Page 64 of Quiet Chaos

“You don’t want to be a couple?”

Her hands push her upwards to sit straighter. “Grrr! I didn’t say that. I dislike the reference.”

“Like it or not, it is what it is. Would you rather not be with me, so no one calls you Old Lady?” She shakes her head. “Good. Since I’m the President and you’re my woman,” —I give her the biggest smile I can muster up— “it makes you the queen.”

“Oh, the queen.” She bats her eyelashes. “I command you to get me a bottle of water.”

“Uh yeah, it doesn’t work that way.”

“I command you—”

“Again, not happening.”

“What’s the point of being a queen if I can’t command anything?”

I curl my finger for her to come to me. Sky stands by my chair, and I drop her onto my lap.

“Since when did you become sarcastic?”

“Since I became your Old Lady.”

A loud roar bursts from me. She fists my shirt and gives me a hard kiss. It’s forceful, unlike Sky, but I fucking love it.

When she releases me, she says, “I love you,” and stares into my eyes.

I kiss her forehead and the tip of her nose.

“What’s wrong with me, Cade?”

My head jerks back. “What? Nothing’s wrong with you.”

“There must be.” She tries to get up, but I hold her tight. “Why can you call me your Old Lady, your queen, but the three words I’ve been waiting to hear from you never surface? I’m not pushing you to say something—”

“Of course I do.”

“You do, what?”

I turn away and sigh. All this mushy relationship shit is like someone filing down my bones. All this time, I’ve been showing her how I feel, so I thought she knew.

“You know what.”

“Then say it.” Her fingers caress my jaw as she turns me to face her. “I need you to say it, Cade.”

My voice cracks like a bonfire. “I love you, Sky.”

Her eyes well up with a beautiful smile on her face.

Shit!This is why I don’t like saying it. Too many emotions spill over, and it comes across as too insignificant. But as I watch the bubbles in her eyes, smiling at me after I said those words, I guess it’s what she wanted. And since we weren’t doing the communal dining or couple massage, the least I can do is give her something she wants.

I kiss her tears, eyes, cheeks, and whisper, “I love you so much, Sky.”

Her arms wrap around my neck, squeezing hard as if holding on for dear life. She cuddles into my arms while I finish my bourbon, and then we go down for dinner. If she gets this emotional over me telling her I love her, I don’t even want to think about her reaction when I ask her to marry me.

For dinner and the stargazing, Sky can’t stop touching me with periodic tears popping up. The stargazing is cool. Each couple has a blanket to sit on. The astronomer talks about the stars, pollution policies in Utah, while I lay back, hands behind my head. Sky rests on my bicep, looking upwards, a leg slung over mine. The guide’s voice is making me drowsy. I close my eyes for a minute, and the next thing I know, the guide is nudging my arm, waking us. Exhausted from the day, we head straight to bed.

I set my alarm to make it for the morning walk to the top of the riverside bluff to catch a view of the La Sal Mountains. Sky has on jeans, a sweater, and a jacket. She bounces on the balls of her feet, waiting as I make sure I have everything.

Those three words from last night changed Sky’s disposition. She has an infectious smile, is affectionate more than usual, and makes my world better. With her hand in mine, we hike the trail with the guide and a few other people from the resort. Sky keeps pointing out things she finds beautiful. And I watch her point them out because, to me, she’s everything. I pull her close to my side. The view of the mountains is impressive, especially at sunrise.

---