Page 67 of You Cake My Breath Away

Archer

Five Years Ago

Dear Seb,

I met my future wife. I bet you’re up in Heaven laughing at that, but it’s true. I was hungover and running late to the first day of the semester because Dad just had to get his little digs in about me changing my major. It’s your fault, of course. If you were here, he wouldn’t have been on me for the last few years to go into medicine like you were supposed to. I’m not sure he understands yet that just because I have the Wilson name, does not mean I have the Wilson passion for digging into people’s bodies.

Anyway, here I was picking up Jessie, flipping your chip like a Magic 8 ball when a girl in a polka dot red dress walks past us. Imagine a beautiful brown-skinned, brunette Marilyn Monroe with space buns. I know you don’t know what space buns are, but on the right girl they can be sexy instead of nerdy. I was just about to roll down the window and introduce myself when Jessie stole my attention and she disappeared. But guess what? Later, when I strolled into Chemistry class, she was sitting right there in the front row! Come on, you can’t tell me that’s not some good luck!

I tried to get Jessie to move tables without telling him why, but he wouldn’t. The girl was spunky, had a big smile on, and was smart. She raised her hand to answer almost every question. You were always saying I needed a woman smarter than me, and here she was.

Near the end of class, the teachertold us we needed to pair up for a group project that would last all semester. I knew immediately I wanted the girl as my partner, but Jessie whined about having to find someone else. People were pairing up quickly, and she was just sitting there staring around the room. I did a quick count of how many students were in the class; it was uneven. I accidentally smacked Jessie in the face when my hand shot up to ask the teacher if we could pair up with the girl as a group of three since the numbers were odd.

She turned around, and her face lit up like Christmas morning. I’d never tell Jessie this, but I could’ve sworn I was the Grinch and my heart had grown two sizes bigger. It was like the ground shook, but no one else but me felt it. How couldn’t they see this moment for what it was?

I left class determined to introduce myself, but Coach came barreling down the hallway with a stick up his ass. I hightailed it out of there and down to the field so fast. You know I’d never hear the end of it from Dad if I made Coach wait. He’s taken to saying, ‘if you’re not going to do something with your life, you might as well make some money by playing football,’ like blue collar jobs aren’t what this country is built on. It’s not like anyone from our school has made it to the NFL in the past fifty years anyway. Sure, I can’t cut out an appendix, but I’m still good with my hands. Hell, I could probably build a house from the ground up. That’s not good enough for him though, it never will be.

Later that night, Jessie ruined everything by telling me he thought she was hot, and you know what that meant. He wouldn’t stop until he got her. Too bad, I wasn’t going to make it easy on him this time. He’d have to fight me for her.

Who do you think will win? Every time I ask the universe that question and flip your chip it lands on tails, so I think that means you’re on my side. But I don’t know. Lately, every time I’ve flipped thisdamn thing you give me shitty stuff, and I almost wonder if it’s all a joke. Is this thing weighted to always land on tails? Are you sick of me writing to you? Do you get ghost mail up in Heaven? Wait…are you a ghost or just a spirit floating around? Maybe I could convince that Kat chick from the movie Casper to use the machine to bring you back! Could you imagine all the fun we’d have? Man, I miss you.

Oh, and her name is Tilly, if you want to put a good word in with the Boss man up there. I could really use some luck.

-Arch

Chapter thirty-five

Tilly

Vibrations beneath my head rouse me awake, and I slam my hand down, searching around for the phone as I keep my eyes tightly closed, hidden from the bright sun spilling in through the curtains. A pungent odor hits my nose, worrying me that there’s an issue with the sewer. Jessie’s arm around my waist prevents me from getting up, and I wiggle, trying to create room for me to turn over. There’s a pleasant ache between my legs, surrounding an insistent, throbbing desire for more as I push against the length stretched along my backside.

“Morning, darlin’,” he grumbles.

Darlin’?

Slowly, the scene focuses as I open my eyes. Green pastures, pens with pigs and cows, the rusty side of the truck bed. My heart slingshots out of my chest when I turn and Archer’s beard and naked stomach come into view.

Holy shit. Am I drunk? Why is Archer here? With his arms around me?

The spinning wheels of a safe inside my mind unlock, and my stomach plummets like a broken dumbwaiter.What the fuck did I do?My lungs shrivel behind my ribcage as I scramble to get his arms off me, backing away like a cornered animal with the blanket clutched to my chest.

No, this can’t be. I couldn’t have.

A hamster wheel of thoughts spins around my head, each one more devastating than the next.I slept with Archer. I cheated with myhusband’s best friend. Jessie is gone, and he’s not coming back.Along the heels of the last thought comes the worst realization.

I’m vaguely aware I’m hyperventilating, clawing at my chest and arms, trying to remove Archer’s touch, but it’s already seared into my skin. When I close my eyes, all I can remember is his fingers digging into my hips, his teeth scraping against my neck, arms, and chest.

Jessie’s kisses and soft touches are gone.

I gasp, tears pushing through my squeezed shut eyes.

How could you? It was all you had left!

I told myself not to fall asleep, not to keep staring up at the stars when my eyes were already heavy. And now, I’ve erased the last memory of Jessie’s last touch from my brain.

“Tilly,” Archer repeats, reaching out for me. “It’s okay.”

“No.” I shake my head, knees pulled up to my chest.

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