"I want our family back together. That includes you, Alex," he reminded him, offering up another gentle kiss as he ran his fingers through the human's soft golden hair. "None of it's worth anything if I lose you."
"I know. I know. And I've tried...so hard...not to go too far...but every time I look at him, I see you. I see how he enjoyed hurting you...and something inside of me just snaps. I can't stop it."
"Kal," Zeb started firmly before the other man could slip further away. "Do you know- what the word kal means in Lasana?"
"Well, of course I do. It means...it...means...oh," he said softly, voice falling away as understanding washed across his face. The name Zeb had called him from the very first...the central part of Arkalia's name.
"Kal," Zeb said again, laying a hand over his Tinsana's beating heart. "Treasure. Ni kal...my treasure. Ni kali...my treasures. Ni ashkerra...ze safken ni sashahn," he declared before drawing his partner into a new kiss. Deeper this time. A promise to serve as an anchor, a harbor in any storm, a light in any darkness.
I'm here. I'll always be here. Always come back to me.
Alex seemed almost to sigh into the kiss, to sink into him and let his tensions go free. When they separated this time, Alex slowly sat up, the blanket still draped loosely around his shoulders.
"I honestly have no idea what I would do without you."
"Let's not find out, yeah? But...there is one more thing I wanna ask you before we dive into this plan of yours," he said as he sat up, careful not to jostle Alex from his lap. Suddenly fearful that this idea of his was crazy and much too sudden, he reached forward to cup his lover's face in his hand one last time...in case this was poorly received.
"Yes?" Alex pressed him, suddenly looking nervous.
Gigi smiled, feeling a little bit better, “How is Zay, I haven’t seen him, at all.”
“Busy at the bar, it’s a little weird he moved out, but it’s probably for the best, for everyone.” Riley sat on the third step on the staircase, “I don’t know what the deal with him and Gloria May is, but I think he’s doing the right thing, staying away.”
“Deacon kind of told him to.”
“And he is.” Riley ran her hands over her jeans, “If you have any lingering doubts, if there is even the smallest voice in your head saying you want to be with Zay, don’t go away for the weekend with Deacon.”
The Colder the Winter, the Warmer the Spring - New Chapter Teaser
‘I’ve Loved You Since Forever’ is an actual picture book. I just thought it was adorable and I wanted to see these two lovely idiots read it to their baby girl. I just composed a Star Wars version for the scene. Enjoy!
As Zeb had guessed, they'd wound up with nearly a crate-full of flowers once word got around Base One that their little kit's first birthday had rolled by without them knowing. That and just what the Lasat birthday tradition entailed. The nice thing about Yavin IV was that there was no shortage of plant life to choose from, so the variety of flowers Ari received was beautiful.
Sabine and Ezra managed to weave her a proper flower crown, which delighted the baby girl to no end. She had also received a steady stream of rough, but lovingly made gifts, little toys crafted from whatever might be scrounged up from the base or the jungle, nearly every single soldier in the cell eager for nothing more than a smile from the little one.
From among the sweets Kanan and the others had managed to trade for, Ari also had her first taste of Christophsian sugar and Felucian swirlfudge, leaving her hyper as an overcharged MSE droid while the other rebels enjoyed the impromptu celebration of her birth.
It was later in the evening than any of them wanted to admit by the time the party properly wound down. Zeb was left watching Alex cuddle a fussy Arkalia while everyone else insisted on cleaning up the Ghost. The kit was obviously exhausted, but plainly of a mind that she was not going to sleep yet.
"Ah, Lia...ni Lia," his mate soothed the kit as he paced the common room with her in his arms. "I don't know what you want from me, dear heart. I've given you every song I know."
"Hey, how about we give this a try," Zeb suggested with a snap, remembering something in the pile of presents on the table. Digging briefly, he came up with a little holoprojector.
"That was...the one from Mon Mothma?" Alex tried to remember, coming to sit beside him.
"Yeah," Zeb said as he set the small device up on the table, remembering the older woman's distant smile as she'd passed the little thing into his hands.
