The Best Laid Plans(96)

I run as fast as I can toward the back stairwell, already feeling a cramp in my side. I hear footsteps behind me and turn, expecting to see the concierge, but I’m surprised to see Chase right behind me.

“I can’t let you be the only hero,” he says, grinning. “Maybe now she’ll forgive me.”

We tumble together through a swinging door.

“Wait,” I say. “We should split up. I take these stairs and you take the ones on the other side.” He nods and heads in the other direction, saluting before he disappears back through the swinging door. “Go get your girl!” I call after him.

Then I begin to climb. This is slower going, because the stairs are old and twisty. Finally I make it to the fifth floor, and I push open the door into the hallway. It’s empty—only flashing lights and blaring alarms. I let myself lean against the wall for a minute to catch my breath. If he’s not on five, I should just go back outside. I’ll find him eventually, once the alarm shuts off and the chaos dies down. I heave myself off the wall and head back to the stairs.

Then there he is at the other end of the hallway.

“Collins!” he shouts over the sound of the siren. “We have to get out of here!”

“Where’s Danielle?” I ask, expecting her to come around the corner behind him.

“She went outside,” he says. “I came up here to find you. Ava said you went back to the fifth floor. There’s a fire!” He lunges forward to grab my hand, like he’ll be able to pull me to safety.

“It’s okay!” I shout back. I let him take my hand and I link our fingers together. “There’s no fire!”

“What?” he asks, and I’m not sure if he can’t hear me or if he’s just confused about what I said.

“There’s no fire!” I repeat. “I pulled the alarm.”

He’s still running down the hallway toward the back stairwell, pulling me along behind him. And then he stops suddenly and I crash into his back.

“You pulled the alarm? Why the hell would you p—”

“You came back for me,” I interrupt.

“Of course I came back for you,” he says.

And then before he can finish, before I can think it through, I kiss him. It must catch him off guard because it takes about three seconds before he reacts, but then he kisses me back, pulling me tight against his chest, wrapping his arms around me. The sirens must still be wailing but I can’t hear them because all I can hear is the heavy thudding of my heart. I take a few steps forward, pushing him until his back hits the wall, and then I press him into it. He brings a hand up into my hair and pulls me closer. We kiss for what feels like forever, and I don’t mind, because I could probably keep on kissing him for the rest of my life. When we have to part for air, I pull back and see his eyes flutter open.

“What are you doing?” he asks. Our faces are so close together now that we don’t have to shout anymore. I can hear him over the alarm, can feel his lips brush against mine as he asks the question. “Why did you pull the alarm?”

“I needed to find you,” I say, tightening my hold around his waist, like now that I have him, I won’t let him go. “I’ve been looking for you.”

He grins and I feel his smile against mine. “That’s my line.”

“I know,” I say. “But it’s true. I was with Dean and—”

At the sound of Dean’s name, Andrew’s head jerks up and away from me, looking in both directions down the hallway. “Did he hurt you? Where is he?”

“It’s fine,” I say. “Everything’s fine. But I was with him and I just . . . I wanted it to be you. I really wanted him to be you. I think, I mean, the thing is . . .” I can’t believe how hard it is to get the words out, even now.

“Say it,” he says, and he kisses me again quickly, the hope sparkling in his eyes giving me courage. “Come on, Keely, say it.”

“Iloveyoumorethanpizza,” I say, the words tumbling out of me so quickly they blend together. “I love you more than pizza,” I repeat, slower this time. “I got your note. Is it true?” I feel like I can’t breathe.

“Are you kidding?” he says. “Keely, I’m so stupidly in love with you.” He leans closer to me so our noses are touching. “I’ve been in love with you since middle school.”

For the first time in my life, I feel really and truly alive. I kiss him again, and it’s just the two of us, the only two people in the entire world. But after a minute, I pull away, remembering that’s not true.

“But you love Danielle,” I say. “You told me. You gave her that valentine.”

“Do you know how many times you’ve turned me down?” he asks, shaking his head. “How many times I started to tell you the truth and you made some joke as if dating me was the most ridiculous thing in the world?” I want to disagree with him, but I know it’s true. “So I started saying it before you could say it first. If I could convince myself it was true—if I could agree it was ridiculous, then maybe I could get over you.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” I say.

“I made that valentine for you, you know, back in middle school. I was going to tell you how I felt. But then you made another stupid comment like you didn’t like me, and I chickened out. I gave it to Danielle because that’s what everyone else was doing.”