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Never Again | New Movie 2026 | Up Dating Full 29 Eps
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00:00read and said i'm getting engaged don't make this difficult i didn't cry just smiled perfect timing
00:05i'm leaving tomorrow two years later i thought i'd never see him again until i walked into my
00:11new job and found out he was my boss i didn't expect him to be here rowan hale at the
00:16head
00:16of the room the man who just bought our company he looks exactly the same my manager grabs my arm
00:21wren go this is your moment my fingers are cold around my glass she pushes me forward anyway
00:27mr hale this is our head of strategy ivy league top of her class he looks up his eyes pass
00:34over
00:34my face pause move on is that so i know what he sees the same girl wrong shoes wrong zip
00:41code
00:41wrong everything wren go ahead toast mr hale i reach for my glass that won't be necessary his voice
00:48quiet she's allergic to alcohol my chest tightens junior year a party someone shutting drinks at
00:54rowan and me stepping in without thinking one glass my face went red in 30 seconds he tilted my chin
01:00up almost laughing idiot that's an alcohol allergy you don't drink when i'm not around understood my
01:08manager stares mr hale you two know each other rowan says nothing four years of a secret neither of us
01:14is
01:14going to explain it here i smile same university old connection i lift my glass and drink it down in
01:20one go to you mr hale his jaw tightens just barely i've had five years to build a tolerance the
01:26allergy
01:27isn't the point anymore he looks at me for a moment then turns away wearing can be difficult hope she
01:32hasn't caused you trouble not at all she's one of our best i don't wait for the rest i find
01:38the hallway i
01:38breathe my colleagues materialize out of no rank how do you know him isn't he engaged to isla mitchell
01:44same school that's all i glance back through the glass doors five years he still doesn't have to try
01:50some things don't change
01:5310 years ago in the fall i met rowan for the first time he came to our small town with
01:58his father for
01:59development project that same week my father got drunk tore through my school books and told me i was
02:04done with school i ended up sitting on the curb with my books pressed to my chest trying not to
02:09cry
02:09where anyone could see then i looked up and saw a boy at the gate he was beside a glossy
02:13black car
02:14frowning at me like he had no idea what to do with someone like me his shoes were spotless he
02:19looked
02:19impossible in that dusty street like he had stepped out of a different life i looked down at my own
02:23scuffed
02:24shoes and tucked them under me i had never seen anyone so beautiful the rich boy from every book i
02:29had ever
02:29borrowed from the library he was real out of pity or kindness or maybe something in between
02:34his father let me stay with the hail so i could finish school i rode with them from our small
02:38town to the city rowan frowned the entire way he looked annoyed like i was one more problem someone
02:43had dropped into his life he didn't know money could open a door without making you feel welcome inside
02:48on my first day there he tossed a pair of sneakers at me don't track dirt all over the floor
02:52they were
02:53pale and pretty and half a size too small i wore them anyway one painful step at a time rowan
02:58was a star
02:58at school smart confident and ridiculously good looking we moved in parallel same space
03:04never touching when our paths crossed
03:08i walked faster he liked the cheer captain islam mercer bright perfect and from the right family
03:14even teachers praised them as the golden couple i stayed in the dorm and only returned to the hail
03:18house during breaks the room beside the staff wing was mine every day i tried to stay invisible while
03:23helping rowan i ran errands did laundry cooked meals i wanted to show value but not get noticed
03:29school was precious i feared angering him and being sent away i felt like a thief peeking at a
03:34life that wasn't mine rowan had everything looks status family everyone adored him then one day i saw
03:40him sneaking smoke in the attic i caught him watching things he definitely shouldn't have been watching
03:44he wasn't untouchable one time his friends saw me they asked who i was i help around the house
03:50someone stared at me rowan raised his fist
03:53get lost he shouted it was the first time i saw him angry it wasn't about me isla had left
03:59for college overseas rowan was expected to stay behind and become exactly who his family needed
04:04him to be he was miserable that night he stayed in the attic for a long time i knocked carefully
04:09the room was dark he stared at me
04:11it was never supposed to be more than once then it was twice then it stopped being counted
