The house she picked was on the end of a street that made a T. The traffic was minimal since it was on the edge of town. The lady said it was less than ten minutes from the local schools and ideal for a growing family. There were two bedrooms and a small office, which we agreed would serve fine for our needs and any future ones. Joplin wouldn’t be with us forever, after all.
She was a teenage girl that would someday have a life of her own.
For now, I trusted her to Daisy and took Crystal to a motel a town over.
“What is it with you and motel get-aways?” she teased, as she emerged from the bathroom.
I gave a single-shoulder shrug and pulled her to me.
“I don’t care where I am, as long as I’m with you,” I told her, honestly, before burying my face in her neck.
“Did you… really knock out Mark Miller for me?” she hesitantly asked.
I laughed against her shoulder and claimed a handful of my ass, “I did, and I’d do it again. Any one of those bastards can get it over you. I swear to God.”
I teased her shirt up, framing the breasts I’d bought.
“You like them?” She timidly asked.
“I liked them before, and I love them now.” She smiled into the kiss, and I steered her toward the bed.
It was odd, I wasn’t in a hurry to get into anything, I just curled up with her and memorized her hairline, and the way her body felt against mine. I’d never been so content to hold someone.
She was where I was meant to be.
I don’t think I slept for more than a few minutes at a time. I kept gasping and hugging at her, making sure she was still there.
The phone rang at eight-thirty sharp. I made a few sounds that never turned into a greeting and squinted.
“You’re getting married at noon. The dress can be picked up at eleven. The cake will be ready at ten-thirty.”
“Wha–?” I managed before Daisy had a chance to draw air and start again.
“Where are you? Don’t you two know it is bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony?”
Crystal giggled and hid her face against my chest.
I kissed the crown of her head and laughed, “I’ll get the cake, come get Crystal?”
“You bet.”
“That’s a lot of missed texts,” Crystal observed, when I hung up.
I kept her hooked in my arm and swiped at them. I meant to dismiss the notification, but instead, it popped open on Mark’s text.
Don’t be an asshole. We’re coming to your wedding. What time and where?
“I’m an asshole?” I asked the phone.
I shut the message and was confronted with several others.
Mark said it was squashed. Let’s do the wedding and move forward.
I snorted and shook my head. “Glad he’s over it.”
“You have to be too. You can’t turn your rockers in. I may not know anything, but I know that. You need to do what you need to do, in order for things to be right. Unless you mean to leave and be out bad with them?” Crystal sighed, canting her head on my chest to peek up at me.
I wet my lips and stared at the ceiling.
