by JB Salsbury
We make love slowly and thoroughly, our bodies consummating the confessions we’ve made to each other.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long before we’re both panting and boneless. I lower her back on unsteady feet and we wash up in comfortable silence. Carey and Rowan trade places with us in the bathroom that we meticulously cleaned first.
I snag one of my clean BSU Football t-shirts and slip it over Emery’s head, then stand back and admire her in my tee. It’s ten sizes to big, but it satisfies the territorial beast inside me to see her in it.
She sits staring out the hotel room window, a curtain of wet hair against her back. I come up behind her and wrap her in my arms. “What are you overthinking?”
“I can’t go back and live with him.” She turns to look up at me, a slight grimace on her face as she looks at the stitches above my eye. “Not after this.”
I kiss her temple. “No, I agree. You should move out.”
She turns back to the window with a deep groove between her pale brows.
I smooth the spot with the pad of my thumb. “You’re going to give yourself a headache.” I turn her around and sit at the edge of the closest bed, pulling her between my legs. “Move in with me.”
She makes a choking sound and laughs. “You’re kidding.”
“I’m dead fucking serious.”
My tone sobers her instantly. “We’ve only been dating for—”
“Who cares? Are you in this for the long haul? Because I am. So unless you have plans to end up with someone else…” I swallow back a fierce growl at the mere mention of her being with someone else. “Move in with me.”
She chews her lip.
I slide my hands up her shirt and palm her ribcage where I can feel her heat and the rapid beating of her heart. “Look, if you’re absolutely miserable living with me, we’ll find you some roommates or a little studio somewhere, but I’m going to do everything in my power to get you to stay with me for as long as I can.”
The corner of her mouth ticks up. “What kinds of things?”
“Well, you can take the walk-in closet, redecorate anything you want on my dime, I’ll feed you…” My wicked smile elicits a faint blush on her cheeks. “Daily orgasms.”
“Plural?”
My grin widens. “Yes. Whatever you want.”
“Hmmm…can I think about it?”
I clear my throat hoping she doesn’t hear the utter disappointment in my voice. “What’s holding you back?”
“We went into this with the agreement of no strings and now we’re discussing all kinds of strings.”
I run my thumbs along her bare skin. “I want to be tangled up with you. But go ahead and think about it. We’ll talk tonight after I get back into town.”
I’m assuming Brawley will be with us for the entire day which means Emery will be able to go home and hopefully pack up her shit to come and live with me. If it were up to me, I’d make sure she never had to see that asshole again. But I’ve fallen for a strong woman who will insist on doing things her way and on her terms, and fuck if that doesn’t just make me love her more.
The early meeting was exactly what I expected. Our defensive Coach informed us that Brawley would not be coaching today’s game, and that I was going to be sitting on the bench because of my injuries.
I wanted to kick Brawley’s ass all over again for making me miss a game.
We ended up losing and the bus ride home was filled with a simmering disquiet among the team. News spread fast that Coach hit me because he found out I was sleeping with his daughter. Judging by my teammates glares, they blame me for today’s loss.
My head hurts and I pop the pain meds Doc gave me to sleep during the bus ride back to campus. Once there I head straight to my car without explanation or excuse.
I get home before my roommates, anxious to connect with Emery. I run upstairs, toss my duffle onto the floor and catch something out of place from the corner of my eye.
I cross to my bookshelf and stare at a small, tarnished, old picture frame that wasn’t there before. The photo in the frame is a little faded. It’s the image of a beautiful blonde woman wearing a bubblegum pink sweater set with pearl buttons. Her pale hair is long and pulled back into a ponytail with a silk scarf. Her wide smile is aimed down at the tiny blonde toddler in her arms who looks up at her as if she were the sun rising in the dead of winter. Even in profile, I know exactly who this woman is as she is a spitting image of her daughter.
“You’re home.”
I whirl around to see Emery looking like an angel standing in my doorway. She’s leaning against the doorframe and her hands are clasped in front of her. It’s the most self-conscious I’ve ever seen her. “You’re here.”
She takes a timid step into the room. “I thought about what you said, and I like being tangled up in you too.”
Doing a fist pump into the air and hollering fuck yeah doesn’t seem like the most appropriate response so I do it on the inside and hold up the framed photo. “Your mom?”
She nods, but her expression turns sad when she looks at it. “Her name was Caroline. I only have a few photos of her.” She nods toward the image. “That one is my favorite.”
“You look just like her.” And dress like her too. Damn if that doesn’t cause a painful spasm in my chest.
“Thank you.”
I set the frame back in it’s spot with a gentle hand and vow to protect it for the rest of my life. When I turn back around Emery is heading toward me. I take a couple steps to meet her midway and she curls into my chest. I kiss the top of her head, and squeeze her closer. “I’m glad you’re here.” I had planned to hunt her down and convince her to move in with me even if it took all night.
“I put all my things in your closet, I hope that’s okay.”
“Take whatever space you want.” My room, my bed, my life, my fucking soul, it’s all hers for the taking.
She tilts her head back, her eyes looking more tired than they did minutes ago. “How was the game? Did you see him?”
