Page 66 of White Pawn
Epilogue
Marisa
“Happy Together”- Spin
The hustleand bustle of authors fighting with their banners, tearing down boxes, dropping books fills the air. Gage wiggles in my lap, slapping at my hand before he reaches his pudgy little arm across the table and grabs a silver Sharpie, immediately bringing it to his mouth. “Gage, you can’t have that,” I say sweetly as I reach down into the diaper bag and bring out his Panda bear. He squeals when he sees it and snatches it from my hand.
“Shit,” Justin mumbles. Our banner nearly topples over on top of him before he snaps the stand in place. “Cheap piece of shit.” Justin glances at me, then at Gage and smiles, making a silly face.
“Dadadadadada,” Gage babbles and holds the bear out to Justin. Justin grins and takes him from me, holding him up in the air and kissing his belly.
“You like it when Daddy kisses your belly, don’t you?” Justin laughs. “You do.”
Smiling, I lean over to grab another stack of books. I skim over the title as I place them on the table:The Rumor Mill#1 New York TimesBestseller by Justin and Marisa Wild.
“Five minutes until the doors are open,” the organizer calls out.
It’s been nearly two years since Tori drowned in that bathtub, nearly two years since#HavingAGreatTimeWithAmydisappeared, most likely taken by the sex trade and sold off in Mexico—at least that’s what the papers said. And poor Ed, two years since his beautiful music was carelessly ripped from the world by a hobo just looking for a quick fix.
Two years of love and dreams being fulfilled. Justin and I are happy and in love. Some couples have inside jokes, but we are literally prisoners to our love. Bound and bought by terrible things. By Terrible Horrible Very Bad Things. We have secrets no one else will ever know. A bond so deep no one could hope to sever it. We’re utterly and infinitely mad for one another. I killed for him and he killed for me, and if that’s not the definition of a love story, I don’t know what is.
The doors to the ballroom open with a clatter, and a rush of people flood through. A line quickly forms at our table and although women may eye him, they don’t touch him. They don’t kiss him. Because he’s not a player anymore. He’s no longer in the game. Everyone ews and ahs at Gage. All the women want to hold him. They all tell us what a beautiful baby we have, and I know what they’re thinking: that Justin fucks me, that’s how Gage got here... they’re thinking about how envious they are that I have him and they don’t. They see how beautiful it is when we have sex...
“You two are such a lovely couple,” the woman standing at the edge of the table says as she hands a copy of our book to me to sign.
“Thank you.” I sign the book before passing it to Justin. “That’s so sweet of you.”
“You’re welcome, dear. And, can I just say, it’s refreshing to see two people so in love.” She smiles as she takes the now autographed book from Justin and holds it to her chest. “This is by far my favorite book. It’s so twisted and demented, but those two belong together, they really do. It was the perfect ending.”
“Thanks,” Justin says.And it was the perfect ending, I made sure of that, didn’t I, Justin?
“I have no idea how the two of you ever came up with it,” she says, “but however you did it, just keep the words coming.”
When she walks off, Justin glances at me and smirks. “We’ve got awildimagination, huh, babe?” He sweeps a piece of my hair behind my ear before he kisses me.
“Aw,” a few people in line swoon. Hell, I swoon.
“Two people obsessed with the idea of love,” he says, his bright blue eyes staring into mine, “it’s like a fucking fire, isn’t it?”
“Something like that.” I smile at Justin.
Justin laughs, and god, I love that throaty laugh of his. Gage reaches for me. “Wanna take him?”
“Of course,” I smile as I take Gage into my lap, kissing the top of his soft head, the sweet scent of baby shampoo lifting with each tender kiss.
A business card lands on the table in front of me and I glance up. There’s a guy in a bright red bro tank standing there, smiling. “‘Sup? I’m a new model. Tommy Thomas. Just trying to get my name out there to all the pretty ladies.” He winks with a laugh. “I’d love to be on your cover, sweetheart.” He walks off and Justin clears his throat.
“Want to be on the cover, or part of the story? Dickfuck... ” Justin glances at me, his eyes flickering wildly. “I mean, I think a story about a model who meets his untimely demise at the hands of a sick author would be a bestseller, don’t you?”
I shift Gage in my lap and laugh before I lean over to kiss Justin. “You know I find it hot when you threaten bloodshed in my honor, babe.”
They say love is a form of insanity, and I’d have to agree. We aren’t merely two people obsessed with the idea of love, no, we are obsessed with the idea of a romanticized form of insanity, willing to press the limits to find a happily ever after, no matter how screwed up it may be.
I love you, Justin. We’re static electricity. And you’re just lucky I didn’t kill you.
The End