"It's been in my family for a long time. An old holobook. I knew from a fairly young age there would be no next generation for me to pass it on to, but it has given me comfort in these dark days. I believe it is time for it to bring joy to another child, so I'm giving it to your little girl," the chancellor explained, her expression solemn, but warm.
"This thing's old, so she said we'd have to do the readin' ourselves, but I don't mind that," he continued, smiling at his grumpy daughter as he leaned over to tickle her foot.
"Nor do I," Alex agreed as the first image flickered to life above the projector – a view of a beautifully illustrated night sky bursting with stars, as if viewed while lying down on the grass and peering up through trees. As the words to accompany the image shimmered into being within it, he read them aloud. "I've loved you since forever."
Once he'd read the words, the image shifted. The new holo was of a rainbow in a fresh blue sky, with a light dove and her baby winging through the air, the shine of their underplumage catching the light.
"Before light doves flew over rainbows," Alex read as the words appeared, and Zeb saw the kit steal a glance at the holo, almost in spite of herself.
With Alex's words, the holo began its next transformation. This time into a forest with a group of Kowakian monkey-lizards hanging in the branches. And at the center of the group was featured yet another parent and child.
"And monkey-lizards swung on trees," Alex continued to read, pointing at the holo, drawing an indignant trill from the baby.
When the image transformed again, it was into something much like the first – a holo of the night sky. Only this time two very bright stars stood out from all the rest.
"There was you, and there was me," his mate read, kissing one of Kali's twitching ears. The kit batted at him before pointing back at the shifting image.
The new holo was of a family of loth cats cuddled up together in an underground den. Arkalia cooed curiously when she saw it, though her eyes were starting to blink sleepily.
"Before the suns rose in the skies," Alex narrated over the next change, a holo of several yellow and grey hreran bees buzzing their way over a field of flowers. The tiny princess reached out a paw to try and batt at the image, only a little confused when her fingers simply passed through it. "And honey came from hreran bees."
The latest line led to yet another holo of the night sky. Only this time, the two stars had shifted a little closer.
"There was you, and there was me," Alex almost seemed to sing, cuddling the baby even closer against him. Kali gave a wide yawn and a tired smile. The holo was soon swirling into its next set, an image of a convor and her chick tucked up safe in a nest.
"I've loved you since forever, before the moons lit up the night."
The image this latest line drew in was a holo of a herd of bantha roaming across a desert. At the edge of the holo was a tiny baby bantha following along after its mother.
"And banthas wandered free."
Once again, the image of the night sky swirled into being, the two stars much closer than before.
"There was you, and there was me," Alex whispered in Kali's ear. Struggling to stay awake, she nearly missed the new image.
This one was a holo of a loth wolf and its pup dashing across the grasslands of Lothal. When Zeb heard a quiet gasp of recognition, he glanced over to see Sabine and Ezra off in one of the connecting corridors.
"Before loth wolves ran together," Alex continued to read, narrating another beautiful transformation into a nightscape. Only this was a night sky overlooking a gently lapping ocean as a shower of falling stars fell from overhead.
"And stardust reached the sea."
One more time, the holo shifted into the initial view of the night sky. Only now the two stars were right beside each other.
"There was you, and there was me, waiting for the day our stars would cross...and you and I turned into we."
Alex's voice trembled mildly at the last when he pressed a kiss to the top of Kali's head, but she wasn't aware of any of it. The little kit had finally fallen fast asleep.
When his mate looked up at him, his lovely amber eyes were bright with a sheen of unshed tears.
"I love you," he said softly, amazed. "I love you both...so dearly."
"Gal L'ashkerrir an," Zeb returned, feeling the emotion he saw mirrored in those human eyes well up in his own heart. He didn't know if Alex was entirely aware that they weren't as alone as all that, but he couldn't bring himself to care all that much one way or the other. In this moment, he had his family. He was surrounded by the family who had accepted him after the loss of his world, and he had the man he loved more than life itself in his arms, with their daughter cradled perfectly between them. Whatever happened, he didn't think he could be any happier than he was in this moment.
