He kissed the corner of my mouth, and not for the first time today I wondered what happened next. I knew what I wanted but I didn’t know how to get from here to there. Even with all the sexual tension we’d built up over the past week, I couldn’t figure out how we’d take the next step. Maybe we needed to fool around under a blanket again.
That was assuming Ryan even wanted to fool around under a blanket. Or anywhere else. He’d flirted like he wanted that but we were new at this and I didn’t know how to interpret it yet.
“I could spend all night here,” he whispered, kissing down my neck and across the crook of my shoulder. He squeezed my hip, jerking me closer to him. “All night.”
So, maybe I didn’t have to overthink it.
Once we’d all sampled the cake and shared some champagne, Jakobi leaned in to kiss my cheek and then held his hand out for Ryan to shake. “Congratulations to the newlyweds. Since I’ve kept him away from you all week, I believe you two deserve some alone time.” To Ines, he asked, “How do you like observatories?”
She pushed up her glasses. “I like them when they’re not busy. I can’t focus when there’s too much noise.”
A wide smile filled his face. “Then you’re in luck because I have a private tour scheduled at the observatory at Boston University tonight. You’ll have to come along.”
“That’s one of my favorite observatories.”
“Mine too.” He glanced at his watch. “I have a dinner reservation in the Back Bay before the tour. Would you join me?”
She pointed to the velociraptor dress. “Do I have to change or can I wear this?”
“Don’t you change a damn thing, beautiful,” he crooned.
If Jakobi’s words had the impact on Ines that I thought he’d intended, it didn’t show. She simply grabbed her favorite windbreaker and belt bag from near the door, stepped out of her heels and into a pair of beat-up Vans, and turned the full wattage of her excitement back on him.
I shot a warning glance at Jakobi before saying to her, “Call me if you need anything. Promise?”
“Promise.” She’d barely formed the word before diving into a speech about her favorite telescopes, and Jakobi led her from the condo with a hand low on her back.
“Is this what it feels like to watch your teenage daughter go out on her first date?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “But I don’t think we need to wait up for her.”
I laced my fingers with his and held up our joined hands though I remembered at the last second we hadn’t exchangedrings. We didn’t have anything to prove what we’d promised tonight. “Then what should we do?”
He stared at me, a slow, devastating smile pulling at his lips. “Do you trust me?”
I grinned at him. “You know I do.”
chapter twenty-one
Ryan
Today’s Learning Objective:
Students will be able to make moves.
We caughtthe last half of a Red Sox game at Fenway Park and scream-sang “Sweet Caroline” and “Dirty Water” from the cheap seats. Emme yelled at the pitchers and drank my beer even though she swore she didn’t want one. She ran a fingertip over the ink on my forearm and promised she’d figure out what it all meant eventually. I kissed my way across her shoulder in response. When she snapped a selfie, the bright lights of the ballpark shining down on us while the crowd cheered, I stole it to post on my social platforms.
We flooded the streets along with the rest of Boston after the game, and every time I looked at her I knew I’d never before felt this alive. I couldn’t keep my hands away from those silky ribbons at her shoulders. All I could think of was untying them and watching the dress hit the floor.
I’d changed out of my suit but Emme stuck with the flowery dress that looked like it was made entirely of summer daisies. I liked that she wore it out. I liked that she was mine to show offtonight. I wanted the whole city to see her—and to know that she belonged to me.
We posed for hundreds of photos with people who yelled things like “It’s Ryan fuckin’ Ralston!” and “We named our dog after you!” and “Jesus Christ, my father’s never gonna believe this.” We didn’t turn anyone down when they approached. It was like we knew we needed to crowdsource our wedding album.
We wandered through the bars near Lansdowne and Boston University like it didn’t matter who knew us, drinking and dancing and singing along with every song until they turned off the lights.
We ended up in the back of a car around two in the morning. We stared at each other with drowsy eyes and warm smiles lit by the golden glow of streetlights, and I knew I’d be all right if this was how our wedding night ended. Even if I wanted more—so much more—I had everything I needed.
Then the driver turned under an overpass and for a singular moment, everything went dark.
