior is near on impossible. I mean, she does always seem to champion an underdog, and her social media always makes her seem so down to Earth, but...”

“You should have more faith in your abilities.”

“I do. I’m just being realistic. Besides, do you really think I would be the only candidate submitting? There will be thousands.”

“All the more reason to do it, if you ask me. What harm can it do?”

Mel bit down on her lip then pulled it between her teeth. “I don’t know. I doubt I’ll have the time, what with work and that…”

“Then make time. Remember what you said to me after the night I told you I couldn’t play again?”

She nodded. “If you want something bad enough, you’ll find a way to get it. If you don’t, you’ll find every excuse as to why you can’t.”

“At the end of the day we’re the only ones who can make a difference in our lives…” we both said.

Nudging her shoulder with my own, I smiled down at her. “Now take your own advice and go after your dreams, Mel. In twenty years from now, when you’re married to a boring job, raising three children to grow up and follow their dreams, you’ll be kicking yourself for not reaching for yours. Don’t be one of those, Mel. Be brave. Reach for the stars. No. Reach for the moon.”

Mel grinned up at me and mouthed a thank you before she reached up and pressed her mouth to mine. Her lips were soft and delicate against my own, and she parted her mouth, groaning when I deepened the kiss. Her tongue met mine stroke for stroke, and I slipped my hands under the covers, seeking her skin. I gripped her waist and pulled her against me, her warm body pressing up to my own.

Mel pulled her mouth away from mine and sighed. “I should get going. I need to see my dad before he takes off again.”

“Ten more minutes,” I told her, taking her mouth again. She pressed her hands against my chest, lifted to straddle me and rolled her tongue against mine.

I never wanted her to leave.