Page 148 of Old Acquaintances

He pulls his hands off my bare boobs.

“And you know how I take my coffee. You know the worst parts of me. We don’t have to meet each other’s families and deal with awkward in-laws.”

“We’re not entirely out of the woods with that one,” he argues.

I laugh. “I know how disgustingly messy you are.”

“My brain’s too busy to clean.”

I continue, “I know I can be crass with you.”

“Fuck yes.”

“And I know that I’ll always want you, Elijah. And love you. Even when Ihate you.”

Tucker gently kisses me. “Sounds like a plan, Beautiful.”

My cheeks pinch into a smile when he kisses me again and our teeth touch. “Really?”

“I just said you can have whatever you want.”

“I know, but it’s coming along sofast.”

“Stop talking now,” he groans, covering me. My knees slideup along his sides.

I relax into the hook of his arms, the warmth of his breath. Lightning cracks closely. I feel electric with his hands on me, his words tickling my ear, my future opening up like the sky will do at some point. Everything is different now. One split second of him muttering, “God, I love you, Ella,” and my life has flipped. Of every moment between Elijah Tucker and I over the last thirty years, I always come back to one. The moment I saw his soul clearly. The one where he became my best friend.

My head can’t relax against the bench, so Tucker reaches up and unclips my hair. He tosses the clip on the sidewalk.

I think of throwing my clip on the passenger seat of his truck. The look of his sleeping face that first morning that I woke up alone. I’d never been so happy to see another person in all my life and when he wiped my tears in that iHop, I thought,this is the best friend I’ve ever had.

“I love you,” I cry into his mouth.

I never have to wake up alone again.

The front door opens. “Guys?” Serena calls out. “Ella, are you doing the pregnancy thing? We’ve been taking bets. Please don’t take your top off out here. Also, I’m going to put onWhen Harry Met Sally. It’s New Year’s themed. Guys? Are you listening? We canseeyou, this is uncomfortable.”

Then comes Callie’s voice. “We’re doing cake now!”

Tucker’s wet, swollen lips hover in front of my face. He announces, “You’ve still got hours until it’s our birthday.”

“Wyatt wants cake and he’s afraid we’re not going to get to it. You know, with the whole pregnancy trap.”

He frowns, and I laugh, pushing him off of me. I take his hand and bite back a smirk at Serena’s excited face. Tucker knots his fingers in mine. The living room is dark except for the glow of candles on the coffee table. He bumps into my back and says, “I told you to get lemon cake.”

Callie walks past us. “When I went to the store yesterday, Ella told me to get chocolate.”

Tucker looks at me.

“You should get what you want, too,” I tell him.

His face crinkles into a smile. “I am.” He lifts my hand to his mouth.

Ritchie scoots to the edge of the couch. Johnny and Jen come in from the kitchen with plates and forks. Serena and Wyatt stand on either side of us. The roar of rain outside continues, so they singHappy Birthdayloudly, Johnny jumping in to ensure they specify “Eli and Ella,” as we argued about when we were six.

I claimed, “It sounds better to say Ella and Eli!”

He said, “I was bornfirst.”

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