Page 18 of Nothing to the Wedding

“Give or take a millennium, thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“You’re the kind of guy that even long after your brain is dead, your cock will still work.”

“Not sure hospitals check for that.”

“They better.That’s dangerous for a guy like you.”No, hey, new perspective.“Dangerous for me!I don’t want random kids coming out of the woodwork claiming a slice of the pie.”

“You’re getting off topic again.”

Man, she wanted to feel the warmth of his chest beneath her cheek, to feel the pulse of his heart.To say missing him wasn’t enough.Like in so many areas of their relationship, the language just didn’t exist to express the depth of truth between them.

“Does it ever scare you?”

“We talked about the wedding—”

“Not the wedding.”Though the wedding’s proximity was probably the cause of her nostalgia.“How close we came to losing us.”

“You really have been hitting the bottle.We’ve talked about this.I would never let that happen, not then, not now.”

“Sometimes I hate myself for it.The cues I missed.The way I treated you, being so glib—”

“You didn’t know this was this then.”

“How did you know and I didn’t?”

Still that really pissed her off.

“Experience, Lo.Shit, you had me almost from the get-go.I’m not the kind of guy who feels this way.Women… they’ve never been in short supply, but you… Roxanna…”

“If you’d pushed too much, I would’ve run away.”

“You did run away,” he said.“I don’t think about those days, not in terms of regrets.Everything we went through brought us here.Right here, baby.Isn’t this where you want to be?”

She sighed.“I’d rather you be under me right here.”

“I can get on a plane, but—”

“I know.It would be tomorrow by the time you got here.”

Not tomorrow but later that day, they had to be in the early morning hours, somewhere in that ballpark.After sleep, that was better, he wouldn’t get there until after she was up.Not better but… Oh, her brain hurt.

For a few seconds, maybe a minute, might’ve been two, they just existed together.In peace.In quiet.As they would if they were alone in the same bed.

“What are you going to do about Crosby?”he asked, his voice a little huskier than before.

He’d be tired.He should be, it was a long day for him, longer than hers.In the name of love and care, she should send him to bed… just one more minute.

“Has he been in touch?”Maybe there was something he hadn’t told her… yet.No secrets, no lies didn’t mean no suspense.“Is he bothering Salad?”

“If he was bothering Salad, I would’ve told you.I didn’t tell anyone else about this.”

“Because you think I’ll get into trouble?”

“Babe—”

“You’re right,” she said.

“It’s a symbiotic relationship.”