by Eden Finley
I grasped her hands. “I will be.”
Garrett reappeared, sans Jason. “Come on, man. Let’s go get you a beer.”
“Or ten,” I mumbled.
***
We’d organised—well, Pip organised—Dad’s wake to be held in the next county so I’d be more comfortable being out in public. It was only us. Odie, Tony, Blair, Garrett, Pip, and me. The fact she knew this was what I would’ve wanted cemented everything I’d ever thought about her.
She belonged with me.
For whatever reason, whenever I touched Pip today or held her by my side, she didn’t put the distance between us like she had since the night we were together. I hoped it was because she was moving closer to wanting to be with me, and not because my dad died.
Since Dad’s death, I’d wanted nothing more than to make Pip see how much I wanted her. Loved her. Needed her. But our relationship was backwards. We’d been one thing for so long, had one night, and then we were torn apart by something bigger than either of us. I wasn’t strong enough to let her in, but now I realised I couldn’t let her go. Perspective was everything, and my new outlook on life meant I would vow to never shut Pip out again. Or Garrett who sat on the other side of me. Pip was my forever, and I’d spend forever proving it.
It appeared Garrett and Blair had the same epiphany. Not about Pip, but about no longer holding back.
Garrett’s hand found Blair’s on top of the table. “We have an announcement. This probably isn’t the right time to do this, but given the circumstances …” Garrett cleared his throat. “In two days, we’re detouring to Vegas on the way to L.A.”
“And betting your entire life savings on red?” I asked.
“No, smartass. We’re going to get married.”
Pip squealed beside me and let go of my hand, practically climbing over me to get to Blair and Garrett. I was happy for them—no doubt—but the pang of longing that I’d had for the good part of a decade towards Pip intensified.
There were hugs all ’round, and when I got to Garrett, he pulled me away from the table and held me tighter and longer than the others. “I know it wasn’t a great time to bring it up—and your dad’s funeral definitely wasn’t a great time to propose to Blair—but if today has shown us anything, it’s that we shouldn’t wait.”
I shook my head. “You don’t need to explain. You shouldn’t put off your happiness. Blair and you have been through enough.”
Garrett’s whole body relaxed. “Man, I thought you were going to either rip my head off or punch me. The girl you’re in love with is pregnant with my kid, and your ex-best-friend had a kid with your ex-girlfriend. If we’d known—”
“Well, when you put it that way,” I said dryly.
He held up his hands. “Free shot. All yours.”
Instead, I threw my arm around his neck and got him in a playful headlock. “It’s not the same situation. I know that.”
He shook me off. “No, but I bet it dredged up a whole heap of shit you’ve never dealt with. Then being back here …” He gripped my shoulder in a reassuring gesture. “I’m here for you. For as long as you need me. Maybe when Blair goes to L.A., I can come back here, and—”
“We’re coming home. After Vegas, Pip and I will head back to Australia.”
Garrett smiled. “You’re coming to the wedding?”
“Wouldn’t miss it. Dad’s final message about shutting Pip out was also about you. I haven’t told you much about my life here. I’m going to do better.”
Garrett wipes a fake tear away from his eyes. “My little boy is all grown up.”
“Don’t make me take you up on that offer to punch you.”
“Be my best man?”
I cracked a smile. “Of course. But … Hunter won’t be mad? He’s your brother.”
Garrett waved me off. “I don’t expect him to make the trek to Vegas with the twins and Sara. Same with the other guys. This is about Blair and me. Maybe we’ll find a way for you and Pip to stream the ceremony live.”
“I’m happy for you guys.”
We hugged again and were broken up by Blair clearing his throat. “Should I be worried about you two?”
A laugh escaped this time. One thing was for sure, my friends were great at distraction. “Please, if I was going to swing that way, I’d have way more taste than to choose Garrett. No offence to either of you.”
“Saying no offence to an offensive comment doesn’t make it less offensive,” Blair said.
“That’s okay, because I didn’t mean it. You should both be offended.”
***
Our place was small so Tony, Garrett, and Blair stayed in the local motel, which left Pip to help me get my almost-passed-out father into bed, and I had the genius plan on following through with my new vow as soon as we entered my bedroom.
Seven years of friendship brought me to my knees, and the last six months apart made me realise exactly what I’d be losing if Pip ever left me. It was a world I didn’t want to contemplate living in.
Things were fucked up right now, and it probably wasn’t the best time for us to happen, but I couldn’t live another second without her knowing how much I loved her. Worshipped her. Refused to live without her.
Stepping behind her, I wrapped my arms around her waist and buried my head into the side of her neck. “Thank you for everything you did today.”
“I’d do anything for you. You know that.”
“Be with me,” I whispered.
She turned in my arms and brought my forehead down to hers. “I am with you, Gage. It might not be how we both want, but right now it’s all we can give each other.”
“Not true. There’s so much more we can have.” My hand trailed down her back and cupped her ass.
“This is your grief talking.” She didn’t sound convinced.
“Nope. This is more than grief. You’re everything to me, and I want you to see it so desperately I don’t want to wait. We should be together. For real.”
