To Love Again

by E. L. Todd

  Ward did too—eventually. “You’re lucky you’re beautiful and gave me a handsome son.”

  “I miss him…” Clementine’s face scrunched up with emotion.

  “We’ll have him back in a few hours,” Ward said.

  “How is this wedding going to go?” Trinity asked. “Will there be bridesmaids and stuff?”

  “No,” Clementine answered. “It’s going to be really simple—just a family barbeque. But I will be wearing a beautiful dress. That’s one thing that’s going to happen for sure.”

  Ward nuzzled his face into her neck. “You’re going to look so beautiful, darling.”

  “Where’s the honeymoon going to be?” Cayson placed a blanket over a chair then guided me to sit down on it. Then he wrapped me up so tightly I couldn’t move my arms.

  “Jamaica.” Ward started doing the hula dance.

  “The hula dance is from Hawaii,” Slade corrected.

  “Whatever,” Ward said. “We’re still doing the hula.”

  “Ward Jr. isn’t coming along?” I asked.

  “No.” Clementine looked sad again. “I don’t know how I’m going to stay away from him for a week.”

  “My parents are watching him,” Ward said. “They’re excited they get to spend so much time with him while they’re down. They’re staying at our place.”

  “That’s nice,” I said. “I’m sure the wedding will be beautiful.”

  “I don’t care if it’s beautiful,” Clementine said. “Just as long as we’re all together.”

  Ward smiled then rubbed his nose against hers.

  Cayson stood by my side, his arm over my shoulders. He held a beer in his other hand.

  Slade turned to Trinity. “Remember when Sean and Scarlet renewed their vows and it was super annoying?”

  “Yes…” Trinity struggled not to roll her eyes.

  “I want to do that someday.” Slade kept his arm around her waist. “You know, in a few years.”

  Trinity turned to him with love in her eyes. “Awe…”

  Slade shrugged. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

  Theo coughed into his hand. “Pussy.”

  “Don’t call my lead guitarist a pussy,” Dee said.

  Theo coughed again. “Big pussy.”

  “Shut the hell up,” Slade said. “You’re whipped harder than I am.”

  Conrad came from the inside of the house. He must have walked through the front door and found us outside. “Hey.” He had a beer in his hand, and he looked somber, like he was still partially asleep.

  Trinity watched him with sad eyes then left Slade’s lap to embrace him. “Hey, want to roast some marshmallows?”

  Conrad immediately walked away from her. “I’m good.” He took a seat beside Theo but didn’t make conversation with anyone.

  Theo stared at him with concern on his face.

  “What’s the deal?” I asked Trinity.

  Trinity sighed before she told me the story about Lexie. Apparently, she wanted Conrad back and had made a few surprise visits. Her nostrils flared like she was really worked up over it.

  “That bitch is back?” I whispered.

  “She thinks she actually has a chance.” Trinity rolled her eyes. “Fuck no she doesn’t.”

  My blood started to boil just thinking about it. Lexie couldn’t rip Conrad apart then apologize like nothing happened. What I did to Cayson was pretty bad, but there was no comparison. “He’s not going to take her back, right?”

  “No. He’s with Carrie now. And I really like her.”

  “I like her too.”

  “Lexie will disappear eventually,” Trinity said. “And if she doesn’t I’ll make her disappear.”

  Conrad was like a brother to me, and I understood Trinity’s protectiveness. Conrad was one of the best guys I knew, the past four months not included, and I wouldn’t stand by and watch Lexie take him for a ride.

  “So…how’s it going?” Theo asked Conrad.

  Conrad shrugged then took a drink of his beer. “Carrie and I broke up.”

  Trinity immediately flared up. “You better not be going back to that stupid fucking bitch. I’ll rip her eyes out of her head and shove them up her—”

  “Baby, calm down.” Slade raised his hand to silence her. “Chill.”

  Trinity crossed her arms over her chest and growled.

  “No, Lexie and I aren’t getting back together,” Conrad said in a bored voice. “But Carrie left anyway.”

