Page 54 of Only You

Detroit

Whenever people asked Selene if she liked the beach, she was quick to scrunch her nose up. Everyone was always surprised at her reaction, and she understood why. The ocean was this great, magnificent thing but all Selene could feel was how small it made her.

It was easy for her to dominate a room and command attention. She had perfected the skill after years of wishing her father would acknowledge her as more than just a burden. Refusing to be ignored was second nature to her, her greatest weapon. It also caused some of her greatest regrets.

Subtly, she touched her lips, watching the sunlight dance on Lake Michigan on a small beach just outside Chicago. A pair of arms wrapped around her, and she forced herself not to tense.

‘It’s not the ocean,’ Jack said in her ear. ‘But I figured it would be a great substitute.’

‘Definitely.’ She gripped his arm tightly, smiling up at him. ‘You did good.’ Looking over her shoulder, she kissed his chin. ‘Though I’m surprised we’re here at all. Everything’s been kind of crazy lately.’

‘Exactly,’ Jack muttered into her neck. ‘I needed to see you. I mean, how the hell do we sleep next to each other every night and I still miss you?’

A lick of guilt curled in her stomach as she leaned against him, but she ignored it.

‘Because you won’t listen to me about the next fighter.’ Jack groaned, his arms loosening from around her waist, but she grabbed his hands, making him stay. ‘I’m telling you it’s not a good match.’

‘It’s a great match. The guy’s a machine. Stop worrying about it.’

Selene turned around to face him. ‘He’s good in all the places Demir is not. Or so I’ve heard.’

Jack sighed. ‘I know you wanted to go to the fight, but you always complain about never having time to study—’

‘Don’t use my school as an excuse. You know you’ve been holding out on me.’

‘You don’t even like watching them,’ Jack protested.

‘I liked being with you,’ she snapped.

She watched as his jaw moved in a way it did when he didn’t know what to say and bit the inside of her cheek, trying to reign her anger in. The metallic taste was already on her tongue, she was sure Jack would taste it the next time they kissed.

She gripped the patio railing, staring him down. ‘I miss when we were a team.’

‘It’s just life right now,’ he murmured. ‘We only have to do this for a little while longer, you know?’

‘I know.’ Despite the steely tone, she did understand where he was coming from. Truly, it was her own frustration at the lack of a replacement name to give Nora. It would be too late by the time they got back.

Jack pushed her hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. ‘Just be patient.’

‘Nope,’ she said defiantly before pouting. ‘I hate waiting. Patience is the worst virtue.’

‘I like waiting for you,’ Jack said. ‘When you come around, it means you want to be there. And when you show up, the way you support me, I feel unstoppable. You got a mouth on you.’ He gave her a pointed look that made her crack a smile. ‘But I love it and you. I almost couldn’t ask for more.’

Selene quirked her eyebrow. ‘Almost?’

‘I could ask you for one more thing…’ Jack stepped back a little, getting on one knee.

Selene straightened up, her heart starting to race. The wood dug into her palms, but it felt like the only thing keeping her upright. Jack smiled as he reached into his pocket, but Selene waved her hand frantically, making him stop. He tilted his head in confusion.

‘We’re… not that simple.’

‘Since when was marriage ever simple?’

Selene cleared her throat before it could tighten more, tucking her hands behind her back to stop from fidgeting under his gaze.

‘We don’t have the life for those kinds of promises,’ she explained. ‘I’m too ambitious and what kind of marriage lasts hopping from one place to another? Hell, it’s not even legal in half the country!’

‘It is in New York City.’

Selene raised her brows. ‘So, I’m just supposed to stay there my whole life?’

‘Right, because you’re the world traveller,’ he quipped, and Selene glowered at him.

‘Be realistic. With marriage, there’s kids,’ she continued.

‘What kind of life can we build for them? There are things you don’t understand about me, things that I’m not even sure you want to know and I’m sorry, but I refuse to be the wife that lives a whole separate life from her husband.

That’s the only way my parents are surviving now.

It’s a nightmare, but what if they were us before everything?

You never even talked about a future with me! ’

‘I didn’t have to.’

‘Why?’ Selene pushed.

‘Because of our life now!’ He stood up, pinning her in place with the blazing look in his eyes. Selene swallowed nervously but didn’t look away. ‘Anytime anyone has given us hell, we got through it. We faced it together. We never cared how it looked to everyone else. Why should we care now?’