So he drew Alex to him and kissed him soundly, breathing in the contented sigh from his lips as he held him, both of them careful of the kit between them. But despite being so lost in the moment and in each other, they were both well aware when Kanan and Hera re-entered the room.
"You know what? Why don't Kanan and I take Lia for tonight. You two haven't had any time to yourselves since the others have been gone," she said, a knowing look in her eyes as she easily lifted the slumbering kit from Alex's arms.
"But- Kanan's only just got back," Alex tried to argue, though he didn't fight too hard to keep ahold of Arkalia.
"We'll have time. But you two haven't even had your wedding night yet. You should take the time to enjoy each other. Trust me, Kanan and I have enjoyed each other plenty," she assured them as she gently laid the baby against her breast.
Zeb shared a look with his mate at this. The human smiled helplessly for a moment before shrugging.
"Well...I suppose we haven't truly been together since I was quit of the Empire."
"It's true," he returned, pulling the man in for another kiss.
"Though we assume that's going to be happening in your bunk," Sabine called out rather pointedly.
"Mm," Alex agreed when he pulled back from him, a vaguely dazzled smile now on his face. "Suppose we can't be scarring the children."
"Eh, kids can take more than you think," Kanan teased as he came up behind Hera.
"Kanan," the Twi'lek scolded him mildly, accompanied by noises of disgust from the younger two Spectres.
-
So whatcha think? A good start to the fluff chapter?
The full chapter is available right now on my Patreon, so if you don’t think you can wait until next friday, go check it out. But we’ll be getting back to regular TCTW in just a week. Hope this suffices in the meantime. :D
Me: *to a cat* That wasn’t so hard, was it. *realizes with a shudder* That’s a little bit messed up now.
My wife: ...Why?
Me: Because in the scene I was literally just working on I’ve got a bit of medical science type torture of a clone character going on and the scientist just said to the clone, ‘There now. That wasn’t so hard, was it.’
My wife *unsettled side eye* Why are you always so mean to characters?
Me: Well, I’m of the mind that you can’t have true joy unless you know true pain first. Gotta get through the pain, though.
My wife: Eh, life’s harsh enough. Just give me the fluff.
Me: You have to admit, no matter what I do wind up doing to characters, I never actually kill them...mostly.
My wife: That’s not actually in any way comforting.
Me *nodding off at my computer like the sleepless fuck I am, having been awake for approximately forty-eight hours at this point*
My wife: Put the computer down.
Me: MmMm. You’re gonna shoot me, but this scene will honestly be much better for me writing it in this state.
My wife: What are you writing?
Me: Torture scene, intercut with experimental dialogue scenes. Word for the wise, don’t research flaying. It’s actually very horrific. Heheh, I am high as a fucking kite right now.
My wife: Go to bed. Now.
Me: Mm, gah feed cats. *feeding cats* Silly kitty. You can’t get bananas from the ice machine. Cool...coo...coo...koo...kookaburra...
My wife: Why are you still awake?
Me: Necesito las baterias. Uno...dos...tres...quatro *apparently I speak much better Spanish when I’m tired as fuck* Es seguramente mi elefante! *conscious through sheer force of will and still writing*
My wife: How many times do I have to tell you to shut the computer?
Me: Mmmalmost done. Just gotta put this bitch’s eyes out. I meanyeah, I’mma half to do a coherency check in the morning but-
My wife: GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP!
Me: Mm...go...fuck...sleep *dead*
(Do bear in mind that this is only a vague approximation of the conversation that was had while I was in this state, only half-remembered by yours truly. My wife would have to be consulted for a more accurate version.)
Lucas Friar moved back to Texas at 17, now he’s running for Mayor of Rosewood Springs so best friend Zay and little sister Gigi decide he needs a little help from a political consultant.
Riley Matthews found her calling, she found a fiancé, but she never expected to find herself here, of all places.
Cross-posted to FF.net | Soundtrack | Past Chapters
Author Note: I am so sorry I left you on that cliffhanger for so long. The nephew is on Spring Break (he has another week to go), so I’ve had to entertain him so you know making slime, galaxy jars, playing Puss in Boots to his Kitty Soft Paws.
