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Hensley retired from modeling and purchased the house next door. Her popularity soared since she started streaming and she settled into a new chapter of her life, which made her happy. While I expected Hensley to be a part of our lives, I watched, fascinated, at the close friendship she developed with my husband and Echo, which was enviable in the neighborhood.

The twins, who stayed most weekends with us, were happy, well-adjusted… demons. But they were ours. At fifteen, they created a free app where victims of domestic violence and stalking could call for help without alerting their abusers. Also, the app gave tips on how to leave a toxic relationship and listed resources for building their new lives once they left. They’ve been debating several job offers after graduating last June, all while contemplating bringing awareness to social issues important to them.

“Stop trying to distract me,” Neko whined.

My smile widened against his mouth and he reached up and tweaked my nipple. The answering moan from deep in my throat had an immediate reaction. Neko jumped into my arms and wrapped his legs around my waist as my hands cupped his ass.

“Love, please.”

With a peek at the clock, I carried Neko toward the TV room, no patience for the long trek upstairs before our flight.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You glanced at the clock. In the past two years since you’ve retired from your full-time job, you haven’t cared about the time once,” he narrowed his eyes and continued, “what’s going on?”

“Tonight, we’re flying to Ireland, which is a starting place for a month-long traveling honeymoon. I know what you’re thinking. ‘I can’t take that much time off,’ but I’ve talked to your chat, and they were encouraging. Also, Echo relayed you’re two weeks ahead of schedule for your video uploads, and she’ll space them out while we’re gone. Plus, they’ll be a group stream when you get back. I know it’s a lot, me presuming this is what you want, but you haven’t had a break since you started your channel and I wanted to surprise you for our—”

Neko peppered kisses on my face, whispering how much he loved me, as his eyes watered. Of course, his tears were my weakness, and I tightened my hold.

“Oh, sweetheart, please don’t cry.”

“Happy tears, I swear.” He wiped at his eyes and asked, “How long have you been planning this?”

“I wondered about it as I bought your ring, but started planning on our wedding day. We didn’t have time for a honeymoon after the ceremony, and I wanted time for us to settle in as a married couple in familiar surroundings. And I’m glad we did because spending all our time together, growing closer and being open about our nerves and our doubts and our plans for the future, cemented everything I’ve felt for you since we’d met.”

A laugh bubbled up in his chest, and the sound set my body alight. “I clung onto the amount of alone time we had together and savored each minute, and I still guard our time together because it’s precious. When we fell into our normal routines, the tight ball of anxiety in my chest loosened because I needed you alone, to be in a familiar space. If we rushed off to a honeymoon and let everything fall by the wayside, we might not be on solid ground, and that scared me.”

Neko paused and then met my gaze. “When do we leave?”

“The flight to Donegal from JFK is at four. We have—”

Neko pulled away from my hold, but grabbed my hand before he led me up the stairs and into our bedroom. He rushed toward the closet, stopping at the dresser, pulling out our underwear drawer and turning back to me.

“Packallthe underwear. And the charming socks along with the dress socks. Oh, and my funny tees, and the suspenders you think are cute on me, and don’t forget the unopened package in there. No, you can’t open it and no, you can’t know what’s inside. All in due time.”

My mind wandered to the next possible provocative garment he’d ordered on a whim that would drive me insane and make me strip it off him as fast as possible. I about swallowed my tongue when Neko cleared his throat.

“Love, hurry, we have little time. We have to drop by that store we found and pick up our favorite lube in three ounces to pack in the carry on and the bigger one for the suitcase.”

I paused in searching for our suitcases and turned back to him. “You’re planning on riding me in the airplane bathroom, aren’t you?”

He waved away my arguments. “I’m bringing the disinfecting wipes and your travel cologne. We’ll be fine.”

When Neko paused and studied me for a moment, his face softened before he walked back toward me, draping his arms around my shoulders.

“I love you.”

And with those words, I’d do the unlikely, the impractical, and if he wanted me to, the impossible. All for the love of Neko.