  No one asked him any questions, unsure if he wanted to be asked anything.

  “I’m okay,” Conrad said. “But I don’t want to talk about Lexie. There’s nothing to talk about anyway.”

  Everyone respected his request and didn’t mention her. But now it was tense. The air was heavy with unspoken words.

  “Wanna play a game?” Slade asked.

  “No,” I said immediately. “We aren’t playing strip poker.”

  “Gross,” Slade said. “Why the hell would I want to play that? Everyone here is ugly except Trinity.”

  Trinity grinned.

  “And we’re related…” Cayson eyed Slade hesitantly.

  Slade didn’t hear him. “Two Truths and a Lie. Have you heard of it?”

  Cayson nodded. “Yeah.”

  I’d never played. “What is it?”

  “Okay, this is how it goes.” Slade leaned forward. “Each person will tell two truths and a lie, and everyone has to guess which one is the lie. The whole purpose of the game is to trick people. So, when you make up a lie, make one that might be true.”

  That was easy enough.

  “I’ll go first.” Slade rubbed his palms together.

  “Of course you will,” Theo said sarcastically.

  “The first time I got head I was twelve.”

  Hmm…was that true? Since it was Slade it was believable.

  Slade held up two fingers. “The second fact…I stole my dad’s truck when I was eleven and met up with some college chicks to party.”

  That also sounded like something Slade would do. I exchanged a look with Cayson, and his expression told me he wasn’t sure if that was true or false.

  “And for the last fact…” Slade held up three fingers. “When I was sixteen an agent stopped me on the sidewalk and told me I should be in movies. I never called him because I insisted I was going to be a rock star.”

  Shit, they were all believable.

  “So, what do you think?” Slade asked. “Which one is the lie? You guys have to decide as a group.”

  We all turned to Trinity for the answer.

  Trinity shrugged. “I honestly don’t know.”

  “I got head when I was thirteen so it’s possible that he got it when he was twelve,” Conrad said.

  “And I know Slade isn’t against grand theft auto.” Cayson crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Slade did get approached by modeling agents at my fashion show,” Trinity said.

  That left us right where we started.

  Roland scratched his head. “Why would college girls want to party with an eleven-year-old?”

  “True,” Heath said in agreement.

  “And Slade is good-looking so it wouldn’t surprise me that an agent noticed him,” Clementine said. “And he probably got head the second his dick started to get hard.”

  “So, the grand theft auto story?” Conrad asked.

  “Yeah,” Theo said. “I think that’s bogus.”

  Slade eyed all of us. “Is that your final answer?”

  “Yeah,” I said.

  Slade shook his head. “Nope. You’re wrong.”

  “What?” Trinity shrieked. “You really partied with college girls when you were eleven?”

  “Hey,” Slade said defensively. “I was tall for an eleven year old. They thought I was fourteen.”

  “Were these chicks losers?” Cayson asked.

  “No, they were hot.” Slade realized his mistake and eyed Trinity. “I mean, they were a hot mess…and ugly.”<
br />
  Trinity’s lips pulled up in a slight smile.

  “Then what was the lie?” Cayson asked.

  Slade shrugged. “You got it wrong so I don’t have to tell you.”

  “That means he didn’t get head,” Conrad said. “And that agent did approach him on the sidewalk.”

  Slade didn’t say anything.

  “That’s the only thing that makes sense,” Clementine said.

  We all turned to Slade for the answer.

  He tried not to laugh. “Wrong again.”

  “What?” Trinity said in surprise. “No one said you should be in movies?”

  “Hell no,” Slade said. “That was so easy. I can’t believe you guys didn’t get that one. You guys are all stupid…except my sexy wife of course.”

  Trinity smiled again.

  Slade nodded to Cayson. “Your turn.”

  “I never said I was playing,” Cayson said.

  “Don’t be a bitch and just do it,” Slade said.

  I rolled my eyes. “A really smart way to convince someone, Slade.”