-the spark that lights you up-
He parked the rental car out in front of the bar, it was still early but the place looked packed. Maybe it was a small-town thing, Dave shrugged as he got out, stretching for a moment as his Tostitos t-shirt rose exposing his abs to the blonde who was going into the Wild Z. She smirked to him as she fluffed her hair, twirling in her red dress before she went in.
It was then that he noticed the sign out front, Charity Bachelor Auction, several male faces were plastered on the poster, with Lucas Friar right in the center.
Dave studied it for a minute, maybe he wouldn’t have to get directions to the ranch from Zay. Maya, Smackle, and Farkle had all refused to give him the address of where Riley was staying. Charlie warned him he was already in too deep if Maya found out he told him where Riley was.
Why was it a secret? What the hell was going on between his fiancé and her high school boyfriend?
Lucas Friar.
Dave ran a hand through his hair realizing he was under dressed. But did he really want to blend into this event? No probably not.
He slipped in, staying near the back. He looked around the room but didn’t see Riley or Lucas. Maybe Riley wasn’t here, maybe once this was done he could talk to Lucas man to man, explain that Riley and he were going to be married in November and whatever he thought was happening between them wasn’t.
Riley was always the biggest sweetheart, Lucas had to have misread something she’d said or done.
She was here to get him elected mayor, not be his girlfriend.
Dave perked up when he heard Lucas was up for auction. A woman next to him in a blue and white sundress and blonde hair licked her lips as he moved about the stage.
As he looked around the room he noticed that almost every single woman in the bar was looking at Lucas as if he were the last piece of chocolate hidden in the cabinet and they were in a PMS rage unlike any other.
He stayed against the wall as the bidding began. The first bid he felt his body go cold, had that been Riley?
As he processed that the woman next to him bid $700 for him. Wow, Dave couldn’t believe it as the numbers began flying.
That’s when he saw where the bidding war was really taking place, up in front between Riley and the blonde he’d seen in the red dress earlier.
“Excuse me,” Dave leaned to the woman who had given up after a couple of bids, “Who are those two women?”
“Oh, the brunette is Riley Matthews, the doctor’s girlfriend. The blonde is Dixie Carmichael, she’s been after the doctor since he moved back in High School. He never looks twice at her, it’s obvious his heart belongs to Riley.”
Dave felt sick, “Is this a long rivalry?”
“No, Riley just arrived a few days ago, apparently, she and Lucas reconnected several months ago, they’re giving it a go, that’s why she came to town.”
Could this be true? Had Riley really reconnected with him. Had this been going on for months?
“I’m Gloria May, you are?”
“Dave, just passing through town.” He couldn’t believe it, she’d just bid $10,000 on Lucas. He moved through the crowd only to freeze when he saw Riley and Lucas kiss.
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Riley had never kissed him like that.
He cleared his throat, watching as they stopped. “Riley?”
Her eyes went wide, yet she didn’t drop her hold on Lucas.
Lucas didn’t let go of Riley, if anything he seemed to hold onto her even tighter, Dave was sure he was making a power play.
Riley pulled away from Lucas, “I should go give Mrs. Miller my check.”
Lucas slowly let go of her before he turned to look at Dave.
Neither man spoke as they sized each other up. Dave noticed how polished Lucas was in his suit, his natural tan, how golden his hair was, just how massive he’d gotten.
Lucas hadn’t been sure what to expect from good ol’ Corn Chip Dave. He was tall, not as tall as Lucas but decent enough. He obviously worked out, or at least his time on the boat was kind to him and his body.
If Dave had been honest part of him had hoped he would see Lucas and not feel threatened, but he was sure the only way he would’ve been more threatening was if he was shirtless right now.
Lucas hadn’t expected to see Dave as real competition until just now. If he was as nice as Lucas remembered, he could see why Riley had been drawn to him. But something still irked him, and it wasn’t just the careless thought he put into Riley’s ring.
Riley came back, putting her hand on Lucas’ upper arm, “The three of us should go to Lucas’ office to talk.”