04:21the library after midnight his car the roof of the humanities building dot he would kiss me in all
04:26those places he changed slowly he asked if i was tired he asked what gifts i wanted sometimes he
04:32would touch my hair and say
04:35by the time we went to college we were in the same city without the hail house watching us
04:39we almazette looked like a normal couple he started bringing me to things parties dinners i let myself
04:45think it meant something then one night his friend pulled him aside and said loud enough for me to hear
04:50man are you actually into her rowan laughed she's easy to be around i'd miss her
04:57my dad would kill me though i woke from my fantasy no matter how hard i tried i couldn't change
05:02the
05:03truth i wasn't the kind of girl who could step into his world after that i stopped using the gifts
05:07he gave me he noticed you never wear any of it what do you actually want a gold bracelet he
05:13laughed
05:14that's so practical i want something real he thought i was joking he bought it anyway i put it in
05:20the
05:20bottom of my bag under everything else the thing about gold is it holds its value i'd learned early
05:25pretty things depreciate pretty things can be taken back gold is different gold you can keep
05:32senior year his family started making calls the right family the right name the right merger i knew
05:38before he said anything the last time i saw him was at his apartment he was in a good mood
05:42that night
05:43after he leaned against the headboard and lit a cigarette i'm getting engaged i was already reaching
05:49for my clothes my hand slowed just for a second i knew isla was back the mercer family had been
05:54bleeding money for years they made the first move don't make this difficult of course i won't be a
06:01problem he came up behind me kissed my cheek that easy i reached past him and slipped the gold bracelet
06:07into my bag i got into stanford i leave next week the room went quiet since when he'd been busy
06:13dinners with his friends nights with isla he hadn't asked about me in months when who said you could
06:18leave i turned around rowan did our arrangement ever require permission something moved across his
06:25face then he laughed short and hard fine good actually four years i was getting bored anyway he
06:30dressed slammed the door i tidied up after him took everything of mine left no trace that was five
06:37years ago two years of grad school three years of building something over 1800 days things expire
06:42things lose value people come and go the bracelet doubled in price then doubled again my phone buzzed
06:48it was a message from my boyfriend joel i took my phone away and waved to my colleagues as i
06:53walked out at the corner of the hallway a hand grabbed my wrist i was pulled into a dim corridor
07:00i couldn't see his face but i knew the smell rowan pressed me against the wall faint alcohol on his
07:05breath where are you running he stared at me like he was trying to find something mr hale let go
07:10you're drunk i couldn't pull free his hand found my waist rowan still so sensitive a low laugh
07:17did you think about me these past five years he was smiling now that smile he pressed a key card
07:23into my palm i missed you one more time i looked up at him same face same certainty five years
07:28and he
07:29still assumed i'd come if he reached out i shook my head sorry i've changed my preferences is that
07:35right someone new colleague client what's he worth in his mind that was my ceiling him the highest i could
07:42ever reach he used to say people can't earn beyond their own understanding same logic same world
07:47nothing impressive just a few years younger than mr hale his expression shifted i tucked the key card
07:53back into his jacket pocket it's not that you're not enough rowan i just don't date anyone over 20
07:59anymore something dangerous crossed his face joel was waiting downstairs engine running heat on the seat
08:06was warm when i got in did you drink he turned to look at me one glass he handed me
08:11a cup of hot milk
08:12the mug warm in my hands i took it and sipped looking down he held my other hand warming it
08:17slowly
08:17you're freezing it's cold out there looks like it's going to snow the words were barely out before a horn
08:22sounded behind us short sharp a maybok pressed close to our car the headlights were on full blinding
08:28the mirrors someone tapped on the window i rolled it down rowan was standing outside move please
08:34you're in the way i smirked sure mr hale right away his eyes fell on our joined hands and lingered
08:40for
08:40a moment boyfriend huh i didn't deny it joel leaned over and waved hi sir rowan didn't respond he turned
08:46and walked away that was weird the road's completely clear why did he need us to move i didn't say
08:51anything i knew why rowan was curious he'd always assumed that without him i wouldn't find anything
