"Of course. Anything you want," I whisper, and with that, we drive away.
I've spent so much time feeling guilty, but that ends now.
Iris is mine, and we'll make this work.
"Iris, we've got a lot of shit to sort out," I hiss, pulling into the driveway.
"I know. But, right now, all I want is you. Right here. Right now. Please, give me everything. Give me all of you. All of it. All of you. Forever," she begs, and the look in her eyes is enough to fill the empty spaces inside me.
"Fuck yes, baby. Fuck yes," I hiss, pulling her into my arms.
"Please. Please," she cries, and when my lips touch hers, the world is a beautiful place.
"You're mine, Iris. Mine. Forever. I'm never letting you go."
"Never. Never," she cries, and with that, we head inside.
I want to get past the bar as soon as possible, but Scarlett blocks my path, arms crossed.
I push Iris behind me.
"Heard your daughter's back in town," Scarlett says, and her words cut through me.
"What?" I hiss, and the world stops spinning.
"Allegra. She's here, right? Saw her yesterday, at the coffee shop," Scarlett says, and when I reach for her throat, Iris holds me back.
Scarlett is the worst of all the girls.
A troublemaker.
A pain in Iris' ass.
"Don't. Don't," she cries, but I don't listen.
I've got murder on my mind.
"If you've laid a finger on her..."
"Calm down, Viper," Scarlett hisses, her voice firm.
"No. Not until you tell me what the fuck you were doing around my daughter," I hiss.
"Chill, Viper. Jesus," Iris says, and the moment I turn, she's standing next to Iris, a look of shock on her face.
"Get away from her. Now," I hiss.
"Viper, don't," Iris whispers, but I won't let her near.
"Don't talk about my child in this establishment, Scarlett," I warn.
"Oh, relax. Allegra's an adult now, for fuck's sake. And, for your information, I was talking to her about her new school. I'm taking some classes in the fall. To become a bartender," Scarlett smiles, and the tension in the air dissipates.
"You are?" I ask, and the smile on her face makes her look younger than she is.
"Yeah. Got a lot of free time. Thought, you know, it's something that I'd enjoy," she shrugs.
"Well, that's great," I say, and the smile on my face is genuine.