“You need more time.”
“I’ve had six months. Dad getting sick was a … derailment. I want to get back on track.”
“You’re talking in train metaphors. There’s no coming back from that.”
“Pip …” I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek. “I love you so much it hurts. The thing holding me back was my past, and you know everything now.”
She stepped away from me. “About that. I overheard what Jason said. Lucy still loves you.”
“Don’t care.”
“No, listen.” She pursed her lips. “Maybe you owe it to yourself and to her to go see her before we leave.”
“Why the fuck would I do that?”
“Closure? Reassurance? You haven’t moved on from Lucy—hell, you haven’t dated in over eight years. I’m not sure you’re ready for this step, because you haven’t let go of your past.”
“I’m free of my past,” I argued. “Odie pulled me aside at dinner. He’s decided he’s moving to Australia. Tony offered him a position at Parsons’. I never have to set foot in this town again. I never think about Lucy anymore. I hadn’t thought about her in years, because I’ve been too wrapped up in you. I kept telling myself not to trust you, that you were going to break my heart, and I had to stay away, but that doesn’t mean I’m still in love with Lucy. I knew I could fall in love with you the day I met you, but it took a lot longer for me to admit it. Be with me, Pip. Please.”
13
- PIP -
What else was a girl to do when the man she’d wanted for so long was begging?
“I’m scared,” I admitted.
“I’m fucking terrified.” Gage laughed. “But we can’t keep going the way we are. I want to touch you, kiss you, make your toes curl while you scream out my name.”
I snorted. “Mr. Romantic.”
“I want everything with you.”
I closed my eyes, savouring all the right things coming out of his mouth, but there was a problem with ev
erything he was saying. I’d heard it all before. Well, not the confession of love but the claim to want everything, that he wanted me, and I was his. I’d heard it the night before he broke my heart.
For me to trust he wasn’t going to run off again, I needed a promise of forever, because I couldn’t handle watching him walk out on me. Not twice in one lifetime. It was unfair of me to put that on him or to make demands. Which was why I wanted to wait.
But waiting wasn’t an option when his hands skimmed down my sides and back up again. Cupping my face, he tilted my head upwards and dropped his lips to my neck.
An involuntary groan escaped when he found the sensitive skin below my ear.
“I mean it, Pip. This would’ve happened six months ago had it not been for Dad and the personal shit I had to deal with. And you heard my father’s dying request. Unless you want to be haunted for the rest of your life …”
I chuckled. “I believe that was you he threatened, not me, but I also don’t want his words to be the reason you’re with me. Your dad just died, and his dying wish was for you and me to be together—”
“No, it was for us to realise that dancing around the subject of us is stupid, and I agree with him. I’m not doing this because it’s what he wanted. It’s what I’ve wanted for almost eight Goddamn years.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I wasn’t strong. I definitely wasn’t strong enough to hold back like he had for so long.
My mouth found his on its own, and there was nothing gentle about the way they moved against each other. His tongue thrust into my mouth, claiming me.
Where I was expecting Gage to rip off my dress, throw me down, and take me, he surprised me by becoming gentle where his touch counted. His lips became softer; his mouth moved slower.
He pulled me close, and with steady fingers, he lowered my zipper until my little black dress fell and pooled at my ankles. My braless chest rose and fell with heavy breaths, and his eyes burned with heat.
His big hands trailed over me, and his thumb brushing over my nipple made me shiver.
This guy … he knew me inside and out. He knew which buttons to push, how to drive me crazy, and how to go from zero to fuck me now in the blink of an eye.
“Dammit. I was planning on taking this slow, but I can’t.” He pushed me onto the bed and covered my body with his.
I didn’t even have the chance to laugh at the pained tone of his voice before he was assaulting my mouth with need once again. We’d had a breather, but now the fire burned twice as hot.
My hands went to his fly, fumbling to get the button open and zipper down. Once I released his cock from the confines of his pants and boxer briefs, I gripped him and started stroking.
He shuddered above me. “Fuck.” Without hesitation, he pulled back and my underwear was gone a second later. “Please tell me you’re ready. Been way too long.”
I nodded.
My hands gripped his shirt as he thrust into me. “Gage,” I cried out. The slight sting of fullness didn’t compare to the need growing inside me. I probably could’ve done with more foreplay, but the tiny discomfort was worth it knowing it was Gage causing it. Because he was with me. Inside me. I’d do anything to keep this moment alive.
“I’m home, Pip.” He started a hard, fast rhythm but kissed me tenderly. “This is where I belong. Only with you.” He continued to whisper claiming words into my ear until his hips became frantic and his words more strained.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, not caring that he was completely dressed while I was naked beneath him. If anything, that made it hotter.
My orgasm crept up on me but hit with full force. When I let out a cry of pleasure, he froze and spilled inside me.
“Fucking hell,” he grunted while convulsing. He rolled off and collapsed beside me, breathing heavy. “Round two I’ll go slower.”