“I didn’t see him. I guess the fight was caught on surveillance camera from the hallway. Your dad hit first and I let him hit me a few times before I hit back. He’s probably going to lose his coaching job.”
“Good.” She frowns making that crease appear between her brows.
I kiss the spot and let my lips linger there. “What are you worried about?”
“I won’t be able to afford BSU on my own.”
“We’ll talk to the dean of admissions, I’m sure under the circumstances they’ll work with us to keep you enrolled.”
She smiles. “Us?”
“Tangled, remember?” I release her only enough to drag her to the bed and lie down next to her. Ever since she held me this morning, I’ve been craving to be back in her arms with a ferocity I can’t justify. I tug up her t-shirt and trace patterns on her bare abdomen when her stomach grumbles under my fingertips. “Are you hungry, Kitten?”
“For food? Yes.”
I smile to myself. “Let me take you out to dinner, on a real date, where we don’t give a fuck who sees us.”
“No more hiding,” she says wistfully.
“Never again.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Emery
“What’s going on down here?” I stare at the wall of muscle standing in front of me, all of them in dress shirts and ties.
I came downstairs to meet Theodore who texted that he’d pick me up in five minutes to take me to an early dinner. I’ve been in our room studying for my organic chem final and realized I hadn’t eaten all day.
When I came downstairs I found all our roommates—Carey, Kaipo, Levi, and Loren hovering at the front door.
I narrow my eyes on them. “And why are you guys all dressed up?”
They can’t be going to some formal football dinner, Theodore would’ve been involved if that were the case.
Rowan comes down the steps wearing a dress, okay, now my interest is piqued. Her eyes w
iden on me and she takes the last few steps slowly, her gaze skidding to her boyfriend. “Oh, hey, I thought you were going out with Spider?”
I glare at her. “I am. Where are you guys headed?”
They all mumble something incoherent and shift on their feet. Clearly wherever they’re headed Theodore and I aren’t invited and my asking is making things crazy awkward.
The sound of Theodore’s car engine in the driveway makes me a lot less nosey. I haven’t seen him since he kissed me goodbye before sunrise this morning and I’m desperate to get my hands on him.
“Wherever you guys are headed, have fun.” I squeeze through them and out the front door and even after two months of living together, I still get butterflies every single time I see him.
He see’s me coming and walks around the passenger side to open the door for me. He looks as delicious as always in jeans and a long-sleeved RVCA t-shirt. “Hello, gorgeous.” He snags me around the waist and kisses me deeply before leaving me to stagger on my feet.
I’m still working on stringing together a coherent thought when the door behind me opens and our roommates come pouring out.
He lifts a chin to them, a bright white smile on his gorgeous face. “You guys ready to do this?”
They all respond in an affirmative hoot or holler.
“They’re coming with us?” I run my hands over my sweater and gray slacks. “Am I underdressed?”
“You have your ID right?” he nods toward my purse.
“Fake?”
“No, Kitten,” he says, amused. “Your real ID.”
I cross my arms at my chest. “What is going on?”
Our roommates gather around us, all of them grinning wide except Rowan who refuses to look me in the eye.
“Tell her, cousin,” Kaipo says, his voice laced with pure joy.
Carey kisses the top of Rowan’s head and agrees with Kaipo. “Yeah, man, it’s kind of fucked up not to tell her.”
“Tell me what?” My heart pounds a little faster when Theodore shifts nervously, he’s never nervous.
“It sounds crazy, but hear me out.”
I spot all the guys and Rowan watching us with expectation in their eyes.
A glint of something shiny catches my eyes and I turn back to Theodore to see him holding up a small ring. A diamond ring. I press my hand against my chest instinctively, to check and see if my heart is still beating or to slow it down so it doesn’t overheat.
“I’m throwing a Hail Mary, Kitten.” He drops to one knee and there is a collective gasp from everyone including me. “Marry me.”
Is he crazy? Has he lost his mind? Does he understand what he’s asking? To be tied to me forever, ‘til death do us part, through sickness and in health and… The string of doubt silences when our eyes meet and lock.
Theodore loves me.
He’d rather die than leave me.
He knows the darkness that lives inside me, I’ve shared with him my most demented dreams, and he’s held me and loves me for everything that I am.
Maybe we are mentally ill. There’s a possibility that we both suffer from a myriad of DSM diagnoses, but we deserve the same happiness as anyone else, and for us, there is no happiness outside of being together.
“You’re asking me to marry you, right now, on a Wednesday at three o’clock in the afternoon?”
He smirks, takes my hand and slips the ring on my finger. A perfect fit. He stands and tugs me against his chest. “I wasn’t really asking, Kitten. I was just going to stop by the courthouse on our way to get some Mexican food with all of our roommates in tow and hope once we got there you’d be down to tie the knot.”
From my place against his torso, I hold out my hand and stare at the simple, square cut diamond. “I guess if we’re already tangled, we may as well get tied.”
His muscles tense against me. “Is that a yes?”
I pull back and kiss him hard before saying, “Yes. I’ll marry you.”
“That’s a yes!” the younger of the Hemsworth-look-a-like brothers says and claps his hands. “This is fucking wild.”
