Page 84 of Ascension

He swallowed hard. “So that’s it?”

“That’s peace,” I said. “You don’t owe me anything, and I don’t owe you closure. I’ve already found it.”

He frowned. “With who? That guy from Comic Con?”

I smirked. “And her. Calla and James.”

His eyes widened. “Her? Wait, you’re with both of them?”

“Yes,” I said calmly, meeting his disbelief with pride. “And it’s the healthiest, most honest love I’ve ever known.”

He shook his head. “And what about the things you used to want, marriage, kids?”

“I used to think those things would make me complete,” I said, my tone steady. “But I’m whole now, with or without those things. I don’t need a husband or a child to validate my womanhood. I have love that’s built on truth, respect, and freedom. That’s enough for me.”

Jason’s face fell. “So I really lost you.”

“You never had me,” I said quietly. “You had the version of me who didn’t know her worth.”

He nodded slowly, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. “You’re really happy?”

I smiled a small, genuine one. “Yeah. Happier than I’ve ever been.”

That’s when I felt it, the shift in the air. I looked up and locked eyes with my woman, feeling her presence before she even made it to the table.

As she leaned down to whisper in my ear that I had five minutes to get my ass in my car and head to her place, or she was going to spank me and fuck me u til I could barely sit for the next week. I knew she was serious, and I was seriously turned on. I contemplated testing her gangsta to see how much I would be on the receiving end of her paddle, but I thought better of it. After she issued that promise, she headed back to her table, where I spotted James with a smirk on his face, while Caleb and Calil doubled over in laughter.

I was aroused and eager to be punished. I’d never seen myself as a masochist, but with Calla and James, I was wide open to pleasure of all kinds because I trusted them and loved them.

Jason’s eyes went wide. “What the—”

“Accountability,” I said, standing up. “It’s a new part of my life.”

He didn’t understand, but he didn’t need to.

As I walked to my car, the tension in my chest loosened. I didn’t look back, didn’t wave, didn’t think about what could have been.

I was donecarrying his ghost.

For the first time in years, I didn’t just say I’d moved on, I’d actually done it. I had a twenty-five-minute drive to Calla’s place, and I decided to call Lena and tell her just what kind of hot water I’d gotten myself into tonight.

The second I pulled out of Big Earl’s parking lot, my phone lit up on the dashboard.

Lena ????

I hit the speaker. “Hey, bestie.”

“What’s up, girl? Where you headed?”

I sighed. “To Calla’s to get spanked and fucked for misbehaving.”

There was a solid beat of silence, then Lena’s laugh exploded through my speakers so loud I nearly swerved.

“I’m sorry, what?” she wheezed. “What the hell did you do to piss off The Black Dahlia herself? And I still can’t believe that woman is actually THE Dahlia, and how I didn’t put two and two together? The mask? The leather? The whole whip collection?”

“Believe it,” I groaned. “She’s all of it and then some.”

“Oh, this I gotta hear! What did you do?”