You Kept Me Waiting While Loving Her 1 Chapter 01
At the graduation party, someone consulted my boyfriend on persuading his Ivy-bound girlfriend to attend an average college with him.
Swirling his drink, my boyfriend held forth confidently. “Delayed gratification-that’s my secret trick. To put it plainly, it’s just training someone to be obedient.”
“Never grant her wishes right away. Drag things out until she’s on the verge of blowing up, then make it up to her later.”
I was standing at the door, soaked from the rain, having come to pick him up. My whole body felt frozen.
And suddenly, everything clicked-every so-called gesture of making amends.
I craved fresh strawberries, and three days later, he brought home a bag of discounted apples instead.
I wanted to see the ocean, and ten days passed before he gave me a tiny beach-themed fridge magnet.
Even when I was hospitalized after a car accident, it took him a whole month to remember to ask if I needed a Band-Aid.
But I also remembered how different he was with Reese Ashworth, his childhood friend.
He always handed her pre-washed strawberries without a second thought.
When she sprained her ankle, he went to her place to take care of her.
Even that fridge magnet he gave me was just a random souvenir he picked out while traveling and relaxing with her.
I pushed the door open, my eyes red as I looked at him.
Wyatt Blackwell hesitated for just a second.
Then he stood up, casually tore the tab off a soda can, and slipped it onto my finger. “Haven’t you been asking me to propose? There. I proposed. Now stop making a scene.”
I looked down at that ring tab and felt a bitter laugh rise in my throat.
I had brought up the idea of marriage half a year ago all on my own.
But this kind of delayed happiness? I didn’t want it anymore.
***
“Let’s break up.”
My words instantly hushed the lively private room.
Wyatt had clearly never expected me to say that, and embarrassment crept across his face. “Alaia Winthrop.
stop messing around. I was drunk, just joking around. We’ve been together for years, don’t you know me well
enough?”
He grabbed my hand and slid the ring tab back onto my finger.
A few of his roommates chimed in. “Come on, everyone knows how long you two have been together. Wyatt’s been nothing but good to you.”
“Four years of college, and aside from his childhood friend, there hasn’t been another girl around him.”
I had heard remarks like this countless times before. I no longer had the energy to argue with him about the proper boundaries he ought to keep.
“I’m serious. I’ve already decided…”
To go to San Francisco.
But before I could finish, his special ringtone cut me off.
The photo on the screen showed him in a suit, standing next to Reese in a wedding dress.
“Reese?” His voice softened instantly, his eyes lighting up with a smile. “What do you mean the thirty-second
draft still isn’t working? Don’t worry, I’m on my way.”
He hung up, and the warmth drained from his face. “Reese is stuck on parts of her graduation thesis. I need
to go help her out.”
I remembered how much he hated dealing with anything troublesome.
When I’d asked him to proofread a document for me, he’d just run it through an Al.
But now, because Reese’s thesis wasn’t passing, he’d patiently gone through thirty-two revisions with her.
Without waiting for my response-just like always-Wyatt put on his jacket to leave.
But this time, I wasn’t going to pretend not to see it anymore.
“She’s just your friend. Why are you taking photos like that with her? Wyatt, do you even remember who your girlfriend is?”
He cut me off, annoyed. “Reese’s watched us date for four years. She’s never even had a boyfriend. She just wanted to know what it feels like to wear a wedding dress-and you’re jealous of that too?”
There was anger in his voice.
As he walked out, he bumped into me and knocked my phone to the floor.
I looked down at the cracked screen. The wallpaper was a photo I’d secretly taken of our hands together.
Wyatt hated having his picture taken. He always said the camera made him stiff.
Even this hand-holding picture taken to mark our four years together was snapped by me without him noticing
I brushed my fingers over the cracked screen, a sharp, sour ache welling up
The cracks in this relationship had been there for a long time.
I was just too afraid to face them.
As I walked out of the private room, my mom called.
in my chest.
“Alaia, that job in San Francisco is great, but what about you and Wyatt? You’ve been together so long. Aren’t you going to get married after graduation? He chased after you relentlessly back in school, and long-distance separation will surely break his heart.”
She was right. Wyatt had chased me relentlessly back then, falling head over heels for me at first sight.
He would bring me breakfast every morning and prepare thoughtful little gifts from time to time.
The once aimless young heir of the Blackwell family had started studying hard just to catch up to me.
I promised him that if he got into an Ivy, we’d be together.
But I never expected that on the SAT exam, my visually impaired mom would put my admission ticket in the wrong bag.
Wyatt drove me back on his motorcycle, getting me to the testing center just in time.
Yet he ended up running late for his own exam, failed to finish all the papers, and ultimately missed his chance to get into an Ivy.
“It’s okay, Alaia. Even if you choose not to be with me, I won’t mind. I could never hold you back from your future.”
Maybe it was in that moment that I first felt his name take root in my heart.
And I willingly changed my college plans for him.
Then last year, Reese came back from abroad. At a party, she looked at my long, straight hair-the same as hers-and laughed. “I can’t believe you still go for my type, Wyatt.”
“But don’t worry, Alaia. We dated for a few days back in school, but honestly, we’re better off as just friends.”
I froze. That was our first real fight.
On the third day, Wyatt stood in the rain and swore to me that it had just been a stupid joke from when they
were kids.
And I let it go.
“Alaia? Why aren’t you saying anything? You’re scaring me.”
I wiped the tears off my face and answered quietly 1 already broke up with him
The truth was, Wyatt had been right about one thing
I couldn’t keep holding back my own future just for him any longer