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“Not until you watch it with me.”
“What? No way. We’re not watching it.”
“Then I’m keeping it.”
“Jesus, fuck. Fine. Let’s watch it. Hand me my ice pack.” He hands it to me, his phone in hand, and the biggest smirk plastered across his adorable hot face.
So we watch it, and it’s around the one-hour mark that I remember our pain. I can see it in our eyes in the video, but you know what else I see? Love. Passion. All the emotions I thought he didn’t have were right there in front of me. I’d been blinded by my own insecurities and grief that I couldn’t see it.
Noah smiles at me, his head resting against mine. “My love for you was never in question, honey,” he whispers, kissing my temple.
Noah takes my hand and places it on his raging erection. “Now, let’s make a new one.”
I rip his phone from his hand, delete the video, and toss it aside. “Not a chance, buddy.”
He frowns. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“I can. Now, let me make it up to you.”
His frown fades, his hands threading behind his head. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
Our scars, they’re still there. Even time won’t erase them. They’ll fade but will always be there. Our memories, time will never take those. I’ll forever remember that blue-eyed little wild child whose loss tore our family apart, but in the same sense, she brought us together and proved that we could get through anything.
Even a nail in my femur.
The End
Thirty-Six
First Birthdays, Fires & Foreign Objects
EXCLUSIVE BONUS CHAPTER ONLY AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACKS
(Um, yeah. So that happened.)
I’ve never givenmuch thought as to how I’d die.
Ha. Just playin’. But since living next door to Bonner Slade, it crosses mine daily. Like now.
Do you see the two of us standing outside next to his barbeque? You know, the one on fire and flames coming out the sides? We’re the two trying to put it out with what we had in our hands. Also happened to be beer and just in case you’re not aware—because unfortunately for his fence we did not know it would spread—do not dump beer on a fire. I knew straight alcohol wasn’t good for a fire but beer? It’s fucking gluten in a cup with some alcohol. Should be fine, right?
Yeah, tell that to the Santa Barbara Fire Department. They didn’t think to highly of it either. It’s amazing how quickly a fire can get out of hand. It usually starts out with, ‘I got this’, and quickly moves to, ‘shit just got real’ and then finally, because we’re men and we try to make everything look like it wasn’t that big of a deal—our reaction is: it’s fine. It wasn’t that bad.
The firefighter who smiles at me, I think I’d like to be his friend because his response is, “I was hoping this story begin with, hold my beer, but I guess that came later?”
We smile, laugh, the girls are pissed and you know, that’s not even the most eventful part of the night. It’s supposed to be Hayley’s first birthday party. You’d think the highlight would be her blowing out the birthday candles on her very extravagant birthday cake, am I right?
Nope. I’m wrong. With a house ratio of three girls and two men in our family, I’ve come to the horrifying conclusion that I usually am. Doesn’t stop me from wanting to be though.
I got sidetracked. Sorry. What was I saying?
Right, or wrong in my case, but whatever, you get my drift. The best part of the night for the women in attendance is Landon and Revel Slade showing up. There’s a moment when Landon and Revel are in a room together and I feel strangely inadequate. It’s like being in a room with the Hulk and Thor and being anybody else. I don’t know what to say to them because what am I going to say? Hey, how’s work? Family? Got any hobbies. Ha. I’d feel like a tool asking that.
Landon Slade, from what I gather he’s older, quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, and can probably bench press my ass. One thing we do have in common?
Other than our good looks? Kids. When their older brother, Grant, died last year he left his five kids to Landon. From what I can gather, it’s been quite the adjustment. He’s here with two of them. Haisley and Nalani. There’s some talk about how awkward it is that Haisley and Hayley sound too much alike, and some of your usual brother rivalry, but all that’s shadowed by when Steve shows up to the party.
I know, I know, you’re dying to meet Revel, the rock star brother but don’t worry. He’s sitting by the beer wearing a look of disgust as he stares at the ground. I don’t think he even knows what state he’s in. I’ll get to him soon. The mom’s in the neighborhood are keeping him occupied. Or should I say, he’s keeping them occupied by doing absolutely nothing but looking at them as if he doesn’t have a goddamn clue what the fuck he’s doing here.