Page 91 of Fourth Wheel

What she doesn’t realize is that I’m completely content to lie back and watch her.

“I’m good here.Yougo play,” I encourage with a slap on the ass.

Eight more days.

Seven more nights.

I don’t know how I’m going to let her go.

Chapter 48

Maddie

MyweekwiththeHaas brothers whizzed by in a blur. We did nothing remarkable, yet we made a thousand memories. We spent all day together, the three of us, every day. Then Dempsey and I got lost in each other every night.

We enjoyed “Valley Cruise” drives through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park with no real destination in mind. We made daily ice cream runs to Valley Cream at Fielding’s request.

One night, Dempsey even convinced us to go see the orchestra perform at Blossom. It was shaping up to be a very mature, respectable evening until Fielding busted out the weed he snuck past security and rolled two joints.

He and I got high while Dempsey sat in his lawn chair and scowled. When we went home that night, Dem made love to me so good I swear I heard the symphony in my head when I came.

Now it’s the weekend. Our last hurrah. Our final goodbye.

I don’t know how either of us will survive it.

We went out to dinner, then Fielding took off to hang out with some friends. It’s the boys’ first night apart since their mom died, and part of me ached for them. But Dempsey asked him to give us tonight, and Fielding was more than happy to oblige.

I cornered Fielding this afternoon and made him swear he’d come back to the house before his brother wakes up in the morning. I couldn’t stand the idea of Dempsey being here in this big house alone.

I come out of the bathroom to find him shirtless in bed, wearing the pants he wore to dinner, staring idly at his phone. I stripped down to my tank top and thong when I took off my makeup and brushed my teeth.

He sets the phone down the second he sees me, then beckons for me to join him on the bed.

“I’ll never get tired of seeing you walk out of my bathroom looking edible as fuck.”

I give him a smile, though I don’t feel the joy that should accompany it.

We’ve been playing this game all week. Neither of us acknowledging that I’m about to leave. Neither of us willing to admit that this ends tomorrow.

But now we’re here. One last night. With an alarm set for five a.m., because I was so fucking desperate to get out of Ohio that Ihadto have the first available flight on July 31 when I booked my plane ticket months ago.

He doesn’t know it, but I’m not waking him up in the morning. There is no tomorrow. At least not for him and me.

I already insisted on driving myself, so the boys helped me pack up my Lexus this afternoon. My parents will drive it home from the airport’s long-term parking lot when they come back to town in a few weeks.

All we have is tonight.

Whatever words need to be said… whatever this final night needs to be… this is it.

I climb onto the bed and drape myself over him as an ache that can’t be quelled settles inside me. Tears pool in my eyes and fall freely without permission, landing on his chest and painting his abs with sorrow.

“Hey,” he tries to comfort. “Stop that. Don’t cry, princess. We still have tonight.”

I nod against him and sniff before speaking my truth. “You have to let me go.”

He shudders under me before replying. “I know.”

But he doesn’t. Or maybe he does and he’s that much better at hiding his emotions than I am. I don’t want to cause him more pain. But I have to make sure he understands. “This is it, Dem. After tonight—”