by Eva LeNoir
I couldn’t bear the thought of Marlon taking on that role. The idea that he would have to clean up after a bowel incident or watch me lose all control because the soup was too cold or too lumpy. Being witness to my psychological breakdowns, my development of obsessive-compulsive disorders. Chocking on my food. The idea of Marlon watching me become but a shell of who I was? I couldn’t do it.
There was a reason Huntington’s Disease was called the Monster disease. It was Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS all wrapped up in one devastating disease, and Marlon didn’t need to spend the last half of his life tending to my eventual pathosis.
The next morning, I awoke early considering we’d spent the rest of the night making love, rediscovering our bodies and whispering words of regret and of love. I could hear the voices downstairs, so I knew we were probably the last to get up.
“Ignore them,” Marlon murmured from behind me, his leg nestled between mine, his thigh pressing against my sore pussy. It didn’t stop me from being acutely aware of his presence. Of his skin lightly rubbing against my nether lips.
“We should get up,” I told him, but made no effort to move.
“We will,” he said, “eventually.”
If I listened to him, we’d spend the day in bed and get absolutely nothing done.
“Marlon, I need coffee,” I whined, hoping this would be enough of a motivator.
All he did was squeeze his arm around my waist a little more tightly and raised his thigh a little higher on my pussy. Rocking, rubbing.
The whole process made me instantly wet and judging by the moan of approval that came from the man lying right behind me, he knew it.
“I think you need me, more,” he said peppering me with kisses along my shoulder and up the length of my neck.
“Although this is true,” I groaned when his cock, hard and velvety, pressed against my lower back, “I want to hang out with your friends.”
His kisses stopped immediately, prompting me to turn my head his way.
His face was priceless, a mixture of jealousy and confusion written all over his bedhead.
“Not like that, you dork!” I laughed and he took advantage of my movements to slip his hand over my clit and rub lazy circles, his mouth returning to my neck.
“Every day should start with an orgasm,” he mumbled, his lips busy loving my skin.
I was soon writhing under his touch, the sensitivity gone and the lust taking over my senses. Before I reached my climax, I turned myself around and pinned Marlon to the bed, his wild, excited eyes echoing how I felt.
“I told you,” he said, nodding to the end table to show where the box of condoms was haphazardly propped up against the lamp.
By the time I got the condom on, and surprisingly fast, he’d turned our bodies over and I found myself pinned to the mattress, my arms above my head, my breasts completely exposed to his gaze, his touch, his mouth.
He took his time, laving me with kisses and sucking my nipples before blowing air on the hardened peaks, making me beg for more.
When I thought I’d lose my mind, he finally pushed inside me and sat there, his eyes closed, his face a picture of bliss. My breaths were coming in deep, my body needing what he wasn’t giving me but my eyes drank him in. He was an absolute masterpiece of humanity. From his square jaw to this imperfect nose and full lips. From his kind, open heart to his open-mindedness and respect of others.
And he was mine. All I had to do was say one simple, word. A single syllable. Three little letters.
Finally opening his eyes, his blinding smile came at the same time he pulled out and pushed right back in with ease, like he had come home from a long journey.
His fingers tangled with mine, squeezing with every thrust, our eyes fixed on each other, reading each other’s feelings.
“I meant what I said, last night,” he murmured, his mouth a breadth away from my lips, his words mingling with my pants, “it doesn’t matter what the test says, Jaidyn, my beautiful little bird.
Thrust in.
“I will dedicate my life to loving you.”
Pull out.
“In sickness and in health.”
Thrust in.
“At home or abroad.”
Pull out.
“With laughter or with tears.”
Thrust in.
“The two of us or with a mini van full of kids.”
Pull out.
“I will make sure you know you are unequivocally loved,”
Thrust in. Our hips smashing together, the base of his cock rocking arduously against my clit and making me gasp for breath.
“Every day. Of. Our lives.”
We came in unison, our heartbeats telling the story of a life together, the way he’d described it. All of it. Every moment and every sacrifice.
I wanted it. I wanted to be selfish and take his love. Whether I was positive or negative, I wanted to be loved. Because the alternative wouldn’t be worth living.
“Yes,” I whispered.
He buried his face in my neck, our chests heaving from the effort, but I didn’t think he’d understood.
So, I waited.
Suddenly, I felt his body freeze, as though my word had taken a detour to the coffee machine before coming back and making sense.
In a quick move, he let go of my hands and raised himself up on his elbows, searching my eyes, confusion and hope dancing in his gaze.
I smiled, biting my bottom lip to avoid laughing at his boyish expression.
His gaze travelled to my mouth and he said, “Repeat that.”
“Yes.”
His grin was the equivalent of the SoCal sun rays. Blinding and warm.
“Yes?”
“Yes, I’ll marry you, Marlon.”
When he kissed me, it was hard and soft all at once. Like I’d made his dreams come true and he couldn’t wait to start our lives together. Like he’d run a marathon and I was his glass of fresh water. Like he’d been alone all his life and I was the other half of his soul sitting down to keep him company.
Everything was in that one, soulful kiss.
