Page 118 of Forbidden to Fall

I blinked, trying to force my eyes to adjust, but it was just too dark.

“Ryan?” I tentatively reached a hand out toward him, but it met with nothing but air.

The surprise in the room turned to a buzzing chatter, and people started to take out their phones and use them as flashlights.

I followed suit, shining the light where Ryan was.

Or where he had been.

“Sadie,” James appeared, his face partially illuminated by his own phone. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, then blinked as an ascending whine sounded and the lights flickered back on. I looked around for Ryan, but there was no sign of him.

He’d just…left.

In the middle of the most important conversation we’d had in our lives. I’d been torn in two on his behalf for weeks, and he hadn’t even cared enough to stick around for thirty seconds to finish what we’d started.

The music started back up, and the chaos of the blackout gave way to more dancing. This time, the band started up a slow song, and couples started pairing off. Liv and Tate. Maven and Ben. Carson and Emma.

Jealousy settled in on top of my frustration at Ryan. They had no idea how lucky they were to be able to hold each other in front of everyone with no inhibition.

I turned to James, who was watching me with concern.

“Will you dance with me?” I asked.

He looked around at all the people, then back at me, as if to say here? Now?

An hour ago, I wouldn’t have dared.

But the cat was out of the bag. Ryan knew. And thanks to Ethan, a number of other people probably did too.

I was so tired of trying to navigate things carefully—to protect everyone’s feelings while James’s and mine took the hit.

I wanted to dance with the man I loved. I wanted him to hold me.

What everyone in town thought of it couldn’t be my problem anymore.

I slid my fingers through his, and he tightened his grip on them in response, then led me to the floor.

The stares made the skin on my neck prickle, but I ignored them. I understood now why James hadn’t tried to fight for his reputation. If I couldn’t even convince my own brother to reevaluate his opinion, what chance did I stand against anyone else?

People believed what they wanted to believe.

“We’ve got an audience,” James said as I slipped my arms around his neck.

“Good,” I said, a shot of adrenaline running through me.

There was a sense of liberty in letting it all out in the open. We weren’t just airing out dirty laundry; we were flying it like a flag.

“Are you uncomfortable?” I asked. Maybe I was pushing James onto a stage he had no desire to be on.

“Are you kidding?” He slid his hands around my waist and looked down at me in a way that made the blood rush through my veins and straight to my head. “I’ve been dying to let everybody in this town know you’re mine.”

I let out a little, breathy laugh as the chorus of Somebody Should Kiss You by Teddy Swims played.

Ryan’s family wasn’t at dinner at Mom and Dad’s on Sunday.

The four of us tried to act normal, but the quiet moments told the real story.