Page 78 of Ripped

When he slides into my body later, I can’t hold back the tears of joy. He fits himself physically inside my body, just like he’s fit himself spiritually inside my heart. Perfectly, he fits perfectly.

“I love you. I love you,” I whisper to him.

He kisses away my tears and whispers back, “I love you. I love you.”

We make love all night, dragging it out until we’re both desperate for release. When we finally come, it feels like we’re being torn to pieces. I give a piece of myself to him, and he gives a piece of himself to me.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

DONNIE

“You met his parents?” Phyllis leans in close, eyes bright with curiosity. “What are they like?”

Since Connor’s working today, I agreed to let Phyllis and Leonard take me out for lunch. None of that thick, cloying foreboding this time though. Just joy and comfort at being able to spend time with two people who are important to me.

“They’re…” How to describe Kathleen and Harold? “Nice?”

Phyllis rolls her eyes. “That’s it? You spend an entire weekend with them and all you come away with is ‘nice’?”

I chuckle and shoot a pleading look at Leonard. He sips his wine, like he didn’t hear Phyllis’s question. He’s no help.

“What do you want me to say? They’re nice people. They have a lot of friends. They might be a little hard on Connor sometimes.”

“Hard? In what way?” Phyllis narrows her eyes, like she’s not sure if she approves.

“It’s not like that,” I say, trying to reassure her, even though my heart warms at how protective Phyllis is over someone she hasn’t even met yet.

Leonard’s over there doing a piss poor job of holding back his laughter.

“They want the best for him and sometimes, you know, it gets to be too much.”

“Hmm.” Phyllis makes a show of thinking about what I said. “I suppose I can understand that. And how is Connor’s film project going?”

It’s been like this all lunch. Connor, Connor, Connor. I’m going to have to introduce them soon so Phyllis can send her questions directly to the source.

“Good, I think. He’s met a few people who want to help him make it.” I conveniently leave out the X-rated way Sebastian got his start in filmmaking.

“That’s lovely. I can’t wait to watch it when it’s ready.”

“I’ll let him know.” I just hope Sebastian doesn’t talk him into including too many naked men in that haunted house.

After lunch, I swing by the cemetery to pay Roger a short visit. No risk of getting caught in the rain this time. The sky is blue and there isn’t a single cloud in sight. It doesn’t hurt the way it used to. I don’t feel like I’m being torn out of my body. There’s a sadness that things didn’t turn out the way Roger and I had envisioned for ourselves. But also, a joy that we had the time that we had.

“Connor took me climbing yesterday,” I say to Roger’s headstone. “To Leon and Tucker’s gym. I haven’t been since, you know. They’re doing well. The gym is thriving. They made me promise to go back more often and Connor had a really good time, so I think we will.”

The sun shines down on me, warming my back like it’s giving me a hug.

“We went foraging after. Yeah, you heard me. Foraging for mushrooms and plants and stuff. In the middle of Prospect Park. Can you believe it? All part of my healthy eating thing, according to Connor. It was fun though. Not something I ever thought I’d do.”

There are birds chirping in the distance.

“I saw your Mom and Dad for lunch. I’m going to bring Connor out to their house soon. Maybe next month. They really want to meet him.”

I put my hand on Roger’s headstone. It’s warm from sitting under the sun all day and I let that warmth seep into me as well.

CONNOR

I peer out of the frosted glass window of our front door, then check my watch again. Where the hell is Donnie? Phyllis called me more than an hour ago saying they were leaving the restaurant and it should’ve only taken Donnie forty-ish minutes to get home.

---