He turns slightly, just enough to glance at me over his shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I promise.”
“And this is why I love you.”
I’m glad he’s facing away from me. He can’t see how hard my teeth are gritting.
Later, I listen to him sleep. Each breath he takes is slow and deep. I listen to him breathe often. I like to picture the oxygen filling his lungs and the blood rushing through his veins. I worked hard to get to this place, where Ace is a living, breathing man next to me in my bed, rather than a fantasy. The planning it took. The pain. The perseverance.
I didn’t work this hard just to throw it all away.
Aunt Tori told me I’d have to compromise. She invited me to lunch before the wedding and talked to me about all the things I’d have to do as a wife—as if she's an expert—andthatwas the one that really stuck with me.
Compromise doesn’t come easy to me, that’s for damn sure. But I love this man. I vowed to love him. So I’m gonna have to get back in the water with the pod of orcas.
I reach for my phone, navigating to my email account. Vanessa likes emailing instead of texting, for some reason.
Her email is warm and polite, just like her. But she’s always been the nice one. It’s Kamryn and her raggedy ass mama who piss me off most.
In her email, Vanessa explained that her ragged ass mama is having her annual holiday gatherings, and she’d love it if Ace could bury the hatchet with the family and come to the get togethers. She went on to say that she’s emailing me because she understands we’re one unit and she respects my place in his life.
That’s not surprising. Vanessa’s married, too, so she gets it.
I was gonna ignore this, but this is actually the perfect opportunity for me to school these worthless assholes on the new world order. So I hit reply and think hard, choosing every word with care.
I keep it pleasant and reasonable. I need them to really understand how much I care about Ace and his happiness.
When I hit send, I realize how worked up I was. My pulse steadies. The blood stops rushing through my ears. My hands stop shaking.
Then I slide back under the covers and curl against Ace’s side, pressing myself into the space that fits me perfectly. His arm circles me automatically. He possesses me even without consciousness.
I love that for me.
As I drift off, I smile to myself. I think I handled this well. I think I’m getting better at being normal.
6
Raya
Vanessa,
I’m so glad you reached out. I feel like you and me have always been cool. First off, I want to say I appreciate the invitations. Ace mentioned them to me, too, so I know it means a lot to him to be there.
But I think we need to get a few things straight. We will not be coming anywhere near your family without putting some boundaries in place.
They are as follows:
1) The elder Mrs. Taylor will not be critical of Ace in any way. No snide, backhanded comments about him. No negativity. I don’t even wanna hear her tell him his shoe is untied.
2) The elder Mr. Taylor will not eyefuck me or anyone else in front of Ace, or at all.
3) Kamryn will keep it cute and mute with Ace as it relates to me. It hurts him when people are negative about his wife.
4) Nobody in the family will bring up Ace’s job unless it’s to praise him. Questions about his job are allowed, but only out of genuine interest.
5) Nobody in the family will bring up the wedding unless it is to apologize or express regret that their scary asses didn’t come. Questions about the wedding are allowed, but only out of genuine interest. If Ace shows pictures, there better be praise.
6) If Ace shares news of any kind, there better be genuine interest and excitement. Follow-up questions are appreciated.