“Whatever you want Riley.” Dave took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, noticing that Lucas’ hand moved down Riley’s back, over her ass giving it a gentle squeeze as they left through the crowds.
Dave saw Zay look over just as they left.
Gigi had been in the bar when it was busy more times that she could remember but something about the energy tonight was different as she made her way up to the bar.
“Zay, Zay” She called out trying to get his attention, he looked stunned as he handed a drink to one of the other bartenders.
He came towards her shaking his head, “Gigi what are you doing here?”
She slapped the envelope on the bar top, “Lucas is a fucking idiot, where is he?”
“Busy” Zay ignored her for a moment and got a beer for a customer.
Gigi leaned over the bar, her hair falling forward as her cleavage made a tempting display from the neckline of her shirt. “Busy as in getting with Riley?”
Zay looked over, almost falling when he saw her. Shit what was she thinking? He gulped and blinked before he moved over towards her, watching as she sat up, “After Riley won Lucas, which cost her $10,000 by the way, Dave showed up.” He told her as quietly as he could.
“Fuck” Gigi waved the envelope in the air, “Shitty timing.”
“What is this?” Zay took it from her, his eyes growing wide, “He still had this?”
Gigi nodded, “He’s an idiot.” She snatched it away from him and moving towards the backdoor.
“Gi, where are you going?”
“To get them to all figure out this mess once and for all.” She called out before vanishing in the crowd.
Dixie grabbed Gloria May as soon as she saw Riley and Lucas start kissing, they were in the ladies room when she finally kicked the stall door, “Can you believe that bitch, stole my man!”
Gloria May had been Dixie’s best friend since their days in the church nursery. She knew that Dixie would spill a bunch of words to vent her frustration, “To be fair she is his girlfriend, so he’s kind of her man.”
“Please I saw him first, Lucas Friar and I were always meant to be together.” Dixie tapped her foot, “Did you see her in that Betsey Johnson dress, trying to act like she’s better than us because she has designer clothes.”
“Or she wanted to look nice for a night out.” Gloria May wasn’t sure if she could diffuse this situation, “And from what Zay told me, and Gigi, Riley and Lucas only ever broke up in high school because he moved back here. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to be together.”
Dixie shook her head, “Please if they wanted to be together what took them so long?”
“Life, I don’t know, none of us really know what went on between them when he came back, Zay won’t say anything.” Gloria May chuckled, “He used to have the best stories about people.”
Dixie rolled her eyes, “I know you’re recently divorced, but really you’re still crushing on him?”
“Says the woman who almost spent how much money on a man that you know would only go out with you if it was for charity.”
“At least it wasn’t that little brat Gigi this time.” Dixie took her lip gloss from her purse and applied a fresh coat, “How soon do you think Riley will get bored with small town life and run back to New York City? Because the minute I find out she’s off to the Windy City I’m making my move on Lucas.”
“The Windy City is Chicago, you mean the Big Apple.” Gloria May closed her eyes, wondering if she and Dixie would even be friends if they hadn’t been thrown together at such a young age.
“Like it matters.” Dixie threw the lip gloss in her bag, “I need a drink, especially if I have to watch those two all night. Oh, did you see that cute guy in the jeans and corn chip t-shirt? Maybe he could make me forget about Lucas for now. At least scratch an itch.”
“Yeah I saw him.” Gloria May sighed, if Dixie wanted a guy she got him, except for Lucas. She thought back to that camping trip, she had been seventeen, Lucas had just turned eighteen. They’d made out in the bed of his truck, their sleeping bags zipped together, it was a dream come true, until he called her Riley, and then called her that again, and then a third time. The rest of the night she had to hear about his first love, and realized Lucas would never really be over her.
The air was thick as Lucas led them through his clinic. A dog was barking and Deacon his intern came out to see who was moving around. “Go get a burger at Casey’s, I need to have a private conversation.”
“Sure, thing boss.” The young man moved towards the door, “Daisy is okay, I think she’s just anxious to get moving around again.”
“That’s to be expected.” Lucas waited until he left. “Daisy broke her leg, she’ll be fine, but I’ve got Deacon looking in on her overnight.”
