Page 61 of Dear Future Husband (The Dearly Written #1)

Trey

I had died and gone to heaven.

That was the only explanation for the angel that laid across my chest in the morning sunlight. Maybelle’s golden curls were a fluffy mess across her bare back, her skin glowing and freckled.

My body melted into the mattress with relief and gratitude that my girl was home, safe in my embrace. She was no longer alone, and neither was I.

I prayed that I could stay here, watch her sleep. A wish I never ever thought would tempt me. But seeing her like this, in this bed, in my arms, snoring only slightly—it was all I could ever want.

I’d gotten so close to losing everything. So, fucking close it made me sick. After this hellish week, I doubted I could ever breathe normally outside of her presence again.

Maybelle’s nose scrunched. She sniffed, then blinked as her arms stretched out. Blue-green framed by a curtain of thick, light lashes was all I could see.

“Hi,” she huffed, and it was officially the loveliest thing I’d ever heard.

“Hey, Mayhem,” I breathed, and to my surprise, her cheeks pinked. My eyebrows rose and she quickly averted her gaze. So, I pinched her chin between my fingers and brought her focus back to me.

“May, sweetheart, are you embarrassed?” I teased, and her cheeks got redder.

Her smile was tight and coy as she whispered, “I just really like that nickname.”

I chuckled, pulling her up my body so we laid nose to nose with her still atop my chest. “Good. I don’t plan to stop using it.”

She nuzzled into my neck, and I tangled my fingers through her curls.

“May, what’re you doing?”

“Hm?” she hummed.

Her face was buried in the space between my jaw and shoulder as she placed kisses in tender spots. It felt so good. She felt good. Her soft full lips nipping and caressing up my neck, and along my jaw.

She placed a lingering kiss against my Adam’s apple and the gentle pressure had me hissing. My hands found her naked hips.

She was irresistible to me, and she knew it. I rolled us, pinning her to the bed beneath me as I claimed her mouth with mine in a searing kiss. When Maybelle gasped, I broke the kiss, smirking at her under me.

“What do you think about us moving this to the shower?”

Her small smile was answer enough.

I rose from the bed, pacing across the room. My hands raked through my hair as I glanced back at her. She pulled the blankets over herself and looked me over with snarky amusement.

Winking back to her, I opened the door to the bathroom and started up the shower. When I returned to the bedroom, she had shrunk under the sheets, her face rosy.

“You coming?” I asked, approaching the bed and the beautiful woman in it.

Her cheeks were a fiery crimson now as I tugged at the blanket she took refuge in.

“Oh, May, don’t go getting shy on me now,” I taunted as I ripped the blankets off.

She squealed, but I snatched her up in my arms. I carried her to the shower, kicking and giggling.

After our shower, I’d gone out to get us a real breakfast. As much as we loved pop tarts, we needed real food. I brought it home for us. We ate it in the kitchen. We talked about old memories. Like that morning I woke to her singing. We laughed and reminisced.

I thought for sure I’d never been happier.

I then took a few minutes to call and message our family and friends. I let them know we were both alive and well. Which was quite the dramatic ordeal with certain individuals.

Let’s just say, I had a lot of apologizing to do to calm Williams, Larson and Bear.

And no, they were not concerned in the slightest about my whereabouts or wellbeing. It was all about Maybelle. How she was doing, when they could come see her, if she would be well enough to hop online and play teams on COD soon.

And a bunch of other bullshit I could only laugh at.

Despite the three of them being a collection of worrying idiots for the girl I loved, I’d never been more thankful to call them my brothers.

Now, I was in only my black boxers while Maybelle had wrapped herself in a fluffy pink robe. We cuddled together in her bed. She laid on my chest while I held our precious journal up for us both to read as we tangled together in the sheets.

“Trey,” she whispered.

We were skimming over an entry about Liam. How he helped a young Maybelle build an elementary science fair project .

“Yes, May?”

She pressed in, placing a kiss to my bobbing throat, sending a shudder through me.

“What do you miss most about Liam?”

“His big heart,” I said, not needing to think long on it. “He was the best supporter, constantly cheered everyone on. You know he talked about you all the time?”

She twisted into me so our eyes could meet. Her light brows quirked.

“Really?”

I nodded. “Yeah, he constantly talked about you. Especially when we were doing something fun, he would say he wished you were there. He also showed me your old highlight reels from when you played basketball.”