08:57better but when he saw joel he froze for a second no fame no wealth just young and good looking
09:02joel was 19 8 years younger than rowan when i first met him he was a restaurant server
09:08when i first met him he was a restaurant server quiet careful he noticed when i occasionally held
09:14my stomach and would replace my cold water with hot tea from the kitchen i left him a 50 tip
09:18he froze
09:19a little flustered too much you you should give less he stammered i smiled how old are you 19
09:27so young and not in school he looked down i had a sports scholarship knee injury i had to take
09:35a
09:35leave i thought about rowan the first time he saw me a girl crying on the street someone to pity
09:40i
09:40recognized the look the story that followed was simple i paid for his recovery then we became a
09:45couple with rowan i had always looked up to him but joel treated me like an idol he opened doors
09:50handed
09:51me hot milk and offered his shoulder when i was down i wasn't sure what to do with that at
09:55first
09:56being looked after not owed anything in return rowan took over the company and started cutting
10:00things apart i'll give him this he was sharp he saw problems no one else had named yet right after
10:05a meeting isla arrived with coffee whispers filled the office so this is the boss's fiancee god she's
10:13stunning they look like a magazine spread but soon isla knocked on my office door didn't expect to see
10:20you here she sat down across from me still smiling i remember you from the hail house you were the
10:26scholarship girl right the one his father brought up from where was it i looked at her didn't answer
10:31four years i was away thanks for keeping him company a small pause in another era maybe that
10:37makes you a mistress but i think the modern word is slut isn't it i let her finish then i
10:42smiled
10:43your imagination is impressive miss merson when rowan and i were together you two had already broken
10:48up when you came back we were already done that's not a triangle that's just a timeline her smile
10:55tightened together you were together you're right that's generous we were sleeping together four years
11:04then we weren't she stared though the fact that you went back to a man who kept a four-year
11:08hook
11:09i'd call that its own kind of dedication miss mercer she stopped recovered well you've certainly changed
11:19you used to barely say a word people grow up you haven't changed much though still walk into rooms
11:25like you own them her face went still she remembered i could tell freshman year my desk being the name
11:31she
11:32got the whole floor to call me i remembered too the door opened rowan walked in isla linked her arm
11:37through his immediately i was just catching up with win she's done so well for herself hasn't she
11:42he didn't say anything oh my friend is looking to move companies i sent you her resume last week
11:48i was thinking rin's position would be a good fit for her rowan looked at me briefly the match is
11:53reasonable perfect and rink we go way back right we can find you something with a lighter load sure
12:00whatever you think i kept my face neutral kept my voice even kept everything in
12:07i knocked on his door mr hale i'd like you to consider my record three years in this role
12:12a plus every review cycle he didn't look up miss cole personnel decisions are based on operational fit
12:18the company has its process i didn't push he was covering for isla he wasn't going to consider my
12:23position it was snowing by the time i got downstairs joel was waiting at the entrance umbrella already
12:29open he saw me and started forward i was halfway to him when a hand closed around my wrist rowan
12:34he pulled
12:34me behind one of the columns out of the light upset i pulled my arm back mr howe let go
12:40he didn't when
12:41your numbers have been strong for three years the regional manager appointment went out last week
12:46you didn't check your email he hadn't moved her friend into my position he promoted me out of it
12:51his eyes moved past my shoulder does he know about us what's your point he smiled i couldn't read it
12:58something between amusement and something else entirely nothing just remember to detail on the
13:03henderson project i need you to stay late a pause tell your boyfriend not to wait
13:10i texted joel he replied with a thumbs up no questions asked we worked until nine then rowan
13:16said the team should eat together at the table somewhere between the appetizers and the main course
13:20my drink was replaced with juice mr hale you're so careful with ren she can handle herself i've seen
13:27her drink a whole bottle of red to close a client deal rowan set down his fork is that right
13:32he looked
13:32at me showing off he said flatly the table laughed i didn't respond i felt him still watching checking