‘Because this includes the law,’ she whispered. ‘You keep acting like it doesn’t matter, as if I still don’t use the back door to go home unless you’re there.’

‘Sel, it’s because of the law I need to do this. I need to know that you’re safe and cared for, that this life doesn’t leave you with nothing,’ he insisted. ‘I’m not saying it’s perfect, but if there’s a chance…’

‘It’s still too dangerous,’ she hissed. ‘ Everything changes after marriage.’

‘I have been there every time you have changed,’ Jack pointed out, her argument dying on her tongue. No matter what had happened in her life, he had been the one thing she could trust to remained consistent. But was that still true?

‘Things can’t stay like this forever. And even if they do, I don’t care. I refuse to let some greedy, fat politician who wished I died in a fucking war tell me who can be my wife,’ Jack declared.

She shook her head. ‘You’re reckless.’

‘But you like that about me. Sometimes, I think you admire it.’

He winked at her, trying to be playful, but she groaned.

The mere idea was insane. Still, she felt the same enduring weakness she always had whenever he had a crazy plan.

She hated how part of her wanted to try, the curiosity that urged her to give in to the excitement in his eyes that told her that her Jack was back.

Yet, for a moment, Demir’s face flashed in her mind, and she paused as Jack pressed his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes, feeling the caress of his breath against her lips.

‘You’re the only thing I’ve never questioned in my life,’ he said softly. ‘No matter what. So, if you have to say “no” right now, it won’t change anything. I’ll be here arguing with you regardless.’

Selene laughed, her voice a breathless whisper.

It felt nice to have something so familiar. She didn’t fool herself into thinking Jack would be a perfect husband or that their marriage would be a dream come true. She knew it would be a very harsh reality. She also knew she could trust it and him.

Perhaps Demir was a fantasy. There was an honest, good man in him under the rough exterior he’d created to move through life.

She’d seen whenever Demir let his guard down.

Even when he didn’t, he was still everything she wanted in a man but never had the courage to admit.

Yet, that alone made him the scariest thing in her life.

Selene closed the inch of space between her and Jack, her frayed nerves smoothing out under his lips.

‘Okay,’ she whispered between kisses. She felt Jack’s smile grow against her lips, and he lifted her off her feet. She let herself get lost in the excitement, Jack’s elation rubbing off on her. Suddenly, the thought of taking on the world didn’t seem so bad.

She wanted to keep kissing, but he pulled away, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small box.

Selene froze at the sight of it, unable to take her eyes off the black velvet square as he opened it.

The ring was fairly simple, a row of three diamonds on a gold band, the centre stone slightly bigger than the other two.

Even in the low light, the stones sparkled, hinting at how much money Jack had spent.

He slid the ring on her finger. It was heavier than she expected, the weight of change lingering around her as he pulled her into his arms.

‘See? That wasn’t so hard,’ he whispered. Selene didn’t respond; she just kissed him again.

The next morning, she woke up crying from a dream that disappeared as she tried to remember it.

The band of her engagement ring was smooth against her cheek as she wiped her tears, and she paused as a faint memory of smoke resurfaced, but the dream faded beneath the morning light. She looked at her hand, frowning.

She’d made the right choice and yet…

She didn’t dare finish the thought, instead, flipping onto her side to look at Jack, still fast asleep. She scooted closer, wrapping an arm around him, and buried her face in his shoulder.

Demir ducked under Benny’s arms, weaving out of the way. The punches were slower than they would be in an actual fight, but it forced him to focus on his movement, which would later turn into instinct. It was hard to resist sneaking in a punch. After all, he was a fighter at heart.

Hit or run?

The thought popped into his head suddenly, sounding an awful lot like his aunt, and the question made him pause long enough for Bobby’s fist to graze his ribs before he twisted out the way. He quickly put distance between them, his fists coming up defensively.

‘Lookin’ good ’cept that last one!’

Dropping his stance, Demir looked over his shoulder to see Jack walking over to the ring. He motioned to Benny to take a break and approached the ropes.

‘Welcome back,’ Demir greeted, touching his glove to the fist Jack held out. ‘Had a good trip?’

‘Best yet,’ he declared with a secretive smile. ‘Don’t know how another will top it. Well, I can think of one but that won’t be for a while.’