Page 120 of Between Us

My hands slide up his chest and cling to his neck. I’m giddy as a kid in a candy store and getting worse by the second. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, Blake. We can go down to the courthouse with our families and call it a fucking wedding,” he teases, granted it’s laced in sincerity.

“The best fucking wedding,” I beam up at him, the beautiful surreal feeling warming every inch of my body.

“Pretty girl,” he muses as he tilts my head back again and kisses me with passion. When we pull apart, we stand there for a second taking each other in as if we’ve never seen the other before.

After a few seconds, two monarch butterflies land on Adrian’s shoulder. Slowly, Adrian turns his head just enough to grin down at the sight.

“What other confirmation do we need that this is right?” he quietly asks and looks back toward me.

Smiling, all I can do is nod in agreement. I’ve always believed monarch butterflies would lead me on the right path, and it’s as clear of a sign as any I could hope for.

With a tilt of his head, he gives me a slow, indecent once over. “Let’s go home and celebrate.”

Standing on my toes, I pull him in for one more kiss before gently pushing him away. With a suggestive look over my shoulder, I turn away and slip into my car, excited for what’s to come—both tonight and in our lives.

Chapter Sixty

Blake

Gettingbackintotheswing of courses and assignments has been easier than I expected it would be. According to myhusband, he never doubted me for a second.

Even after three months of being married—almost to the day since we went to the courthouse with our families—the word makes me giddy. I never imagined what my wedding would look like, or daydreamed about what dress I would wear, or who’d be standing next to me.

I respect other people’s decision to declare their love for each other in whatever way is right for them, but it makes me want to break out in hives. Personally.

Sharing vows in front of the most important people in our lives, and having dinner at my parents’ afterward, felt like the right decision for us. And I made sure Adrian agreed. I would’ve sucked it up if it was what he needed, however he genuinely didn’t seem thrilled about the idea of a large party either.

I think we both just wanted to start our life together, so we did. In a weird way, it’s changed everything, while absolutely nothing at the same time.

The sound of doors opening as students flood out of the building pulls my attention to the lecture hall Adrian should be coming out of anytime now.

Even though we live and work together, we don’t see each other as much as I thought we would. He’s pulled back his hours at the clinic due to the labs and clinicals he’s taking, plus the undergrad class he’s a TA for. Since I applied so late into the spring, my schedule is kind of all over the place this semester with classes ranging from seven a.m. some days to eight p.m. others. It leaves me with limited spare time.

Because of that, we spend any overlapping break together—whether it’s just doing our individual workouts and grabbing lunch or studying in the library with a coffee. Today, it’s the former.

The butterflies that still accompany the sight of him hit me as soon as he takes his first step out of the building and the autumn sun reaches his deep mahogany skin.

His brows are drawn as he listens to the girl next to him and that’s when my stomach drops. Most days, I feel so far past any trust issues I have and none of them have ever involved Adrian. So, my dread doesn’t have anything to do with him, or his actions.

It has everything to do with the tall, blonde woman who’s walking next with him and talking animatedly. By most people’s standards, she’s objectively beautiful. But the sight of her Disney Princess face will always make me want to vomit.

I don’t. Though that adrenaline-filled shaking in my legs starts—the one that’s telling me to run far, far away from this situation.

Standing, I clumsily grab my bag and start moving. Only I’m not going away from the scene. I’m walking right to them as I watch her grubby little hands reach out to squeeze my husband’s bicep. The same one I held onto while he made love to be me, in our bed, this morning.

Sliding up to his side, I open my mouth to say something, but any words shrivel in my throat as soon as recognition crosses her features.

“Hey,” Adrian says affectionately, not yet picking up on the tension.

Trying to smile up at him, knowing it’s a dead giveaway that somethings wrong, I quietly respond, “Hi.”

Clearly not reading the room, Morgan cuts in, “Uh, I was talking to my TA,Blake.” She spats my name like it’s a slur.

I feel Adrian look down at me, and I know he’s smart enough to realize that this random girl from the lecture he’s a teacher’s assistant in, is one of three girls who—for almost half of it—made my life hell.

I don’t know if it’s the fact that I don’t want Adrian to see her still bullying me, or that she doesn’t have a group of minions to push me into the nearest pool. More than anything, I think I’m just so fucking over this. And her.

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