Page 101 of Last Chance Love

“Yeah, well, even if I tried to shield him as much as possible, he still went through a lot as a kid. And everyone deals with that shit differently. He saw the path I was taking after Ian died and didn’t want to witness it. I can’t blame him.”

“That’s alright, I will.”

I rolled my eyes but laid my head on his shoulder. “My faithful protector. What would I do without you?”

“Probably live a life of quiet misery as you spent your days wondering what you were missing all this time. Never quite understanding what was wrong but dealing with it in that soft, stoic way you handle so much of your life,” he said in a wistful voice.

I snorted harshly, giving him a hard push. “Jesus, shut up.”

He caught himself on the fence before he teetered over, yanking himself closer and pinning me. “And I? I would wonder what my life was missing, just like I did those years not hearing from you, hoping you were alive, hoping you were well. Hoping so many things and wishing I could be right beside you to go through them with you.”

My shoulders dropped, and I nodded. “I know, I fucked up pretty bad.”

“You made mistakes, I made mistakes. That’s why we’re both here.”

“I think we’re here not because we fucked up but because they believe we have the chance to fix those fuck ups and do something better with ourselves.”

“Then that’s what we should do, for ourselves,” he said, taking my hand and entwining our fingers, “and for each other.”

“Would it help if I promised I won’t do that again, cut you out like that?”

“Mmm, you know, I think it might. Maybe after tonight, we can start looking toward our future, let the past stay where it is, and we can enjoy the present at the same time.”

“I think I can get down with that,” I said, wrapping my arm through his and pulling him close. “And speaking of the future, I’m picturing a very interesting end to our night. And then a nice relaxing morning before our shift tomorrow starts.”

“Ooh, any other predictions for the future?”

“You know, I’m not quite sure yet.”

“Anything good?”

I smiled even as I felt an odd chill go down my spine, loop around, and then curl uncomfortably in my gut. “Overall, good feelings to be had.”

“Now that’s my kind of psychic reading.”

“Good, let’s find out if I’m right about tonight.”

“I have a feeling you are.”

REED

The first thing I became aware of was the sudden presence of a hard object driving into my gut. Air whoofed out of my lips with a protesting grunt, and I rolled over, slapping the source of the problem. My hand found something solid, and I heard a grunt beside me, followed by a muttered, “Ow.”

“That’s what you get,” I huffed, opening my eyes to glare at Leon lying next to me on his back, eyes still closed. “Elbowed me right in the gut, you dick.”

“’M just layin’ here,” he muttered, completely ruining his point by flopping around to find a better spot. He had always been a restless sleeper and one of the groggiest people I’d ever met when he woke up, no matter how much sleep he got. “Rude ass.”

I chuckled, rolling over to wrap my arm around his stomach under the blanket and cleave myself to his side. He stirred at the touch, wrapping his arm around my neck to let his hand dangle near my face. Groggy and confused or not, there was no mistaking how cuddly he was when he was still trying to figure out his name, let alone how the universe functioned.

“You know what always amazed me?” I asked quietly, knowing we had to prepare for the day in a bit but wanting to savor the moment while it was fresh. At this point, we didn’t need to leave his or my cabin separately. Everyone was aware of what was going on between us, and that knowledge had the unexpected effect of keeping everyone quiet. All the jokes and comments on the sly had stopped, which was more to Leon’s benefit than mine.

“I’m amazed you’re even talking right now,” he muttered, turning his face to crack his eyes open and stare at me. “You’re so handsome, you know that?”

I chuckled softly, kissing him because I knew there was at least a decent chance that would wake him up. “It always amazed me that you could have the life you had with the parents you did, and yet you were never one to shy away from physical touch. Surprised the hell out of me the first time we were physically close after we started dating because you’d always avoided touching me before.”

He snorted, closing his eyes again. “Are you kidding? I’d spent two years fawning over you in my head. Do you know what it’s like to be a touch-starved, horny teenager with a massive crush on his hot best friend?”

“No, Leon. I have no idea what that must have been like for you,” I said, letting the sarcasm run thick in my voice. “How will I ever manage to walk a mile in those shoes?”

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