Riley and Dave nodded as if they understood before Lucas opened his office door. Only a couple of hours before he thought he’d be christening the desk by making love to Riley on, or maybe enjoy her on the couch. This was not part of his plan for tonight.
Riley hadn’t been in here yet, it was larger than she’d anticipated. His wall looked like most doctor’s walls, except she noticed that on the bookshelf sat a framed picture of the two of them with Gigi and Auggie in Central Park.
She hadn’t seen that picture in ages, she remembered the day she gave it to Lucas in the same frame. He’d kept it all this time, the dust on the frame made her realize he had it out for a while now.
Dave waited a moment, watching them, trying to understand what was going on. “Riley, I thought you came to Texas to work on a campaign. Not to reunite with your high school boyfriend.”
“Exactly,” Riley took a deep breath, she should’ve told him days ago, “Lucas is running for mayor. I really did think it would be an easy job. I don’t know how much of the auction you saw, but if the women of this town believe that Lucas is single they’ll turn his campaign into some twisted real life version of the bachelor.”
“And then no one would focus on the good he could do, and the wrong person would win.” Dave sighed, “So why are you two all over each other?”
Riley knotted her fingers together, “Lucas and I are pretending to be together, in public only. Nothing is actually going on between us.”
Dave looked to Lucas who was silent so far, “This is all pretend.”
“You heard Riley.” Lucas bit in the inside of his lip, it was far from fake, he knew it, and she had to know it. “Dixie, the woman who was bidding on me, she’s been after me for years. I’ve turned her down repeatedly, but if she thought she could not only get me, but get me as mayor, she’d just see her social status in her eyes like stars.”
“Why post a picture of the two of you together on Instagram, calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend. We still have mutual friends.” Dave still had no idea what he was supposed to think.
“Dixie lives and breathes via Instagram, she has since high school.” Lucas sat in his desk chair, looking for some clue between Riley and Dave that they were the one for each other, so far, he barely saw a spark.
Riley spun towards Dave, “Wait, you saw that post on Instagram? You don’t follow Lucas, you only follow people with fancy yachts and corn chip companies. Who showed it to you?”
“Charlie saw it, he thought I had a right to know what my fiancé was up to. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know how to tell you.” She shrugged as the door flew open.
Gigi moved towards her brother, “Lucas Friar, have I got a bone to pick with you.”
“Not now Gigi.” Lucas pinched the bridge of his nose, “This isn’t a good time for any of your dramatics.”
“Oh, this is the best time possible.” Gigi crossed her arms as she looked at her brother, “You are an idiot Lucas, I-D-I-O-T. Look what I found in your room.”
Lucas and Riley looked at Gigi as she moved around the office, her arms dancing as she waved something in the air.
It couldn’t be, could it? Riley wondered as she felt her heart race, her stomach clench. He’d kept it, all these years he’d kept it, but it was still sealed. He’d never opened it.
Lucas was frozen, “Gigi, this isn’t the time.” He really didn’t need his little sister throwing his past in his face in front of Riley and Corn Chip Dave.
Gigi waved it in front of her brother, “There’s a note inside and it looks like you’ve never opened it.”
“What are you talking about?” Lucas went to snatch it from Gigi, but Riley got to it first.
“You don’t need to know what’s in here Lucas, it’s not going to do you any good to dredge this up.” Riley felt her voice shaking along with her fingers, she’d always believed he’d opened it, that he knew where he was supposed to meet her. She thought he’d just decided not to marry her, to pretend he didn’t know it was her.
Gigi tried to grab it back from Riley, “I think Lucas should open it.”
“No” Riley looked around the room, “Gigi let’s talk in the lobby, away from Lucas and Dave.”
Gigi froze as she looked around, there he was in the corner, a lot more attractive then she thought he would be from the way her brother and Zay had talked about him. “Oh, you’re Dave.”
“And you would be?” He wasn’t sure what he was witnessing but things had just moved faster than a New York minute around him.
“Gigi Friar, Lucas’ little sister.” She smiled before she looked to Lucas mouthing this guy, really?
