All Chapters of Promises We Made at Seventeen: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

(Her POV) The offer arrives disguised as a question. Not Would you like this? But Are you ready? It comes through my inbox on a Tuesday morning, subject line unassuming, sender familiar but distant someone I met briefly months ago, someone who watched more than they spoke. We’re expanding. Thought of you. Can we talk? I read it twice, then once more slowly. Expanding usually means movement. Movement usually means distance. I don’t reply immediately. Instead, I sit with the feeling that rises up something between excitement and grief. Not because I don’t want what this could offer, but because I know what it might require. Leaving. Not dramatically. Not forever. But enough to change the texture of everyday life. When we meet later that afternoon video call, neutral backgrounds, careful professionalism the shape of the opportunity becomes clear. A leadership role. Broader scope. More resources. And a different city. Not tomorrow. Not even soon. But eventually. “There’

(Her POV) Timing is a quiet tyrant. It doesn’t announce itself. It doesn’t explain. It just nudges sometimes gently, sometimes with a shove and waits to see whether you move or resist. I used to believe timing was an excuse people leaned on when they were afraid to choose. A convenient abstraction that softened regret. Now I know better. Timing isn’t an excuse. It’s a condition. And conditions change faster than feelings ever do. I feel it the morning after he gets back the subtle shift in air between us. Not distance. Not tension. Momentum. It’s the way we look at each other a second longer than necessary, like we’re checking to see if something has recalibrated while we weren’t watching. I want to tell him I felt it too that trip didn’t pull us apart, it outlined us. Showed where the edges were, where the strength lived. But I don’t rush it. Momentum doesn’t like to be chased. Instead, I focus on the day. On coffee and schedules and the small rituals that keep us groun

(Her POV)Guilt doesn’t always announce itself as wrongdoing.Sometimes it arrives dressed as gratitude.I wake up grateful grateful for the offer, for the clarity, for the strange steadiness that has replaced panic. Grateful for him, especially. For the way he hasn’t made my growth feel like betrayal.And yet.There’s a pressure behind my ribs that doesn’t lift, no matter how many times I remind myself that I haven’t done anything wrong.Growth, I’m learning, has a cost even when it’s chosen with care.Especially then.The days move quickly now, like time has agreed with my decision and decided to hurry things along. There are forms to sign, logistics to finalize, conversations that feel more permanent than they sound.Every step forward tightens something in my chest.Not because I doubt the decision.But because I feel the impact of it more clearly now.He’s quieter not withdrawn, just reflective. Thoughtful in a way that feels heavier than sadness. I catch him watching me sometime

(Her POV)The hotel room is too quiet.Not peaceful quiet, like it’s holding its breath.I stand just inside the door with my suitcase still upright beside me, my hand resting on the handle as if I might turn around and leave if I wait long enough. The air smells like detergent and something faintly citrusy, anonymous in the way only temporary places can be.This is where my life is supposed to expand.Right now, it just feels hollow.I kick the door shut gently, the click of the lock sounding louder than it should. The room doesn’t react. Nothing does. No familiar sigh from the couch, no footsteps in the other room, no presence humming quietly in the background.I didn’t realize how much I relied on that.I move slowly, deliberately, like rushing might fracture something fragile inside me. I set my bag down, smooth the bedspread without meaning to, align the pillows until they’re straight. Control feels easier when it’s physical.My phone buzzes on the nightstand.Did you get in okay

(Her POV) The office has a way of waking me up faster than coffee ever could. It’s all glass and movement people moving with purpose, conversations clipped and efficient, ambition humming just beneath the surface. By my third day, the novelty has worn off enough to reveal the pressure underneath it. Not hostile. Not cruel. Just… exacting. I like it more than I expected. That surprises me. My role demands presence actual presence, not the kind you fake by nodding at the right moments. I’m introduced in meetings, asked for opinions, looped into discussions that matter. I feel myself standing straighter, speaking more clearly, claiming space without apology. This is what I came for. And yet, every time my phone lights up with his name, something inside me softens instinctively, like my body recognizes home even when my mind is focused elsewhere. I don’t tell him everything. Not because I’m hiding because I’m still learning which parts of this experience belong only to me