I laughed. “Maybe we should get some sleep. We have a big few days ahead of us. A wedding, flights back to Australia, work to catch up on …”
“Ugh, I’m not ready to return to reality yet. I swear these last six months without your pussy have felt longer than the eight years I refrained from sex completely.”
I rolled over to face him.
“What’s up? I can feel you staring.” His arm covered his eyes, while he still breathed hard.
“In the seven years we’ve known each other, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say the word pussy. Apart from the night we were together.”
His mouth quirked up on one side. “What can I say, I guess your pussy brings it out of me.”
“It’s not the sexiest of words.”
“Which is better? Snatch, cum box, cun—”
“Okay, okay. Pussy’s fine.” I shook my head. “I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation.”
“You brought it up.”
“Actually, I believe you did.” I sighed. “We should sleep.”
“That sounds good.” He already sounded half-asleep.
“Come on, let’s get you undressed.”
He swiftly reached out and grabbed a hold of my wrist. “You touch me, we won’t be getting any sleep.” Stumbling to a standing position, he shucked off his shirt and his pants, tucked himself back into his boxer briefs, and then collapsed back on the bed.
Within seconds, we crashed.
***
James Arthur’s “Say You Won’t Let Go” played through the speakers of an old, run-down lounge bar on the northern end of the Vegas strip.
The newlyweds were the only ones on the dancefloor, and minus a pair of middle-aged drunks at the end of the bar, we had the place to ourselves.
“Should we join them?” Gage asked and tipped his head in Garrett and Blair’s direction.
I held out my hand. As soon as we hit the dancefloor, I planted my head on his chest.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I’m trying to be happy for them right now, but it’s hard. No, that’s a lie. It’s easy to be happy for them. Just look at them.”
Garrett and Blair stared at each other as if no one else in the world existed. Their gaze burned with endless love that could—and had—endured the worst.
The wedding ceremony was fast, and much to my dismay, not performed by an Elvis impersonator.
In their tuxes, the grooms were so cute, and their smiles couldn’t be wiped from their faces. All our friends back home, plus Garrett’s parents, gathered at Hunter and Sara’s house and watched the ceremony on TV via live video that Tony streamed from Garrett’s phone. I stood by Blair’s side, Gage by Garrett’s, and by the end, both Garrett and I were blubbering messes.
Now that it was all over, Garrett and Blair seemed … at peace. I didn’t know how else to explain it. It was so much more than a piece of paper to them. That was obvious in the way they were with each other. Every tender touch, each time Blair squeezed Garrett’s hand, or they stole a quick kiss, they were all little gestures that validated their love. Everyone deserved that type of happiness.
“You want this?” Gage asked. “Because I’d give it to you in a heartbeat. I want to marry you.”
“We’ve officially been together for all of two days. We haven’t even told anyone yet. I think Garrett and Blair suspect because you haven’t stopped touching me—”
“Odie knows. He heard us having sex last night and gave me a lecture today before we left about not messing it up. I’m not saying we should get married right now—although, if you said yes, I’d march you back into that chapel before you could even blink. What I mean is, whatever you want, I’ll give. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I croaked. He’d said it often the last two days, and I knew it was the truth, but I wasn’t convinced he was in love with me.
Doubt, insecurity, and all those other ugly traits made me anxious about taking this step with Gage, but we were already on the roller coaster and strapped in for the ride. Our one night changed everything, and there was no going back. All I could do was hold on for dear
life and hope we both came out the other side unscathed.
“My brain hurts from all your thinking,” Gage complained.
“Just dance with me,” I said.
He held me close, and I tried to keep my deep thoughts to a minimum, but the more I worried, the stronger he held me. I wasn’t fooling either of us.
Gage finally loosened his grip when the happy couple interrupted.
“We’re out,” Garrett said.
“Happy honeymoon,” I sang.
“Yeah, I get to work on my honeymoon,” Blair said.
“What time’s your flight to L.A. in the morning?” Gage asked.
“Early,” Garrett said.
Gage hugged them both. “Guess we’ll see you guys back in Australia then. I love you both and all, but screw getting up early to see you off when we’ll all be home in a few days.”
Apparently, death made Gage’s I love yous fall out of his mouth easier now.
“I need to steal our oven for a sec,” Garrett said and dragged me away from them.
“Hmm, I don’t know if I like the nickname of oven.”
“Are you two fucking?” Garrett asked.
“Wow. Straight to the point there, dude.”
“Dude? Oh, you’re so fucking. You don’t call anyone dude.”
“We’re … together?” I hated that it came out as a question.
Garrett wrapped his arms around me. “I’m only going to say this once. No fucking while my baby is growing inside you.”
I pulled back, my mouth dropping open. There’s no way he said what I think he said. One look at his face and I knew I was wrong. I definitely heard that correctly.
He held onto the seriousness for all of five seconds before he broke out into a smile. “I’m messing with you. I read all about it when Gage first came back, because I thought this was inevitable. Sex is fine for the baby.”
“I can’t believe I’m having this conversation.” God, it felt like when my mother tried to tell me about the birds and the bees.
“You’re welcome.”
Blair approached his husband. “Has he had enough messing with you yet?”