Page 97 of Magic or Madness

He smirks in response, as if some master plan has come to a head, and with Ozzy, I’m sure he’s got ulterior motives for this dinner as he sits across from me.

I bite my lip, tearing my eyes off him, and looking around at the decor. It’s a very nice restaurant, the walls painted black, and gold fixtures accentuating them with dim lighting.

The portraits hanging are in black and white, framed photos of the ocean, sand, and local buildings around Jacksonville. Beach-themed restaurants are a weakness of mine, even though they’re all usually decorated in the same, predictable ways.

“Fallon, did you know there are nearly fifteen thousand species of clams worldwide?” He quizzes, snapping me out of my thoughts and bringing a wide grin to my face.

He’s been researching random facts to stump me with, but he still hasn’t found something that I can’t one-up him with.

“The biggest clam in the world can weigh more than five hundred pounds, and grow to over five feet long,” I quip, and he shakes his head in defeat.

“Nerd,” he whispers, and just as I’m about to protest, Julian returns, bringing our appetizers.

There are at least twelve clams on each plate, with melted butter and a slice of lemon on the side.

“I won’t lie, Bambi, I have no idea how to eat this shit,” Ozzy smiles, watching as I split the clam with my fork.

“You ordered clams without eating them before? You don’t even know if you’ll like them!”

“If I don’t, more for you.” He casually remarks, and mimics the way I’m carefully removing the meat from the shell.

“Just lather it up with butter, and enjoy. They may taste a little chewy, but that’d be the restaurants' fault for overcooking them,” I say, tasting the first bite, and my eyes immediately roll back in my head.

This is everything I imagined, and more. Perfect day, with the most graceful man, and an unbelievable ending with a dinner that I’ve been dreaming of for years.

Everything is right with the world, and I’m in a state of bliss in this restaurant, sitting across from the most lovely human I could’ve been graced with.

I’ll never forget where I came from, or what has happened to me, but this trip taught me one thing: I need to dwell on it less and live in the moment, practicing thankfulness every chance I get.

My life is beyond my wildest dreams, and if I could tell nineteen-year-old Fallon that when we run away, we find the man worth a million mornings, evenings, and everything in between, she’d be just as shocked as I am every single day that I call Ozzymine.

He’s the light within the stars, more than I could ever explain, but he’s my perfect match. Written just for me within the constellations, spelling it out every night when the sun recedes and the moon makes her graceful appearance.

It’s almost as if we’re both made of starlight, the product of radiation from the sun, and only seen when the other light sources in the sky dim, allowing us to shine from the shadows we usually hide behind.

I’ve always been a dreamer, and maybe –just freakin’ maybe– this impossible, destined-from-the-start love was truly designed to beours.

Like Ozzy and I are made of particles directly from the sun, meant to find each other in a galaxy full of people who’d never truly understand what it means to be distributed, destroyed, and discarded from the most powerful source of light in the world.

OZZY

For so long,it’s been me and the guys, no matter where we’ve ended up. Besides the random one-night stand or a clinger who didn’t get the message, we’ve been on our own.

Now, it’s been three weeks since Camila came home with us, and this place is overrun with feminine energy. Even Pepper has made herself cozy here, staying over most nights and mingling with the girls in the mornings.

It brings the feeling of a happy home, and almost everyone is in a better mood with the girls around. There’s always dinner, leftovers, and laundry being run.

The Jacksonville trip seemed to bring us all closer together and heal parts of us that we never realized were broken. I feel connected to my brothers again, and every bit of credit is owed to Fallon, because if it weren’t for her, we’d never have taken the drive, or confronted our feelings about Masha in the ways she pushed us to.

I was worried that Cami and Fallon’s attraction would be like a grenade, ready to detonate on us all at any given moment, but Oliver hasn’t made another joke, and the girls have kept things platonic.

Of course, I’ve noticed their flirting or lingering touches, but neither of them has acted on it, and after Fallon’s emotional reaction to the pressure she was feeling, I chose not to bring it up again. She knows that I’m comfortable enough in our relationship, and our bond, to let that kind of thing roll off my shoulders, and I’d never be mad at her for exploring her sexuality. It’s not about me or us, but her as an individual, and I can’t help but respect her for how she’s approached it.

It is fun to watch the girls sidestep around each other and steal moments when they think nobody's looking, but other than that, it's only their business.

Things have been slow on the job front, and Max is visibly wound up, having a hard time coping with the slowness, and his grief this time of year.

Just as we’re about to sit down for a morning power trip, the whiteboard launches across the room, and everyone nearly jumps out of their skin.

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