Sammy laughs, warm brown eyes on fire with happiness, “And a different kind of studio.”
I remind her also that if Floaty-head can run her own flower biz, and be successful, then this will be a piece of cake for us.
Or a donut.
Fun and easy!
After all that hard work.
But fun hard work.
Because it’s ours.
Sammy’s phone rings and she digs it out, letting us know by her answered, “You’re a day early,” that it’s Logan.
They talk every Monday, no matter where he is in the world.
Zoe says to me, “This is excellent time to celebrate with a bear claw.”
“Oh hell yes.”
We walk over to join the chatty line for one we’ll share, our departure giving Sam and her male best friend — I’m her real best friend — a little space.
Who knows how long they’ll talk? Hours maybe. We could be driving home with her still laughing into that squeezed-tight phone, soaking in every detail of his amazing life.
While we’re out of earshot, I sigh to Zoe, “Logan.”
She glances over to Sam. “I miss him.”
“We all do. But not nearly as much as she does.”
“You think Sam knows, deep down?”
“Deep down knows?”
Zoe’s moss green eyes lock onto me, huge and guileless. “Yeah, deep down knows.”
Staring at my sweet, smart, and talented sister, I answer, “She hasn’t got a clue.”
We pay for the bear claw, tear it in half, shoving bites into our mouths as we return just in time to hear Sammy lying through her normally honest teeth, “Lexi’s crying over here, Logan. It’s Brad again. She’s really upset. I have to go. I really am happy for you. Of course I am. That’s so neat that you finally have a girlfriend.”
Zoe and I stop chewing.
Her fingers are shaking as she listens to his response, smile forced, “Talk soon,” and hangs up, staring off for a very, very, very long time.
We don’t move.
Sammy finally locks eyes with me. “When do we start this business?”
I want to make her own up to her true feelings, but my sister is reaching for a way out of pain, not one deeper into it. “No day better than yesterday.”
She mutters a distracted, “Good. Let’s do this,” and starts walking to the car like a zombie.
Zoe grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze, whispering, “Lexi!”
“She needs to ostrich this one. It’s too huge.”
We hurry after Sam, with me saying, as if everything is okay in the small, familiar world of Atlanta, “You know what helped give me the idea about running our own place, Sammy? Gage owns his shops, so I thought, if he can do it, I figure we can, too, right? And I helped Paige’s yoga studios get into the black with my advertising. I’ll apply what I know to our kids dance classes! We’ll have students in no time! And we can start with our cousins’s children, right?! Imagine Kayla learning from us how to dance!”
Sammy spins around, caught in that nebulous place between numb and weepy. “I think this is the best idea you ever had.”
I give her a huge hug, holding my sticky bear-claw away from her dress. “How much fun is this going to be?!”
Her numb arms wrap around me. “It’s exactly what I need, Lexi.”
Zoe runs up and hugs us, “I’m so happy for you guys,” and while it makes Sammy laugh, the sound rings out with that familiar relief I used to know all too well. Denial.
When it breaks there’s no telling what will happen.
Oh Sam. I’ll be there with you, no matter what.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
LEXI
Bonus Scene 2
I ’m awoken by Gage nuzzling my neck, lingering here before sensually kissing naked skin warmed by his blanket.
On a happy sigh I roll over, our limbs stretching, braiding. We lock hooded eyes, silently welcoming the other to a new day, bodies ready to mesh and mold since it’s Saturday.
Gage’s generous thickness presses against my inner thigh, the firm and silky tip brushing my pussy as he shifts his muscular body.
I just left a dream behind. It was about Grams and my Great-grandpa Jerald — a man I’ve heard so much about and who I always wished I’d had a chance to meet. They were smiling at Gage and I, over dinner. Not one of our family BBQ’s but in a restaurant for a special occasion, though it wasn’t clear which one. There was champagne and chocolate soufflé’s, too many for us to eat. So we gave them to the tables around us, walking around handing out dessert and celebratory bubbles for everyone to share.
I’ll tell him about it later.
Kinda busy right now.
Just hope I don’t forget…
Gage pins my hands above my head, our ribcages stretching. His left hand rubs slowly down my right side, goosebumps rising to beg his return. He groans as his cock’s tip peeks inside of me, and pulls back out. The tease.
Bare skin on skin, heat shared between us, lulls my pussy into a steady throb of anticipation. I know how good his cock feels, all mine.
It’s been over a year since we said I love you for the first time, my longest relationship ever. My only one, in fact. So it still feels really new to me, being this loved.
Sometimes I doubt it will last. But I know that’s fear. And there’s no controlling anything but the present moment.
His crocodiles narrow as he rises on one knee, the other leg bent and spread like both of mine. Thick fingers slide to stroke my pussy, coax it to get ready for something much thicker. I don’t know that I’m biting my lip until his smile tugs in the now familiar way that tells me I’m doing it. A grin spreads on me but quickly vanishes as he dives in.
Throwing my head back, I moan his name, soaking in pleasure, filled by such a sexy beast of a man.
He pulls out.
“No, Gage, don’t tease me!”
“You love it, Cherry,”
