Dart and Dash - Mary Smith Page 0,58
as she collapsed on my chest. I kissed the top of her head.
“Me too.” She was still panting. “It’s the first time I’ve had sex with all my clothes on.”
I chuckled. I didn’t respond. That was the past, and Garnet was my future. My heart swelled with love thinking of my life with her.
Dart was gone, but Garnet remained. She hadn’t left my side. Why? Most girls would have run away, if they had seen me in this condition.
“I’ll clean up in the downstairs bathroom.” She swung her legs off me and strutted over to the door.
I walked up the stairs and went to my bathroom to wash up. When I was finished, I stared at myself in the mirror. I could see that my eyes weren’t the same. Sure, they were the same shade of ice blue, but I could see the sadness in them. It would always be there because of the loss of my family.
“Dash?” Garnet called for me from downstairs.
“Up here.” I yelled down to her. I closed my eyes, trying to remember Dart’s words to me the day he died. Garnet was still here for a reason. Why am I so scared to tell her how I really feel?
“You okay?”
My eyes connected with her soft brown eyes. She was beautiful, standing there in my bathroom doorway. Her hair was a little messed up, and her clothes were wrinkled from our quickie.
“I’m great,” I stood in front of her.
“Well, do you want to study more? I know you have an early practice in the morning. Not sure if you want to go to bed or not?”
“Can we talk first?” I needed to get my feelings in order so I could focus on the rest of this week.
“Of course.”
I took her hand and led her to the bed. This was hard. Should it be hard? Dart said he was nervous when asking Daisy to marry him, and I wasn’t sure how to say the words. I truly don’t think it was hard; I think it was just my nerves.
“Life is short,” I started. “Between my parents and Dart, I realized that. I…” I paused feeling a lump in my throat. “I’m sorry about how I treated you the past couple of weeks.”
“Dash,” she touched my cheek. “You lost your brother. There’s no need to apologize.”
“Dart would have kicked my ass knowing I was yelling at you.”
“True, but it’s okay. We’re going to get through this.”
“Together?”
“Together.” She placed a soft kiss on my lips.
“I love you.” I said it. I said the one emotion that outweighed the others. Yes, I missed my brother. Yes, I would do anything to have him back. However, I know Dart wouldn’t want me to let my life pass me by. He was always the smart one. He knew what needed to be said and when . Now, I needed to be that person.
“What?”
That wasn’t the first response that I was looking for. “I said: I love you.” I repeated it to her.
“Wow,” she let go of my hand, stood up, and paced the room.
“Garnet, do you not love me?” And ice-cold fear ran through my veins.
She stopped, pushing her hands through her red hair. “I love you. I do love you, Dash. It just sucks.”
“Loving me sucks?” I was confused by what she was saying.
“No, no,” she waved her hands back and forth. “Loving you doesn’t suck. I was talking about everything else.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
Garnet sat down next to me. “This is going to sound so selfish, and it make me a terrible person but you just lost Dart, and we know you’re going to the NFL. Would you have said it if Dart was alive? Or if you weren’t scared about losing your chance to be drafted?”
“Yes,” I told her firmly. “I had no doubt in my mind. Do you know how I know that?”
She shook her head.
I took a moment thinking of our last conversation. “The day Dart died we talked about my feelings for you. I knew I loved you then, and I do love you even more now. It doesn’t matter if I make it to the NFL or not, I’ll be yours forever.”
“Don’t you mean when you make it to the NFL?”
I chuckled. “I guess I should have said when I make it to the NFL.”
“I love you too, Dash. I’m not going to lie, because I’m nervous, but like you said, life is short. I won’t let this moment pass us by.” She