Everything.
Chapter 59
Marlon
She said yes.
Holy shit. I didn’t know whether to slide the ring on her finger and carry her downstairs to make sure every man knew she was mine, caveman style, or fuck her again. Possibly more than once.
It was a hard choice to make but as I pulled out of that sweet pussy of hers, I saw her wince in pain. I had to admit, last night was a marathon of orgasms, trying to catch up on lost time. I didn’t know it was possible to get hard so many times in one night.
Apparently, it was.
After taking a shower and getting into clean clothes, I held her hand, the one sporting her ring, as I lead her downstairs to the absolute chaos that was our house.
“You little shit!” I heard Ethan yell out, a cackling Emma bent at the waste as she laughed so hard, I thought she’d stroke out.
“Language!” apparently Millie was here, her soft cast thumping on the wooden floor as she gave directions to Justin in the kitchen. Ever the multitasker, Millie could teach a child to cook all the while scolding another for cursing in her presence.
“But Millie! It’s…” Ethan sounded like he was about to cry.
“What’s that smell?” Jaidyn asked from behind me and that was when it hit me.
“Fuck! Emma, close the French windows, hurry up!” by the time Emma was able to breathe from her fit of laughter, I was already there, sliding the windows closed. That’s when I noticed Ethan taking Liberace in his hands, his face a mask of misery and nausea, almost throwing him on the porch and then running for the ocean.
“His balls are going to shrivel up and fall off if he jumps in that ocean,” Luca said, barely able to talk from the laughter caught in his throat. His white t-shirt accentuating his toned biceps as he placed a hand over his mouth and finally let his roar of laughter echo throughout the house. Were those tears
in his eyes?
“No way he jumps in the…”
“Holy shit!” We both cried out at the same time, earning ourselves a loud reprimand from Millie.
“Dude, he’s not going to get that smell off that easily, he knows that, right?” I said, and as much as I hated that something had scared Libs enough to use his only safety mechanism, watching Ethan freak out over the smell of sulfur and actually jumping in the Pacific Ocean in in late February, was epic.
“What happened?” Jaidyn asked, the bottom of her t-shirt placed over her mouth, her blue, oval sapphire like a beacon.
“That boy played with fire and finally got burnt,” Millie said, taking the whisk and showing Justin the needed speed for the whatever it was they were making.
“This one, over here,” Luca started, pointing at Emma who still couldn’t talk, tears running down her delicate features, “told Ethan that Libs loved the sand and that he should take him to the shore so he could take a bath,” at the end of his explanation, he erupted back into laughter and Millie continued for him, “Everyone knew she was joking, except Ethan, apparently. Tsk, tsk, tsk, I always told him ‘Make a mess and the stink will follow you wherever you go.’”
That she did, and I never understood that saying until that very moment.
“Fuck,” I murmured under my breath, thinking that I would have to clean Libs up and reassure him that everything was fine, “Libs may see him as a threat from now on and,” that had Emma literally rolling on the couch, her hand at her waist her mouth wide open with laughter.
“Language!”
“Dude, I think he just hurled his breakfast in the ocean!” that coming from Justin, who was stirring and looking out the window, spilling some of the batter from the bowl.
“Boy, you better watch what you’re doing. Each spill will cost you a pancake,” Millie warned, earning her a gasp of indignation from Justin.
“But it’s nowhere near the same amount,” he whined.
“Interest,” was her answer.
“Welcome to our world, kid,” I muttered, my glare going back to my ex-brother.
Fucking, Ethan.
“Someone should probably google what to do with Liberace. Poor guy looks lost,” Jaidyn said. She was right.
Fifteen minutes later, I was giving instructions to the household and we were getting ingredients together.
“Holy sh-moly,” Emma started, reading something in her phone, “Did you know that skunk spray is the same as tear gas?” She laughed, but then sobered, “I almost feel bad, now.”
Ethan was still in the ocean, washing himself off with salt water that wouldn’t work, according to the website.
“Do we have white vinegar?” I asked Millie, looking around my kitchen not even knowing what the bottle would look like.
“Justin, get my keys and run to my house. It’s in the bottom cupboard underneath the kitchen sink,” Justin washed his hands and ran out faster than I’d ever seen him run.
I knew the feeling. When Millie gave directions, you followed.
“Thank fuck it wasn’t on the porch,” Luca whispered but not softly enough.
“Language!”
Emma burst out in laughter once more and turning to look at her like she was crazy, we followed her line of sight and saw Ethan getting dirty looks from the morning beach strollers, their dog going berserk over the smell of Libs’ spray.
“Jesus, I’m going to get so much shit,” and before she could call me out, I cried out, “Sorry, Millie.”
“If only,” she responded.
That night, as we ate dinner inside, Libs cuddled up on my lap where he’d decided he needed to be the rest of the day, we kept making fun of Ethan and his inability to question anything Emma said.
The boy was so whipped, it was comical.
“Whoa!” Emma cried out, and the entire table stopped what they were doing, even Libs raised his head with curiosity. “What’s that on your finger?”