He rests his forehead against mine. “Are you sure?”
“You’re the closest thing to family I’ve ever known. Of course I’m sure.”
The corner of his mouth ticks up. “People are going to think we’re insane.”
“Aren’t we?”
His expression sobers, his green eyes intense as he holds my gaze. His hands cup my face and hold me captive. “I’ve never felt more sane in all my life. You balance the scales, Kitten. You bring me peace. Silence the demons. You possess my soul. Marrying you is the only thing in life that makes perfect sense to me.”
I close my eyes and allow his words to wash over me in a wave of love and acceptance. I can’t think clearly through the emotions surging through me to articulate a response. I haven’t felt like I’m a part of a family since before my mom died. Not in boarding school and certainly not at my dad’s house. I look around at the five sets of eyes staring at me and feel my own heat and—oh my God, I’m going to cry.
I spin quickly before anyone else can see the feelings bubbling up.
“Let’s do this!” Kaipo says, with a gentle squeeze to my shoulder. “Now we’re ohana.” His dark eyes soften and he smiles warmly. “So light a fire under that tiny ass and get in the car. Courthouse closes at five.”
Theodore puts his lips to my ear, chuckling. “It’s okay to cry.”
“I’m not crying.” I sniff back the tingling heat at the back of my nose and swipe at the moisture that threatens to leak from my eyes. “I don’t cry.”
He knows I’m lying. Over the last couple months I find I actually do cry. Commercials, movies, Kaipo’s dick sang me a Tupac song in sign language and I sobbed. After ten years I finally let my heart out of the box and Theodore says it’s just a little fragile from misuse. Something he says he’ll take the rest of his life rectifying.
“I call giving her away!” Loren says.
“Not fair!” Levi says as they jump into Carey’s truck.
Theodore closes me inside his car and jogs around the hood with more pep in his step than I’ve ever seen. “No one is giving her away!” He shuts his door and pulls out of the driveway grabbing my hand and placing it on his thigh. “Twenty-first fucking century and still we’re practicing these antiquated patriarchal customs.”
I laugh out loud at Theodore’s fierce feminism. “A woman is her own to give away.”
“I can’t believe we’re getting married.”
“Really? So you didn’t see this coming eventually?”
I shrug. “I did, but I guess I expected it would happen after we lived together for a year or more.”
“Seems pointless to wait. Besides,” Compassion shines in his gaze. “You’ve been talking about getting rid of your last name.”
Oh yeah, that.
After my dad was fired from BSU, he made a huge stink in the media about him being unfairly let go. The video of his attack on Theodore was released to the public and went viral. He ended up hiring lawyers in an attempt to get his coaching job and his reputation back. So far, he’s succeeded at neither. He has attempted to contact me, so I’ve blocked his number, and after he showed up on campus to talk to me, the University has a restraining order against him. I don’t want anything to do with him, including his last name. Hell, if I could rip his contribution to my DNA from my body I’d do it, shove it down his throat and make him choke on it.
But my last name isn’t the only reason I’m agreeing to marry Theodore.
He is quite simply the love of my life.
“Everyone’s going to assume you got me pregnant.”
He laughs. “Let them think whatever they want. Since when did we give a shit what people think?”
Two hours later I sit at a crowded table covered in chips and salsa, pitchers of margaritas, and mariachi music playing in the background. I take in each smiling face—my roommates who are more like brothers, my closest friend
Rowan, and my handsome husband with his arm slung around my shoulders.
One word sings in my soul.
Family.
Epilogue
Spider
“What in the holy fuck of all fuckery is going on in here?” Carey’s eyes are as wide as his girlfriend’s as they stare into the living room at me and Emery.
She looks at me, smiles, and goes back to hanging black skulls on the Christmas tree.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Okay, fine. I’m being purposefully obtuse. I know what Carey is referring to, I hate Christmas. Yeah, I know, I must be some kind of monster, but the truth is I don’t have a single positive Christmas memory. Santa never showed up to my house and my stepdad would get drunk as hell on Christmas morning and would send me into the New Year with bruises and fading concussions.
“Since when do you celebrate?” Carey eyes the tree, smiling. “I assumed you were part of some chicken sacrificing cult that didn’t acknowledge the most wonderful time of the year.”
“Is that a uterus?” Rowan plucks one of our decorations from the box and studies it.
Emery shrugs. “Nothing says Christmas like the vessel that brought the baby Jesus into the world.”
“Okay, I guess I can see that, but why is it black?” Rowan places the plastic organ back into the box.
Carey peeks over his girlfriend’s shoulder at the mix of tree decorations Emery and I picked out. “They’re all body parts,” he says, horrified.
“Not true.” I hold up a baby doll dressed in black. “This one is cute.”
“She has blood pouring from her empty eye sockets.” Rowan takes a step closer to Carey as if she’s afraid the little thing will come to life and pounce.
“It’s our first Christmas together as husband and wife so we decided to do it our way.” Emery picks up a plastic human heart and hangs it. “You guys need to be a little more open minded.” She plugs in the string of black lights that, once illuminated, cast the room in an eerie blue glow. “It’s perfect.”