Those vivid blue-green eyes widened. “He showed you what now?” she demanded, sitting up and shattering the close intensity between us.

I chuckled, sitting myself up with her.

“Yeah, he showed me your best games. He was very proud. You were quite the superstar.”

The light flush creeping up her cheeks made me want to nip and kiss her skin. Which I planned to do until her palm landed on my chest, stopping my approach.

“Hold up. When you and I chatted in the kitchen graduation morning, you said that you didn’t know I played sports.”

Now I was blushing. I grasped her hand, bringing it from my chest to my lips. I placed a soft kiss on her palm before admitting into her skin, “I lied.”

She gasped in mock disbelief. “Trey Tory Turner!” she exclaimed, and I tackled the tantalizing woman back to the bed, pinning her down with my weight.

The darling, pink robe slipped, revealing more of my favorite expanse of skin. I trailed praising kisses from her collar bones down and around to all the exposed places while I spoke .

“What can I say? I had a big crush on you, May.” I nibbled the bare skin above her navel. “I would’ve done anything to get you to notice me for just a moment. Speak one sentence to me. Spend a second of your time with me.”

A kiss against her inner thigh, gliding up to her knee.

“Then that morning you were talking to me. I was willing to do anything to keep you with me.”

I rose back up, kissing the underside of her jaw. Then I whispered my lips along the shell of her ear.

“Even tell a small lie.”

When our eyes met, noses touching, the grin on my face was tight, full of cramping cheek muscles. Maybelle’s smile was sweet, innocent. It made me want to tease and taunt the sexy woman until her sassy, infuriating side came out to play.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to do much to persuade as her eyes narrowed.

“You really are obsessed with me, aren’t you?”

I kissed her because yes. Yes, I was.

I pulled away, smiling uncontrollably. “That would be the understatement of the century.” I lay down, my head resting on her chest, her arms snaking around, drawing me closer to her.

“Trey,” Maybelle said, her arms pulling tight, allowing no room for escape. It was perfect.

“Mayhem?”

“I need you to take me somewhere.”

“Anywhere, love.”

***

The sky was a blazing sunset of oranges, pinks, and yellows when I put the car in park. Maybelle was quiet, but it was a good quiet.

We were going to see her family for the first time in almost two years .

Opening her door for her, I took the flowers from her hands. Allowing her to step out of my mom’s car onto the plush grass of the local cemetery.

I took her hand and glanced behind me.

“Come here,” I said as I hugged my mom into my side.

Mom smiled at me then smiled at Maybelle. Maybelle’s eyes were still glossy from their reunion.

“Thanks for being here, Chels,” Maybelle said, and Mom reached around me to squeeze her arm.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Hand in hand, I led Maybelle down the pathways of tombstones. The quiet peace created a sanctuary in the field of resting souls. I tilted my head to glance at the girl dressed in a white tee and jeans. I couldn’t ignore the clog of emotion in the back of my throat.

She was glowing.

My mom must’ve sensed my blooming emotions because she hugged me tighter.

A harsh intake of breath from Maybelle had me looking ahead to see a man standing before of our intended destination.

The man was tall. He wore a black shirt, dark jeans.

His skin was tan. He had black, straight hair with white highlights.

There was a disheveled amount of facial hair along his jaw and a slump to his shoulders that I once related to.

“Xavier,” Maybelle breathed, and the man spun.

His dark eyes widened at the sight of her. Without another word, Maybelle was striding from me to the stranger—Xavier.

He held his arms out to accept her. They met in a heart-wrenching hug. Maybelle was crying, and so was he. They both grasped to one another, with only their tears, nearby birds and far off traffic to fill the silence.

Mom sniffled beside me. I twisted to her and she smiled up at me with tears in her brown eyes as she pointed. “Stephanie told me about him. ”

Maybelle pulled back, the two of them still embracing as she giggled through a sob. “You’ve gotten old,” she said, running her fingers through the patches of white hair.

Xavier guffawed through his tears.

“And you talk,” he pointed out. They both embraced once again, their laughter combining into a merry melody.

They parted from one another, and Maybelle’s smiling eyes turned to Mom. “Xavier, this is Chelsea.”

He shook Mom’s hand with a courteous nod.

Then Maybelle’s eyes found mine. “And this is Trey. Liam’s best friend and my—my boyfriend.”