  “Whatever.” He took another drink. “I did it so now you have to.”

  “Let me think.” Cayson looked off into the distance as he tried to think of something. “Okay, I got it. First fact…the first time I saw a girl’s rack was when I went to the nurse’s office in high school and the nurse came onto me.”

  Was that true?

  “The second fact,” Cayson continued. “On my first day of college, I went to my first class. It was psychology 101. But after a few minutes I realized I was in a nude model art class. I ended up staying for the rest of the period because one of the girls was cute.”

  I tried not to be jealous.

  “And after that, we hooked up.” Cayson took another drink. “Fact number three…when the high school chemistry lab caught on fire I was responsible for it…I just never told anyone.”

  “Damn…that’s hard.” Slade rubbed his chin. “I really don’t know which one is the lie.” Slade turned to me. “Do you?”

  “Actually, I don’t,” I admitted. “All of those could be true.”

  “I didn’t realize you got so much tail, Cayson,” Roland said.

  Cayson shrugged. “I don’t talk about it much.”

  “I can’t picture Cayson causing a fire in a lab,” Clementine said.

  “But Cayson is super smart,” Conrad said. “He’s probably tricking us right now.”

  Cayson shrugged.

  “Come on, Skye,” Slade said. “You should know the answer.”

  “Trinity didn’t know your answer,” I snapped.

  “I think it’s the nurse story,” Theo said. “I can’t see Cayson sleeping with an authority figure in high school.”

  “I can’t picture Cayson wasting his time in a class that he doesn’t need,” I said.

  Slade snapped his fingers. “That’s true.”

  “Good point,” Trinity said. “Cayson is too nerdy for that.”

  “Are we in agreement?” Roland asked. “It’s the art class?”

  “Yeah,” Slade said. “I think that story is bogus.”

  I hoped that story was bogus.

  Cayson eyed everyone. “That’s your final answer?”

  “Yes,” Theo said.

  Cayson shook his head. “You’re wrong. That’s true.”

  “What?” I blurted. “That really happened?”

  Cayson nodded.

  “You really hooked up with a nude model?” Slade asked with an awed voice. “That’s so badass.”

  Cayson took another drink of his beer.

  “Then what’s the lie?” Conrad asked.

  “Is it the nurse story?” Theo asked.

  “Damn,” Slade said. “He tricked us. The fire story was the lie after all. He knew we would assume he was trying to outsmart us.”

  “Stupid nerd,” Clementine hissed.

  “Is that the lie?” Slade asked. “The fire story?”

  “Yep,” Cayson said. “Like I’d ever do something like that. You guys are so gullible.”

  “Hey,” I said in offense.

  “Except you.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead.

  That made me melt like butter.

  “Baby, you’re next,” Slade said to Trinity.

  “Okay, I’m ready,” Trinity said. “Here are the three facts. “The first time I got felt up I was fourteen. The first time I went down on a guy I was sixteen and I was in the men’s locker room. I ended up choking and throwing up everywhere. And the last fact is, Principal Snyder called me into his office to discuss the first B I ever got, and he placed his hand on my thigh and tried to move up my skirt. So, which one is the lie?”

  I wasn’t sure.

  Slade looked furious. His nostrils were flaring and he looked like he wanted to rip the fire pit out and toss it into the ocean. “This game is stupid. We aren’t playing it anymore. It’s over.”

  Trinity rolled her eyes.

  “Dude, chill,” Conrad said. “You know Trinity was with other guys before you.”

  “Well, I don’t want to hear about it.” Slade took a long drink of his beer. “I don’t want to know which one is the lie. So, let’s just roast marshmallows and be quiet.”

  Conrad shook his head. “Such a pussy…”

  “Shut the hell up,” Slade snapped. “When you get married you’ll understand. Until then, keep your mouth shut.”

  We all flinched at his poor choice of words.

  Conrad held his gaze without reacting, but we all knew Slade said the wrong thing.

