He ran a hand through his hair in a frustrated gesture. “Just tell me what you’re thinking. What’s going on in that mind of yours?”

“You know how much I love to dance,” I began. He nodded his head because this was something we had discussed before. “The showcase was my best opportunity at a chance to dance professionally after school.”

“So the people your dance teacher introduced you to tonight—they could offer you a job?”

“Yes,” I sighed as I reached into my pocket to pull out their business cards. “This is huge. I had hoped that someone might possibly be interested, but this is more than I even let myself dream.”

“Where are they from?” he asked, gesturing at the cards.

I shuffled through them and was shocked at the variety. “Chicago. San Francisco. And two are from places in New York.”

“They’re all pretty far away,” he pointed out.

My heart sank at the thought that we wouldn’t be able to figure this out somehow. Dance was my dream, but Jackson had quickly become a huge part of my happiness. If keeping my dream meant losing him, I just didn’t know what I was going to do.

“Yeah, unfortunately they are. There just aren’t a whole lot of opportunities to dance around here. I swear to God, if there were I would be interested because you’re here.”

“And this is what you want to do? Go somewhere to dance?”

I thought about how to explain it so that he would understand and moved to a kneeling position at his feet as I answered. “Yes, Jackson. It really is what I want to do. It’s my dream, and if I don’t chase it now, then I will lose my chance forever. I’m just not ready to let go of it yet.”

Jackson pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me. “I think that’s what bothers me the most, Kaylie. That you would honestly think that I’d want you to give up your dream for me. You should know me better than that. I want what’s best for you. Always.”

I breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Even if it means that I have to move a thousand miles away?”

“Yes, Kaylie. Even then. But I need to know right now. Do you also want our relationship? Because I can’t do this thing alone.”

“I absolutely want you in my life,” I whispered against his lips before kissing him.

“You need to fucking learn to talk to me,” he replied after our kiss ended. “I know it’s hard. Hell, after meeting your aunt, I don’t know how the hell you ended up so sweet. And I definitely get why you learned to keep shit to yourself living with her. But if you want this thing to work between us, it’s something you need to work on with me. Especially if you’re going to move a thousand miles away to dance.”

“I know, and I swear I will do better. I don’t want to lose you, and I know that if I can’t figure out how to let you in more I might.”

“That’s all I needed to hear,” he reassured me. “I didn’t want to ruin your big night, but I needed to know that you’re in this for the long haul with me. Because I’m in it with you, Kaylie.”

“Even if it means a long-distance relationship?”

“Yes, sweetheart. Even then,” he murmured. “I already broke all my other rules. Why not this one too?”

CHAPTER 16

Jackson

It was like the flood gates had opened between us when Kaylie and I spent the whole night after her showcase talking. She finally started sharing more of what was going on inside her head with me. Thank fuck, because I’d felt like an idiot asking my girlfriend to talk to me. I was probably the only guy in the world that had to practically beg his girl to talk to him when most other guys avoided serious conversations like the plague. I couldn’t help but wonder how the hell I’d gone from being the one-night-stand guy to being so serious about Kaylie that I wanted to know everything about her.

It was pretty damn scary to think about the importance she had in my life now. My feelings for her were just so fucking intense. She had the power to crush me, and I didn’t think she even realized it. I’d waited a long time to let a girl into my life, and now that I had, I’d gone full fucking throttle straight from the gate. No pussyfooting around for me. And the plan I was currently considering sure as shit showed how much Kaylie had come to mean to me in the short time we had been together.

Kaylie had dreams that meant a lot to her. They seemed to be the last tangible thing tying her to her parents. She worked damn hard to make those dreams come true, and there was no way I could be a roadblock to them for her. I wanted her to have every fucking good thing she wanted in her life. When she’d told me about the offer the dance company in New York had made, her eyes were shining so fucking bright that it was impossible to miss how much she wanted to go. But she was still considering her other options and had talked about possibly going to Chicago because it was closer to me. She was happy about that option, but she was thrilled about the idea of going to New York.