13:38something like he was trying to figure out how much of me he no longer recognized the snow was still
13:43coming down when we filed out joel hadn't left he was standing under the streetlight umbrella white with
13:48snow hands in his pockets when i turned rowan was at the top of the steps smell on his coat
13:54is it
13:54just because he's younger a short laugh it's not like you haven't been with someone young before
13:58we were 18 four years after that we worked rowan i stopped him you ended it you knew exactly what
14:06you
14:07were doing so what is this silence snow falling between us quiet and steady i want you back he said
14:15all these years being with you was the easiest thing i've ever had i smiled you're not an option
14:20anymore he looked at me curious almost what does he have that i don't he shows up i said he
14:26listens
14:26he's there when i need him i can give you more than that us the way it used to be
14:31better everything
14:32better i looked at him for a moment then shook my head before i needed what you could offer the
14:37stability the connections the way forward i don't need any of that now do you understand he went very
14:44still like someone had hit him and he hadn't seen it coming so that's what it was you were with
14:49me for
14:50what i could give you what else would it have been love his expression shifted rin you never felt
14:57anything did you i asked wasn't that exactly what you wanted someone easy someone who wouldn't ask for
15:04more than you were willing to give closed around my wrist whatever you want tell me i can give it
15:09to
15:09you i looked at him the snow was heavier now coming down fast marry me then i said he was
15:14quiet
15:15of course he was i'm joking rowan i never wanted that some people are born in rome his family had
15:23been on the printed and money magazines for as long as i could remember his future wife was already
15:28decided by the logic of his world the right name the right background the right everything a girl from
15:33nowhere ohio on a full scholarship that was never going to be me
15:39joel was still there i took his hand it was cold all the way through i'm sorry you waited so
15:45long
15:46i had time he turned the heat up without being asked the car was quiet warm air windows fogging at
15:52the edges he didn't ask about rowan didn't ask why my eyes were red he drove me home came upstairs
15:57that night he was gentle and then he wasn't after he lay on his side with his arms around me
16:02i stared at
16:03the ceiling joel doesn't your team have an overseas training camp the one in the spring yeah apply
16:08i'll cover the cost silence then he pushed himself up his eyes were red baby is this about him his
16:14voice
16:15was tight are you asking me to go it has nothing to do with him we agreed at the start
16:20either of us
16:21could end it no hard feelings rin i actually joel i looked at him gratitude isn't love when you feel
16:30like you owe someone that's not the same thing as wanting them you know that he didn't speak
16:36you're young you should be out there training applying building something not stuck in something
16:40that's costing you more than it's giving i've been happy with you but things at work are changing i'm
16:45going to be busy i won't be able to show up the way you deserve get your application materials together
16:49ask me if you need help he didn't say anything i turned to look at him he was watching me
16:54eyes wet
16:54just one word quiet okay i was ready to submit my resignation just as i stepped into the office
17:02eastlaw stormed in the slap landed before i could react the whole floor went quiet you slept your way
17:08up here and you think you can take him from me you're nothing you were always nothing if i hadn't
17:15left he never would have looked at you twice crowds gathered whisper spread is that the original
17:20girlfriend i always wondered how wink made regional manager so fast that's why he's not
17:27gonna throw away his whole future for her i looked at eastlaw then i hit her back she stumbled hand
17:31over
17:32her face staring you hit me you hit me first i said if a dog bites you you bite back
17:40i'm rowan's
17:41fiance i'm this company you're his fiance not a queen and i signed an employment contract
17:48not a deed of ownership she couldn't find the words the crowd split rowan walked in he saw my
17:53face grabbed eastlaw by the arm and pulled her back what are you doing
17:59eastlaw's eyes failed she crumpled to the floor rowan i waited five years and now you're ending our
18:06engagement for her you left that's why we broke up rin had nothing to do with it you haven't married
18:12anyone in five years it's because of her isn't it she looked up at him shaking but it doesn't matter
18:18they'll never let you be with her she'll never be someone you can stand next to in public rowan
