Page 114 of Victorious: Part 2
That’s the first time he’s called me his Old Lady.
Deep down, I knew. We’re married now, so it kind of goes without saying.
But this is the first time he’s actually said it—out loud.
“Old Lady, huh?”
He tilts his head, smirking at me. “That’s theonlything you heard out of that?”
Grinning from ear to ear, I pull him closer to me. “I’m your Old Lady,” I chime in a sing-song.
He shakes his head. “And my wife, even Maverick and Sadie can’t claim that.”
Widening my eyes, I burst out laughing. “Oh shit, you’re right. Oh man, he is gonna hate this so much.”
Phoenix smiles, letting out a soft sigh. “So, Reel Girl, what’s next on this list?”
A flush crosses my cheeks as I shake my head. “We can just go back to the hotel, it doesn’t matter—”
“Oh no, you don’t! C’mon, tell me.”
Scrunching up my nose, I look away from him to hide my embarrassment. “Remember I wrote this list when I was sixteen—”
“Just tell me, Clo.”
“Fine! It’s to have an impromptu romantic movie moment.”
Phoenix takes my left hand in his and points to my golden cactus wedding ring. “Vegas Wedding, not impromptu movie magic enough for your list, Clover?”
I smile up at him and nod, my heart flooding with warmth. “Of course it is. That’ll do. We will mark that one off—”
“That will do?”He chuckles, shaking his head. “No. You want something from a movie, I’ll give you something from a movie, baby.” He bends down, picking up my panties, shows them to me, subtly sniffs them, then places them in his pocket. “I’m keeping these,” he says in his most sultry voice, giving me a look that can only be described as a smolder from all those romantic movies I love so much.
I fight back my laugh as he raises his brow as if to ask,‘Was that it? Did I do it?’and I struggle to hold back my grimace. “I love you for trying.”
He huffs, slumping his shoulders. “All right, the night is young. I’m not giving up.” Then he leans in, pressing his lips to mine. The kiss is soft and sweet, a stark contrast to the desperate passion of moments before. When we break apart, I feel as though I’m glowing from the inside out.
He reaches out for my hand, I take it, and we finally escape our hiding place and make our way back out onto the streets of Vegas. The night has turned windy, the clouds overhead beginning to appear like Thor himself may fall from between the ominous gray veil, low and heavy with his electric wrath.
As we continue to walk, slowly, rain begins as a whisper, soft, tentative drops that kiss our skin.
“Shit, we should get off the street before this turns into a storm,” I tell Phoenix.
He nods, leading us across the street toward another bar, but before we even make it halfway across the street, the sky finally breaks, drenching the city in a downpour so fierce it blurs the world around us. I let out a small half scream, half laugh as Phoenix pulls me to him, his hand tight in mine as we run. Yet somehow, his hand in mine becomes the calm inside the storm.
“You’re gonna get soaked,” Phoenix protests, but he’s laughing, too, the rain already darkening his hair and making his T-shirt cling to his chest.
“At least the rain makes you look good. It’s gonna fuck up my hair,” I scream back at him as a crash of thunder erupts around us.
Phoenix suddenly stops, pulling me with him in the middle of the street, rain pouring down around us, lightning flashing in the background, cars honking their horns as they drive around us, and I stare at him, wondering what in the hell has gotten into him. He pulls me to him, rain dripping off his chin while he stares at me.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
He suddenly steps back from me, placing his hand out with the biggest smile on his face. “Dance with me?”
I burst out laughing, swiping the rain from my face. “Are you insane? What are you doing?”
He shrugs. “Giving you your romantic movie moment, baby. You can’t tell me that dancing in a rainstorm isn’t romance movie gold? Plus, we never got our first wedding dance. So, what do you say, Clover? May I have this dance?”
