Page 63 of Fade (Fighting Fate)

Chuckles sounded down the table.

Silence fell, and Amber turned to gaze at me. “Amy and I have known each other a long time. We first met when we were five, when I demanded she follow me during a game of Follow the Leader, but it wasn’t until I told her I hated her shoes and she looked from the offending things then back to me, and said she agreed, that I decided we should be friends.”

Everyone around the table laughed. I’d heard Amber tell that story before, and she swore it was true, but I couldn’t remember it happening at all. Maybe I’d blocked it out.

Amber waited for the laughter to quieten before continuing. “She was always such a quiet and polite little thing, and I made it my mission early on to knock that right out of her. I succeeded on many occasions, but to my disgust, she always reverted back to that shy, sweet little thing. It was enough to make me want to stick my fingers down my throat, really.”

Daniel chuckled and squeezed my thigh.

“I considered ditching her when her politeness became too much, but one day, I got into trouble for creating a highly unappreciated mural on the bathroom door, and while I was standing there, ready to take my punishment like the tough girl I was, my girl stepped in and used her amazing superpower of polite persuasion to make it all go away, so then I decided she was useful and kept her around.”

I shook my head at her, but I was laughing so hard I was almost crying.

Amber smiled at me, her expression slowly sobering as I watched.

“There were some tough times growing up—so many times when I just wanted to kidnap her and hide her away from it all—but she always seemed to amaze me and crawl out the other side. That’s the thing with Amy. She may be shy and quiet, but you should never confuse that with weakness, because my girl is as strong as they come.”

Real tears of unstable emotions pooled, blurring my vision. Soft murmurs of ‘Hear hear’ followed her words around the table.

Taking my hand in hers, Amber squeezed hard. “I have never been more proud of you than I have been these past few months. At the risk of sounding sappy, it’s been like watching a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. Even though you’ve always been beautiful, to see the self-belief take root and grow in you has been the most awe-inspiring thing I’ve ever witnessed.”

With tears spilling over, I stood and pulled her into my arms. I’d always known she was the best friend anyone could ask for, but she still managed to get to me time and time again.

“Daniel,” she said, directing her attention to him with her arm still clutching me to her side, “you are Amy’s cocoon. Without you, I’m not sure she could’ve gotten to where she is right now. Actually, scrap that. She so would’ve. But you’ve been like a microwave to life’s oven. You sped up the process. And you might’ve added a few things she wouldn’t have gotten from the oven—like love and happiness—so I guess I was right first time around.” She shrugged and gave me a pleased smile. “I should never doubt myself, really, should I?”

Giggling, I pulled her in for another hug before we both returned to our seats. Daniel immediately kissed me and wiped the few tears gently from my cheeks.

After that, Daniel’s mom said a few words, and then Seth. He kept it short and simple, but it was still enough to make me cry again. When we’d all eaten and his mom left, Daniel and I sat down with all my friends so Daniel could get to know them better.

As I sat there on Daniel’s lap, with his arms wrapped around me, watching him laugh and joke with the guys like he was always supposed to be there, I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I was home.

Chapter 30

Daniel

The sun was just peeking through the gap in the curtains when Amy started stirring. I concentrated on remaining still, hoping she’d go back to sleep. It was too early for her to be awake. We had a long day ahead of us.

Wriggling her gorgeous body closer, she pressed her chest into my side and sighed. I smiled at her relaxed look of contentment.

I honestly didn’t think I’d get to have her with me for the night, considering it was the night before the wedding. I wasn’t sure how much tradition she’d want to follow.

Amber and Mom tried to get us to follow the rules, but Amy had been adamant. She had argued that she would only get a decent night’s sleep if she was with me, but when that didn’t seem to work, she gave it to them straight. We already had such little time before I was deployed, and she didn’t want to waste a minute of that time apart.

I did the smart thing and stayed quiet. Even though I very much wanted Amy with me every second of every day until the day I had to leave, I wanted her to be happy and to feel right about how we did things. I wanted her to have whatever she wanted, even if that meant following tradition and us not seeing each other the morning of our wedding.

As her body moved against mine again, I was once again very happy with her decision.

“Daniel,” she whispered.

I gazed down at her peaceful face. Her eyes were still closed, so I was sure she was still mostly asleep. My heart swelled knowing she was thinking about me even in her dreams.

Not able to stop myself, I slowly ran my hand over her naked back. She moaned, and my dick instantly went hard.

Arching her back, she slid one of her legs across mine, pressing her pubic bone in

to my hip. I groaned. I couldn’t help it. It felt too fucking good.

Amy sighed again, this time sliding her hand across my abs, too close to where my needy cock was straining for her touch.

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