18:24didn't respond to that he walked over to me are you hurt he reached for my face i stepped back
18:29mr
18:29hale please handle your own affairs if this happens again i'm calling the police his hand stopped in the
18:35air it won't happen again i took the resignation letter out of my bag and held it out he looked
18:40down
18:40at it his hand tightened around it rin don't do this over one incident one incident i almost laughed
18:46you let this whole office wonder about us you let her walk in here and hit me and now i'm
18:51the one
18:51everyone thinks broke something up it's always been like this i'm the one who pays his face shifted
18:56something like guilt rin i'm sorry i'll have isa apologize to you personally rodent i cut him off
19:02i don't want to see you anymore i turned to go his hand caught my arm
19:09don't you ask me if i ever felt anything i didn't answer but i do i did his hand was
19:15shaking
19:16i just didn't know it until too late he looked at me after you left i don't know how to
19:21explain it
19:22the apartment felt wrong i couldn't sleep you didn't leave anything behind not one thing
19:27and somehow that made it worse his voice dropped i used to think you were just comfort that anyone
19:34could have filled that space i was wrong it was only ever you give me time i'll sort everything out
19:42we can do this properly in the open i listened until he finished then i pulled my arm free rowan
19:48if i hadn't left five years ago if i'd stayed and kept reaching for you would you still want me
19:54he opened his mouth couldn't answer you wouldn't i said you would have gotten tired of me you would
20:00have stopped seeing me altogether you don't miss me you just can't stand that i stopped caring
20:04you're not used to it something that was always there suddenly out of reach that's not
20:12i lied i said quietly that night on the stairs when you asked if i ever felt anything
20:17i liked you for years so many years i didn't know what to call it i just knew i couldn't
20:22stop
20:22watching you i was like a thief watching you fall for someone else living in a house that wasn't
20:28mine thinking if i had been born into this maybe i could have kept up with you when you first
20:35kissed
20:36me i felt cheap and then i felt something worse grateful like i'd finally gotten to hold something
20:41i'd wanted for so long those four years were the happiest and the most painful of my life
20:46i kept telling myself there there was no future and i kept going back anyway cutting away at
20:53something that kept growing back even after i left i'd wake up in the middle of the night and it
20:57would
20:57just hurt right here i never want to feel that again he was quiet his eyes were red rowan
21:07love is something i can take or leave now it could be anyone but it won't be you he didn't
21:12speak
21:13i'm sorry don't be i shook my head i don't hate you i don't blame you if anything thank you
21:18without
21:19you i wouldn't have had the chance to study to become this to get here i looked at him one
21:23last
21:24time let's not see each other anymore and please don't reach out again
21:30i turned around and walked one step then the next i didn't look back behind me very quietly i heard
21:38i started a company with a few friends quitting my job had been planned for a while over the years
21:43my ambition had grown i was done working for others i wanted to build something of my own
21:47during my two years abroad i met many talented people we talked for nights shared ideas and
21:52decided to start together on the day we invested i brought half a box of gold bars to the office
21:57rin are you secretly rich did you rob a bank one of them picked up a bar weighing it in
22:02his hand
22:03this is real i smiled but said nothing about where they came from people say diamonds mean love
22:08to me gold was something you could actually hold not long after isla asked to meet this time she
22:13wasn't arrogant rin i'm sorry i lost control last time my family still needs the hell family i'll be
22:20honest a family like theirs won't accept you as his wife but you can still be with him he can
22:26take care
22:26of you i won't interfere i almost laughed i won't be with rowan
22:33she looked at me shocked you don't want to marry him is roadie my only option i asked she lowered
22:39her head after a while a bitter smile on her lips she took a breath but he only wants you
22:44now i was
22:45angry frustrated he used to like me we were fine then i went abroad and you appeared i thought when
22:52i
22:52came back things would go back to how they were but they didn't he never loved me she let out
22:57a small
22:57laugh i was away for four years he never visited me once but when you were at stamford he flew
23:03there
23:04every month my hand tightened you didn't know did you he's been watching you all these years he even
23:09fought his family and took over his mother's business he won't admit it but i know why he wanted
