Page 148 of Bred

He waits until I open my door and give him a little wave from inside before driving off.

Being as quiet as I can as to not wake Hailey, I quickly wash my face and brush my teeth. I look at the shower longingly, but I don’t dare. Lucas already reminded me about going to sleep with him still on me before he let me go. He wants me to take a picture of myself in the morning to make sure I listened.

I shiver. I don’t know where this new kink of his came from, but I find it surprisingly sexy. It’s a heady feeling to know that I drive him so insane with lust that he wants to mark me and put a baby in me.

Back in high school, our sex was sweet. I knew he was much more experienced and always worried it wasn’t enough for him, feeling like he was always holding himself back for me.

Clearly, I was right. He no longer treats me like a priceless dish of porcelain like he did back then. Now, he handles my body like a woman he wants to consume.

I crawl into bed and tell myself I did the right thing by coming home, but it doesn’t feel that way.

I miss Lucas.

I just got him back; I want to enjoy the feel of his strong arms wrapped around me.

At the same time, in the years since he left, I’ve gotten pretty used to sleeping alone.

I can’t explain it, but I feel like my entire life is going to change now that he’s back.

It took a while to find my happiness. I graduated high school in a daze of heartbreak and anticipation, abandoned by the man I loved and worried about my future as a single mom. Then, when I lost himandthe baby, I felt like I would never touch happiness again.

But I did. I found a job I loved and grew closer than ever to Bristol and Hailey.

I had a good life. A life I could be proud of.

There was alwayssomethingmissing, though. My body couldn’t fully settle without it.

I realize that I don’t have that emptiness inside me anymore, and I know it’s because Lucas is back in my life.

I know there will be bumps in the road, but I know without a doubt that Lucas and I are going to be okay. We just have to relearn each other.

I’m lucky, because I get to fall in love with the same man twice.

With a smile, I roll over and hug the well-loved bear that Lucas gave me for our first Valentine's Day. Knowing I’ll see him in the morning, and the morning after that, and the one after that… I finally find peace and fall asleep.

EPILOGUE

LUCAS

“You’reonaboat?But you hate boats,” Brinley says, holding the phone to her ear. It’s a rare Friday night that both Brinley and Bristol aren’t working the bar. Instead, I was finally able to take Brinley out to dinner on a proper date.

We just finished eating at this new Italian place and were walking back toward my bike when her sister called.

“Oh, of course.Nickwanted to go.” She looks at me and rolls her eyes. “Well, tell yourself a yacht is significantly safer than a boat and try not to worry about it… I don’t know if it’s true, who cares? Just have some fun! Enjoy the yacht and all the free caviar and champagne… or whatever you get on yachts.”

Whatever Bristol says next must have been shocking because Brinley’s steps falter, narrowly avoiding eating shit off the curb if it wasn’t for me catching her.

“I’m sorry.What?!”

I can’t help but laugh at the way her eyes bulge at what she hears.

“Wow. I… don’t really know what to say to that. But listen, Bris, you’ll be fine. You’ve handled the bozos at the bar, you can handle one rich prick.” I catch Brinley’s gaze and gesture for her to get off the phone. “Hey Bristol, I’vegotta go, babe. Keep me updated, though, okay? Call me later? Okay, love you, bye!”

“Sorry about that,” Brinley says as she drops her phone back into her purse. “I wouldn’t usually answer a call on a date, but with Bristol out of town, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

“Iseverything okay?” I ask.

She nods, placing her hand in mine when I hold it out to her. She snuggles into my side. “Yeah, fine. Bristol’s boyfriend is just being a douche—big surprise, there—and apparently his boss is… mildly sinister or something. I don’t know, she might be worrying over nothing. You know Bristol. She’s just freaking out because Nick—hey, where are you going?” She jerks her thumb over her shoulder. “Your bike is that way.”