The adorable flush to her cheeks had me stepping up next to her, hooking an arm around her waist.

I locked hands with Xavier in a firm shake.

“Yes, I think we’ve met,” he said, and the pieces clicked into place.

“Tacos?” I asked, and the man grinned.

“Yes, I served you and Liam once or twice in my parents’ restaurant.”

I nodded, remembering a few nights Liam dragged me to his favorite taco shop after a wild party or two. Where Xavier would leave the restaurant open for us, feeding us all the free tacos and water, he could get us to eat.

My laughter was a ruckus of humiliation as I remembered the time I barfed in the restaurant bathroom. All while Liam and Xavier laughed their asses off at me.

“Damn it, Sir. You might have the most humbling stories to tell about me. That being said, you’re not allowed to give a toast at our wedding so I can keep hold of at least an ounce of my pride.”

Xavier’s smile grew. Maybelle slanted me a sidelong glance. Mom beamed.

“No promises,” he remarked with a wink, then turned to Maybelle, smile still bright. “Wedding? How exciting for you two. When is it?”

Before Maybelle or Mom could open their mouths, I quickly cut in with a promising, “Soon.”

Again, Maybelle was giving me a curious side-eye, but I didn’t turn from the man in front of us.

Xavier’s chuckles were deep as he clapped me on the shoulder. “Well, I’ll keep my schedule open for the near future.” Then his dark eyes fell to the two partnering stones in the grass.

Stephanie Anne Mason

Mother

Cherished friend

And confidant

Liam Mason

Son

Brother

Friend

And Captain

My vision went misty, just as it always did when I spent time here. It got easier, but it’d been a while since I returned because of the busy schedule I happily let Maybelle take over.

Being back here, with her, brought on a whole new rush of feelings.

“I like to come here Sundays and talk to them—well, mainly her,” Xavier admitted. “Liam was never a good listener. So, I hang out with him but Steph... She always listened. Always accepted everything a person was as more than enough.”

At his words, Maybelle stepped in close to him, her eyes glued to the stones as she laced her fingers in his.

“You know, she cared for you. She would’ve said yes to you the first time you asked her out if she didn’t have us to worry about.”

His watery eyes turned to Maybelle. “I didn’t mind the waiting. It’s knowing she finally said, ‘yes’ that keeps me going.”

Awareness, understanding and a thought crept in as I watched Maybelle squeeze Xavier’s hand.

Love. It’s a crazy, stupid thing and I don’t think I truly comprehended or knew the words to describe it until now.

Love is patient. I think Xavier and even I would know that best. Love can be painful, but love is worth it. It’s a passionate, trusting, enduring, and multilayered phenomenon.

It’s a complete leap of faith.

I watched the girl I loved smile sweetly. The girl who radiated life and what it should be at its core. I learned something new as I watched her.

Living teaches us how to love. How to be brave enough to accept it, acknowledge it, nurture it, want it, and be a conduit for it.

“She really, really liked you,” Maybelle said.

Xavier’s eyes screwed shut as his chin fell to his chest. A beat, then two passed before he cupped Maybelle’s face in two large hands.

“You are not alone. The Fernandez family is in your corner. You’re welcome home to us whenever you need. You hear me?” he insisted, his eyes piercing hers as she nodded.

“Good,” he said.

He threw one last look to Stephanie before stepping out towards the path to the parked vehicles. He called back over his shoulder, “And since you’re a Fernandez, you get the family discount so free tacos forever. Visit soon, my mama misses you!”

Maybelle’s laughter was contagious as she hollered back, “I will! Thank you!”

** *

Sprinkled stars peeked through the smoggy clouds. The near winter night chill was a welcome as we sat with Liam and Stephanie. While Maybelle and I huddled together under a thick blanket, Mom sat on a nearby bench with her eyes turned to the sky.

We hadn’t done much talking, but I think Maybelle did. In her heart as she sat and hummed, tracing the carved words across the headstones with her fingers. I didn’t think she cried or spoke as we sat with her family because I didn’t think the time, she spent unconscious was lonely.

I had a feeling Maybelle had time to pick up a few of the pieces between her, her mom and her brother. I believe she got the reunion she needed to carry on. One day she would tell me about it, and I looked forward to hearing it.

But for now, she needed no words as she sat with her family. Finally, all of them, at peace.