23:15more control more freedom for you he delayed marriage all these years i asked if it was because
23:22of you he denied it but everything was for you she smiled tired hearing this you must feel proud
23:29he cares about you that much i didn't answer the coffee had gone cold so he had loved me in
23:34his
23:35own way but the wound had already healed over the storm was already over showing up with an umbrella
23:39now didn't change the fact that i'd walked through it alone
23:44the company was doing well my partners were all experts in their fields our product gained
23:49attention in the market during the second round of funding i met rowan's father at a conference
23:5410 years had passed he looked older streaks of gray at his temples his position had risen even higher
23:59but his eyes were the same sharp assessing after the meeting he asked to see me you've done well
24:05you prove that knowledge can change fate i nodded thank you for helping me back then he smiled
24:10slightly i know about you and rowan i never approved but he's my son i couldn't change his
24:14mind he pushed a document toward me you can be together i won't interfere except for marriage he
24:20can give you everything if you have a child they can carry the hail name there will be a family
24:25trust
24:26no need he looked surprised men are unreliable money is not you should understand that i stood up i do
24:33like
24:33money i work hard for it but i earn it for freedom not to become someone's attachment i walked out
24:39making my own money felt good living for myself felt even better rowan kept his promise he never
24:44contacted me again even when our companies crossed paths he sent others instead
24:50isla later married into another family the man was known for scandals her wedding photos were
24:55everywhere she looked perfect in them i realized then being ordinary wasn't so bad on my 30th birthday
25:01i received a pair of glass slippers i didn't throw them away i didn't wear them either they sat in
25:06my
25:06closet gathering dust later when my company went public i wore them to ring the bell from a small
25:11town to nasdaq from broken shoes to perfect warrants it took me 14 years at 32 the company's value had
25:18grown 10 times work became even busier one night a colleague came to me excited hey ren there's a
25:24super handsome athlete downstairs seriously really handsome then go for it i teased her no chance
25:31she sighed placing a photo on my desk he's here for you the man in the photo looked young clear
25:37eyes a faint
25:38smile joel a knock came at the door he walked in wearing a professional team jersey broader shoulders now
25:43stronger moonlight fell across him young alive full of energy ring he stopped in front of me and smiled ren
25:49long time no see
25:52three years joel looked the same old friends catching up just dinner i'm in the city for a
25:58week old friends i turned the words over once then smiled back sure my treat the restaurant was
26:04downstairs from my office the server arrived with our food out of habit joel reached for my plate ready
26:10to cut my steak for me the way he always had i pulled it back i've got it i said
26:14he stopped i can do
26:15it myself i'm not i've been cutting my own steak for years a short silence i know you always could
26:21he
26:21set his knife back down on his own side of the table i just wasn't sure if i still had
26:26the right
26:27to try dinner was quieter than i'd expected joel told a few teen jokes i laughed he looked relieved
26:32then we went back to eating joel refilled my water i thanked him we both looked back at our plates
26:37it
26:37wasn't awkward it was just the line was there the meal ended the bill came i got to it first
26:43next time's on me sure i said neither of us said when next time would be
26:49the air outside was colder take care you too then i turned and walked seven steps maybe eight
26:56then fast footsteps behind me i barely started to turn when joel came around in front of me
27:00stopping a few feet away between me and wherever i was going he looked at me opened his mouth then
27:06seemed to decide against whatever he was going to say then he leaned in and kissed me i went still
27:10for
27:10a second then i kissed him back after the kiss joel rested his forehead against mine and pleaded
27:15softly please let me stay this time okay we didn't sleep joel had energy to spare so did i by
27:24the time
27:24light started coming through the edge of the curtain it was almost morning joel kissed the corner of my
27:29mouth voice still rough i'll make breakfast sleep a little longer i made a sound heard him get up heard
27:35the bedroom door close i was most of the way back to sleep when the knock came i didn't move
27:40joel got
27:40it then silence i opened my eyes rowan was standing in the doorway i didn't know when he'd come in