“Gigi, the lobby.” Riley was at the door, waiting for her.
Sighing she followed her to the lobby, trying to ignore the photos of all the animals her older brother had helped on the wall. Something about them unsettled her. She watched as Riley paced for a moment, “This is from you, isn’t it Riley?”
Riley looked down at the envelope in her hands, “Other than my name, the time and place that we were supposed to get married.”
“What?” Gigi was surprised her theory was right.
“When we were in Las Vegas, he asked me to marry him.” Riley looked at the pictures on the wall, smiling at the image of Lucas with the different animals. “I said yes, I woke up before him. I looked up the address for a chapel, wrote it down, asking him to meet me at one.”
“And Lucas didn’t show up.” Gigi shook her head, “Idiot!”
Riley sat in one of the waiting room chairs, “I waited for hours, and then I went back to the hotel. I stood outside his room, ready to confront him, but this voice in the back of my head said to let it go. If he wanted me, he would’ve been there, he would’ve met me at the chapel. That I had to accept that Lucas and I were never going to be together, no matter how much I love him.”
“Interesting” Gigi crossed her arms over her chest.
“What is?” Riley studied the envelope, it had been handled a bit, but never opened.
“You said love, not loved.”
“Gigi, I’m marrying Dave.”
Shaking her head Gigi chuckled, “Tell Lucas it was you in Vegas, you don’t have to tell him the rest, just tell him it was you.”
“It won’t change anything Gigi, I’m still engaged to Dave, and Lucas is still”
“In love with you.”
“He’s not Gigi, the Lucas Friar that loved me hasn’t existed since New York, and maybe a few fleeting, drunken hours in a hotel room in Las Vegas.” She looked up, “I’m going back in there and telling your brother that finding out who this woman was, wouldn’t change anything, and it wouldn’t.”
“I think it would.” Gigi couldn’t understand how Riley couldn’t see that, and as she watched the older woman go to the office she realized that it wasn’t that she couldn’t see that things would change, that they would, and perhaps she was even more afraid of that.
Riley handed the envelope to Lucas when she returned to the office, “I don’t think it’ll change anything if you open it. Whatever is in there is ten years old, a decade has past, and lives have changed, people have changed. Besides it could just be a room number.”
Lucas took the envelope, wondering why it was beckoning him to open it now, and why Riley was so sure he shouldn’t. “Thanks” he looked over to Gigi, “Stay out of my stuff.”
Gigi looked to him, her eyes challenging him. “What afraid I’ll find something else. You got more secrets hiding in your room, maybe something in the sock drawer.”
“Georgianna Darcy Friar, go away right now. Riley, Dave and I have a lot to discuss.” He glared at her, hoping she would leave.
“Fine, I’m going to go see if Zay needs help cause it’s wild over there.” She stormed out, letting the back-door slam behind her. She tried to process the information she had. What she knew was real.
Riley had believed she and Lucas were going to get married in Las Vegas.
Riley and Lucas had lost their virginities to each other.
Lucas had an engagement ring that could only be for Riley.
At least now she knew why Riley had been so mad at Lucas up until now, or at least partially why.
Maya finally got the kids to bed, she changed into her pajama’s sighing at how tight her shirt was now. She looked in the mirror and shrugged before she laid down on the bed, pulling her body pillow into a comfortable position before she looked at her messages from Zay.
She moved to the middle of the bed, repositioning the body pillow and making sure that she took up as much space as she could.
When Charlie came in several minutes later he sat at the foot of the bed, “What did I do?”
Maya sat up glaring at her husband, “What did you think you were going to accomplish?”
Charlie was afraid to answer, what if she didn’t know that Dave flew off to Texas this morning planning to bring Riley back with him. What if it was something else. “Did I leave the seat up? I’m so sorry I swear I didn’t mean to.”
“That’s not it.”
“I didn’t help put the kids to bed?”
“No, but now that you mention it, they were a pain tonight.”
“I’ll get them to bed tomorrow when they’re all hyped up from the fireworks and junk food.”
Maya crossed her arms over her chest.