With a huge grin on my face, I turned to Jaidyn and held out my hand for her.
“Well, it took you guys long enough,” a smirk on my face as I shook my head in faux reprimand. “I have asked Jaidyn to marry me and she did me the honor of saying yes.”
The silence wasn’t one of disapproval, it was a moment of shock and processing.
Only eight months ago, women were coming and going out of my life like a turnstile. Now, I couldn’t imagine looking at another woman in the same way I look at my little bird.
As if on cue, ten long seconds later, the entire table erupted in cheers and congratulations, Luca getting up to grab the required bottle of champagne that we always kept in the fridge.
When Jaidyn had hesitated the night before, I’d put it back in the fridge, agreeing we would keep it for her “yes”.
And that’s what we did. We celebrated as a family, ate, drank, and then in the privacy of my room, made love again and again.
Chapter 60
Jaidyn
Two weeks passed after our engagement.
We went home to San Diego to announce the big news to my parents. They were thrilled, my father crying at the news, his relief palpable. Since then, his health had been deteriorating, the CBD oil only helping with the pain and not doing enough for his akathisia, his restlessness, and general need to be moving around. His obsession for details and scheduling was becoming more and more prominent, always asking the same questions over and over again as his own personal reassurance that everything was in place.
My mother had called Landry, her husband, to let him know that she’d be returning after Dad passed, explaining the situation. From the conversations with Mom and hearing her side of their phone calls, I could tell he was a good man, but it would never take away from the fact that he’d been a factor in my parents’ divorce.
When the call came, I had been reading a required book for med school while Marlon was working remotely from my house. It was comfortable, working side by side, in silence. Marlon would throw me glances reminding me that I was the center of his world, even if his attention was momentarily on his work, and I would do the same.
Dad had been sleeping, his periods of rest becoming more agitated than before. He was deteriorating, and it was heart breaking to watch.
“Hello?” the number had been blocked so I couldn’t have guessed who it might have been.
“Ms. Hughes?” a friendly woman’s voice asked, on the other side of the line.
“Yes.”
“This is the secretary from Dr. Moore’s office, we have your lab results and Dr. Moore would like to see you, if possible,” nothing in her voice gave away the outcome of the results. She wasn’t overly excited nor was there gloom in her tone.
“Uhm, yes, of course,” I looked over at Marlon who was watching me with concern, probably hearing the panic in my voice.
“Would you be available at the end of the week?” That was three days. Three days of waiting to know if I could have a normal life or not. Was she insane?
“Is it possible to see him earlier?” I pleaded.
“I’m so sorry. He’s booked out completely. As it is, I have bumped you in between two appointments. Friday at ten in the morning. Will that work for you?” What could I say? No?
“Yes, of course. Thank you,” I shook my head, remembering that other people had lives, and nothing revolved around me.
“Great, I have pencilled you in. Have a great day, Ms. Hughes and see you on Friday.”
We said our goodbyes while I wondered how I’d survive the wait.
“What’s wrong?” Marlon was scooping me up in his arms and cradling me on the couch.
“They have my results, but I can’t go until Friday,” I turned to face him, “that’s three days from now!” Like he couldn’t count.
“Right, that’s a lot of time for you to obsess,” he said, caressing my leg as he held me tight, “I have an idea,” he mused and then, as if his idea was the best thing since Nutella was invented, he flashed me his I always get
what I want grin.
“Oh god, what are you planning?” I asked, because I was not jumping from any type of height, head down, ever again.
“Let’s get married,” he blurted.
“I’m pretty sure we’ve established that,” I said, wiggling my ring finger in his face.
“No, I mean,” he started, his eyes gleaming with excitement, “Let’s get married before we get the results.” A burst of laughter erupted from my deep inside my belly. He had completely and unquestionably lost his mind.
“In two days?” I asked in between gulps of air.
Marlon was not one to waver. Once he got an idea, he ran with it. And holy shit, he was serious.
“You’re not kidding.” I said, incredulously, “Marlon, I love you but there is no way to plan a wedding in two days. Like…none.”
“We don’t need anything, little bird. We’ll get a justice of the peace, have the wedding at the beach house and we’ll cook our own dinner. Your father and Caroline will be driven down and that way he can watch you get married. If he’s up to it, he could even roll you down the aisle.”
I stared at him and maybe I was losing my mind as well.
“What about a dress?” I asked, as an excuse and with no urgency whatsoever. How was any of this making sense?
“You could wear a sack for all I care. Or just go out and buy a simple white dress. It doesn’t matter, little bird. Nothing matters, not the details, anyway,” he picked up my ring finger and kissed it lightly, his focus on my eyes. “All that matters is us.”
We had officially lost our minds, but at least I’d be too busy to obsess over my test results, since I only had two days to plan a freaking wedding.
Chapter 61
Marlon
“What did you just say?” Millie practically cried out over the phone. From her tone of voice, I guessed she was both ecstatic and horrified at the same time.
“We’re getting married on Thursday, at the beach house. Think you could make us dinner?” I repeated, waiting for the inevitable tongue lashing.