27:47joel was behind him one hand still on the frame his expression out of my line of sight rowan's suit
27:53was creased like he'd come straight from a flight without stopping anywhere first he looked at me
27:57looked at the marks on my shoulder my neck his eyes went slowly red he made himself look away
28:02then he reached into his pocket took out a small box and walked over he crouched down beside the bed
28:08opened it a ring my grandfather gave his blessing rowan said low rough at the edges he said i should
28:13marry whoever i wanted he looked up at me rin i know you have every reason to say no i'm
28:19asking anyway
28:20marry me no rowan didn't stand up is it because of him not a question if i'd come one day
28:26earlier rowan
28:26i sat up pulled the covers around me you don't go back and buy a dress you wanted when you
28:30were 18
28:33these past few years i think of joel sometimes i paused but i genuinely never thought of you the
28:38room was very quiet it's not me you love it's the girl i was at 18 the one who had
28:43eyes for no one
28:44but you who lived under your roof who waited for you to notice her who could be happy for days
28:48over
28:48something you said without thinking his throat moved where did she go she grew up she left i'm sorry
28:55don't be he walked to the door and stopped didn't turn around i heard the front door open close joel
29:01moved quietly in the kitchen like he was pretending he hadn't heard any of it i leaned back against the
29:05pillow and looked at the ceiling we didn't go anywhere that week not for lack of plans the plans
29:10just kept getting derailed we'd say we were going to that new brunch place in the morning and not make
29:15it out until noon one afternoon he bought groceries and announced he was cooking then burned the rice
29:20on the seventh day i drove him to the airport he traveled light one large bag one carry on we
29:28walked
29:28to the barrier outside security and stopped the flashes hit more than last time everyone talking
29:33at once joel who is she is this the same woman from before are you two official well can you
29:39give us
29:40something i turned instinctively angling my face away joel didn't he turned toward me instead he took my
29:45hand fingers laced through mine and didn't leave me room to pull back then he kissed me in front of
29:50everyone in front of all of it unhurried not hiding anything he lifted his head looked at me first then
29:56turned toward the cameras the person i love most he smiled at me picked up his bag walked toward security
30:02i stood there for a moment a reporter moved in can i ask if you two are no comment i
30:07said thank you i
30:08turned and walked i'd walked most of the way back to my car before i noticed the corners of my
30:13mouth
30:13were still up i realized on the second evening the last message was two mornings ago training starting
30:20talk later and then nothing i sat in my office for a moment looking at my phone then i opened
30:25the
30:25flights app the team's training facility was on the east side of the city not hard to find i got
30:30there
30:30in the afternoon a few coaches buses outside staff moving in and out i went to the front desk and
30:36said
30:36joel's name the person at the desk paused joel's on leave he said he's not with the team right now
30:41got it thank you you want to leave a number i can pass it along does this happen often
30:46people coming to find him joel's the most popular guy on the roster a pause he never takes any of
30:52the
30:52numbers though i smiled no need but thank you he shrugged and headed back inside i checked my watch
30:5840 minutes enough time to make it back for the meeting i turned and left
31:04when i got to my building i stopped outside for a second took a breath then pushed the door the
31:09lights came on not because of me roses the whole apartment red ones pink ones on the couch standing
31:15on the floor balloons against the ceiling their ribbons drifting in the draft from the door joel
31:20was in the middle of the room one knee down a small box held open in both hands you're home
31:25where were you these past two days here he looked at me more serious this time i was going to
31:32wait
31:32for a better moment until you were more used to this until i'd figured out what to say a pause
31:38but i couldn't i kept thinking you might get on a plane and come find me and then i thought
31:43someone who would do that what am i waiting for i looked at him how did you know i'd come
31:47i didn't i hoped you would i walked over took the ring out and put it on myself next time
31:53don't
31:54take leave without telling me joel stood up awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck from
31:58now on you'll always know where i am i'll tell you everything good boy i stood on my toes and
32:06kissed
32:06him i went first this time
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