  Slade finally realized it when he picked up on the tension in the air. “That’s not what I meant…I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

  Conrad left his beer on the table and walked back into the house. No one went after him because we all knew he wanted to be alone. Then we all blatantly glared at Slade.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking…” He ran his fingers through his hair.

  “Yeah,” Theo snapped. “You weren’t thinking at all.”

  ***

  We didn’t clean up after everyone left because we were too tired. We decided to pick it up in the morning when the sun was out. I was ready for bed but my mind was working furiously at the same time.

  “Have fun?” Cayson asked as he stripped off his clothes and got ready for bed.

  “Yeah, I did.” I pulled on my nighty then slipped under the sheets.

  “I did too. I just hope Conrad is okay.”

  “I’m sure he’s fine,” I said. “It’s going to take him some time to get over what happened.”

  Cayson turned off the lamp on his bedside then joined me in the bed.

  I wasn’t in the mood for sex and I knew why. I kept thinking about that woman from that art class. I was jealous over something that happened in the past, which was absolutely stupid.

  Cayson moved toward me and immediately began kissing my neck and shoulders.

  I couldn’t get into it. “You know, I’m pretty tired tonight.”

  Cayson flinched like I slapped him. He searched my face in the darkness like he couldn’t believe what I said. “What did you say?”

  “I’m just sleepy right now.” I pulled the covers to my chin.

  “In our entire relationship you’ve never said that,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong.” I didn’t want to say it out loud because it was so stupid.

  “Skye,” he pressed. “I worked all day then shoveled the snow in the backyard so everyone could come over. I went to the store and picked up all the beer and food. So, you’re going to make love to me whether you like it or not.”

  I hated it when he was bossy but it turned me on at the same time. When he was authoritative it was a little arousing.

  “Or you can just tell me what’s bothering you.”

  I turned on my side away from him. “It’s stupid.”

  “If it’s stupid then why are you mad?”

  “I don’t know�
�which makes it more stupid.”

  He grabbed my arm and turned me back over. “Talk to me. You’ve never hid something from me before.”

  “Well, I don’t usually get mad over stupid things.”

  “Just tell me.” He pressed his body against me and looked down into my face.

  “I’m…jealous.”

  “Jealous?” he asked.

  “Of that girl from your art class. The nude model that you hooked up with.”

  Instead of being irritated Cayson tried not to laugh. “Seriously? You’re jealous over something that happened six years ago? Before you even noticed me?”

  “I told you it was stupid.”

  “Skye, you’re married to me. What do you have to be jealous of?”

  “I don’t know…I guess I’m picturing this exotic and adventurous woman that lets strangers paint her in the nude. I’ve never been free like that.”

  “You think I’d want you to be?” he asked with an amused grin. “She’s the kind of girl you fool around with for experience. She’s not the kind of girl you marry.”

  “Well, I want to be the kind of girl you fool around with just because…”

  He moved closer to me, his lips near mine. “Believe me, there’s no comparison. I honestly can’t even remember her name. But your name is one I could never forget, Skye Preston.” He pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. “Don’t be jealous over my meaningless flings. I married you because you’re the only girl I could settle down with. You’re more special than any other girl in the world. So, don’t be jealous.”

  When he said those suave lines to me it was hard to be upset about anything. My arms moved around his neck and I brushed my lips past his.

  “I know you’ve been with other men but I don’t think about it. They all hate me because I got to marry you. I’m the only one who gets to keep you.” He pulled up my nightgown then kissed my stomach. “I’m the only one who gets to have a family with you.”

  My fingers moved through his hair as I felt the area between my legs burn. As my pregnancy approached the end of the third trimester, I’d become even more sexually charged than ever before. I wanted Cayson all the time, and just the slightest touch made me come alive. I was always wet for him, without any stimulation at all.

  Cayson positioned himself over me and inserted his thick and long cock deep inside me. It always felt so good, every time. Instead of feeling uneasy about my stomach, he made me feel beautiful. He never showed any sign of irritation over it. In fact, he seemed more attracted to me.