Page 75 of Take Me Slowly: part 2
"I still do those things," I said. "Art is my life."
"Coral was my life," he whispered. "I'm glad you came home." He gripped my hand and squeezed, but he seemed to be pullingback inside his own head. "My beautiful Coral. I missed you." He looked confused now, but content at the same time. Like he'd wished, and finally his wish came true.
"I'll visit you a lot more," I said. "If you don't mind me popping in to see you."
"I never mind seeing my baby," he told me. "Why were you gone for so long?"
"I'm here now," I said instead of answering the question. I wasn't sure if he'd understand it anyway. Not right now. If he wasn't lucid, at least he was smiling. I supposed it wouldn't hurt for him to go on thinking I was Coral. It might give him the peace he'd needed for so long.
"She's not leaving town again," Connor said from behind me. "At least, not permanently. We're all her family now."
"Yes, we are," Josiah said. "We won't let anyone take her from us again."
Gavin looked at him sideways. "Good. All of you stay away from the river. It's not safe there." He closed his eyes and seemed to be sleeping.
I eased the cup from his hand and gave it to Fiona. "We'll stay away from the river," I assured him. "We'll let you get some rest."
He mumbled something and nestled down into the seat before starting to snore.
I gave him a long look, smiling to myself. That was the last piece of the puzzle, right in place. The past finally put to rest like it should have been so long ago. I squeezed his hand before I let it go and stood.
"He's life goals," Riley said with a grin. "Falling asleep in a chair like that."
"You do that all the time," Connor told him.
"I do not," Riley protested as we headed out the door and into the snow. "It's getting heavier. Fuck yeah. We'll be skiing tomorrow!"
"Some of us will be out with the snowplough." Josiah grimaced.
Riley patted him on the shoulder. "I can think of some ploughing we could do for the rest of the afternoon." Grinning, he scooped me up and started off towards my house awkwardly running through the ever-increasing snow.
I squealed in surprise, but let him carry me, my arms around his neck for support.
Connor jogged ahead and was ready with the door open when we got there. Lucky he did, Riley almost tripped and sent us both flying. Somehow we all ended up on the carpet in front of the fireplace, clothes flying this way and that before the door shut behind us.
"Lucky your friend didn't follow us," Brooks said as he pulled off his hoodie and tossed it aside. "She would have had a show."
I laughed. Fiona would have left quietly, possibly shaking her head. She wouldn't have stood there and watched. At least, I didn't think she would. Either way, I put her out of my mind for now, and focused on what was important. My four boyfriends and getting them naked.
"Speaking of watching." Connor pulled his phone out of his pocket and placed it on a table beside the fireplace. Angled so the camera could film all of us.
"What are you doing with all those videos?" I asked him while letting Riley pull off my boots.
Connor shrugged. "Showing Brooks what he was missing. And swapping them for videos of you before we met."
"Now that's a movie night I can get behind," Riley said.
I glanced over at Brooks.
"I haven't shown them to anyone else," he said, raising his hands to either side and smiling like he was innocent as hell.
"You better not," I growled, aiming the threat at him and Connor. "I don't want to see those turn up on the Internet."
"If that happened, I'd kill both of them," Josiah said.
"I'd help him," Riley agreed. He looked straight at the camera and pointed his finger. "And that's a promise."
"I don't share with anyone not in this room," Connor said. He grabbed Riley and pulled him in for a kiss, then kissed me.
