Page 37 of Love Thief

“I’m gonna cum, sweetheart. You gonna take me down?”

Oh Christ, really? “Yes, she will,” I tell him, boredom oozing from me. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I’m so fucking done with all this.

“Suck me deep, darling.” She’s moving like a piston on him now, her eyes rolling back in her head. Xan groans and comes, and she takes it down her throat like it’s the tastiest cocktail. Licks him clean, sitting up with her make-up a mess, but a big grin on her face.

“I can do you, Marcus. I like piercings,” she tells me eagerly.

“Not tonight, sugar” Waving her away, I sit back and scrub my hand down my face. “Fuck, this is ridiculous. I don’t even want any of them, but just feel like I ought to because I always did.” I’m babbling and don’t even care about the offended look Xan’s flavour of the hour gives me. “Why did she leave? I want her here.”

He ignores my whining and instead says, “You know how we talked about doing a version of ‘Kiss Me’ on the festival circuit for Evie? Let’s do it tonight, here, see how it plays. Just me and you on mic and guitar, leave the others out of it.”

I look at him. “She’ll love it, but it was going to be a surprise. I want it to be special for her.”

He shrugs. “It will be, let’s do it.”

We both stand and head over to the club owner who’s talking to Levi. He’s up for it, and as he gets us set up, I think about what I’m going to say. I have a vague idea, but when I get on stage, the energy and love hits us both.

“Hey, Vegas,” I shout out to the mad crowd, “how about a little song for you all?” The madness gets louder and I’m grinning at Xan. “You all heard I got married here last night,” I laugh, swinging my arm around and finally pointing to the stage. They all go wild again. I make motions with my hands, egging them on to be louder and louder. “I can’t hear you cheering for me.” The noise level goes off the scale and I tell them, “I fell in love with my wife when I was thirteen years old, and she tried to drown me.”

I look over at Xan and he starts to laugh. “Lucky bastard,” he tells me and comes for a high five.

I stop for a second and then say what I feel in my heart. “This is for you Evie, I love you baby.”

Nearly every person in the club is holding up a phone, recording us, and I know this will be posted all over, along with the wedding news. I want the world to know about the wedding, that I fucking love my wife. I’m fucking happy for the first time in a long time.

All I see when I sing the song is her and Xan, summers right through from innocent kids to full on teenage lovers. Nights out under the stars, just her and me. I can hardly get the words out. I come off stage as high as a fucking kite and hard as iron. I need to go home to her.

I’m working my way through the massive crowd of people grabbing at us. Where the fuck is Mick? I feel my phone vibrate with a text and pull it out, out of habit—James.

James

wtf Dad, she’ll be in bits. send pics. I’ve sent her the link

Me

luv u son

Bucky

Dad epic

Me

luv u son

Jonno

why is my sister trying to charter a plane home

Jonno

fuckheads

What the fuck?

I look round for Mick and catch sight of Xan reading a text. He looks up at me, anger and frustration pouring out of him. “I fucking knew that was a crock of shit.”

“We need to leave,” I shout over the noise.

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