I needed to tell him a semi-truth before I said the rest.
"I was hurt. Devastated. Because I thought we'd been good together too." I pressed a hand to my chest where even now, the pain spiked at the memory of how shattered I'd been when I saw him and Dani together. "I needed to get away. Back to reality."
His eyes narrowed. "You're saying what we had wasn't real?"
I hadn't expected him to read between the lines so quickly. That was my man, smart and gorgeous. Though he wasn't my man any more. Not after tonight.
Hoping I could do this without breaking down in a blubbering mess, I nodded. "People hook up on vacations all the time. Incredibly intense flings that suck you in at the time, but when it inevitably ends, as it has to, you realize it was nothing more than a romantic fantasy." I was so proud when my voice didn't wobble.
"Bullshit," he said, starting to pace, stopping every few seconds to glare at me. "We had more than that."
I sat on my hands to stop them from shaking and giving away how nervous I was. "It was fun, Kye. And the sex was phenomenal. But it was always going to end."
Damn, the pain was back again, slicing my heart and making me breathless.
"What if it didn't have to end?" He stopped in front of me and knelt at my feet, placing his hands either side of me on the bed, effectively trapping me. "Would that shitty little speech you just gave change?"
My mouth gaped for a second before I closed it, hating how my heart gave a betraying leap of hope. "It has to end. We both knew that going into this."
"Things change." He leaned forward and laid his cheek on my knee. "I've changed."
He said it so softly I had to lean down a little to hear him.
"What do you mean?" I held my breath, knowing there was nothing he could say that would alter the outcome but too weak to push him away when I'd never seen him this vulnerable.
He lifted his head and looked me straight in the eye. "I want to be with you. Here. At DU."
The blood must’ve drained from my face because a sudden chill made me shiver. This couldn't be real.
Had Kye just said what I thought he'd said?
"Hey, don't faint on me." He straightened from a squat position to sit next to me. "Not quite the reaction I'd expected."
"But you can't stay here." I shook my head, trying to clear the fog. "You're going to be a Grand Slam champion one day."
"I'd rather be your champion." He slid an arm around my waist and held me tight. "The thing is, I've gone and fallen in love with you. And it turns out I don't need tennis as badly as I need you."
I turned to face him, slowly, not daring to hope. "You love me?"
"Yeah, go figure." He kissed me to prove it, a hard, fast kiss filled with desperation. Like he couldn't get enough. Like he was petrified he wouldn't get another.
I pushed him away before we ended up how we usually ended up after a kiss: naked and entangled and incredibly satisfied.
"I can't let you give up tennis for me." When he opened his mouth to speak, I pressed my fingers against it. "You'd end up resenting me. And I'd end up hating myself for it."
I lowered my hand, leaned forward and brushed a soft kiss across his lips. "You're an amazing guy and I'll miss you a lot, but you can't do this."
He captured my face in his hands. "Do you love me?"
I glanced away and compressed my lips.
"Answer the question, Mia." His thumbs caressed my cheeks and I bit back a moan. "Look at me and tell me the truth."
Damn.
I dragged my gaze back to meet his, ready to lie to the man I loved. But what I saw made me crumple.
Kye had tears in his eyes.
He'd put his heart on the line, was risking it all, for me.
The least I owed him before he walked away was the truth.
"Of course I frikking love you," I said, tension gripping my chest like a vice. "But I'm not going to let you throw away your future because of me."
To my surprise, he grinned. "You are my future, you crazy girl." He swooped in for another kiss, softer this time, and I savored the taste of mint on my tongue, the scent of his citrus aftershave filling my senses. "You know tennis was my go-to place, my emotional crutch."
He squared his shoulders, the sheen of tears gone. "But I don't need it anymore."
He winked. "I'm all grown up. And I got there because of you."
He stood, snagged my hands and tugged me to my feet. "I spoke to my dad. He's going to pull strings to get me in here. English major. And I'll play college tennis." He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. "So you're not getting rid of me that easily, babe."
I couldn't believe this. Any of it.