“You’re shirt, oh babe.” Charlie tried to give his wife his sexiest grin. “You know how sexy I find you, and when you’re pregnant, I find you to be the absolute most beautiful, sexy, woman in the world. You know that even if your top is tight, I still love you, I still want you, especially when you’re carrying our child.”
Maya kept her lips together, trying not to give into her husband’s charm, “Where’s Dave?”
“Shit, what did he do?” He pulled away knowing he was in trouble now.
Maya rubbed her hands together, “I got a message from Zay, apparently, Dave showed up tonight at the bar.”
“Oh, did he?” Charlie worried that at any moment Maya would explode.
“Yeah, they were having a bachelor auction, Lucas is bachelor of the year, again. And Riley spent $10,000 to win him. And they were kissing, and Dave showed up right then.”
“So, Dave caught Riley cheating on him.”
“Sort of.” Maya smirked.
Charlie moved off the bed, “Wait did you want Dave to go down and catch Riley doing whatever she’s doing?”
“Listen Charlie, Dave is your best friend, Riley is my best friend, they however do not belong together.” Maya got up from the bed, moving towards her husband, “Riley and Dave don’t have that spark, they don’t light up when the other enters the room, they don’t have that zing between them that you and I have. I think maybe, Riley and Lucas might still have it, and Dave,”
“Dave what?” Charlie turned to his wife, trying to decide if he should be mad or not.
“Dave has that zing for corn chips and boats, not for Riley.”
“Maya” Charlie couldn’t believe it, except he could, “So you’re trying to what break your best friends heart. You and I both know that she will never get over Lucas, but what happens if she and Dave break up, and Lucas hurts her again?”
“She shouldn’t settle for a life with Dave, she could maybe have the life she should’ve had with Lucas, if the two of them would just talk and figure out where they went wrong it could be amazing for both. And well for Dave, maybe he’ll find a woman he zings with or a man, whatever he’s into besides that damn boat of his.”
Charlie watched as she laid on the bed, he waited a moment before he joined her, “I know you want Riley to be happy, I want Dave to be happy, Riley makes him happy.”
“But Dave doesn’t make her happy.” Maya sighed.
Charlie bit his lip, “What do you mean by that?”
“Riley isn’t her best with Dave. Something is missing between them. I think she’s settling, and I think in a way Dave is as well.”
“Dave loves her, he wants to be with her forever, I don’t think Riley is settling. I think you’ve got it in your head that she and Lucas were some epic love story and babe, they were high school sweethearts.”
Maya bit her lip, “Do she and Dave really know each other?”
“They just haven’t figured each other out yet, they spend too much time apart. She needs to stop traveling and be here with Dave.”
“No, she needs to stay in Texas, she needs to be with Lucas.”
“We’re not going to agree on this.” Charlie could see the determination in his wife’s eyes, “Oh God, what did you send her the other day?”
“A vibrator and a sexy nightie.”
“Maya, do you want her to please herself or have Lucas please her?”
“Whichever works for her.” She shrugged, “Because trust me Dave is not getting that girls motor going the way you get mine.”
“Trying to distract me huh?”
“Is it working?”
“Maybe.” He kissed her, feeling her fingers in his hair before he reached over to turn off the light on the nightstand.
“Maya you’re going the wrong way, Dave’s boat isn’t in this area, this is for the yachts.” Riley told her best friend, wondering just how bad her pregnancy brain was.
Maya stopped, giving her best friend a smile, “Honey, we’re going the right way, trust me.”
Riley’s stomach sank as she followed Maya pass the boats that continued to get larger before they came to the end of a row just as a large vessel was docking. “Is this why he only spent ten dollars on my ring?”
“Yup.” Maya waved to her children who were beaming after spending the day on the water.
-the smell of your skin- Thunder Chasing The Wind ch. 20
Lucas laid on his side, resting his head on his hand as he looked to her, “So, how did you get in my bed? Were you craving me and couldn’t take it anymore, you needed me? All you have to do Riley is say the word and you get me.”
Thunder Chasing The Wind -it happens all the time-
Yeah not going to get the chapter done tonight...so here’s a little preview of what’s to come.
