Page 134 of Rumi: The Hawthornes

“He slept with Nana tonight.” I rolled to the side and watched as he emptied his pockets onto his dresser. “He’s starting to get antsy about her leaving.”

“Aren’t we all?” he asked wryly.

“She gave us her blessing,” I replied. “She said that she wishes she and Pop had gotten together earlier.”

“Oh yeah?” He smiled.

“What did your parents say?”

Rumi sighed. “They’re worried.”

“I knew they wouldn’t be happy.”

“I wouldn’t say they’re not happy,” he said, coming over to sit on the edge of the bed. “Just worried for us. Worried for Bird. They understand why we don’t want to wait but in their words,getting married for any reason other than wanting tobemarried isn’t exactly something we’drecommend, Rumi.”

“Maybe they’re right,” I said as he reached out to brush my hair away from my face.

“You gonna marry me someday?” he asked softly.

“Happily.” I wasn’t kidding. Even with all of the chaos going on around us and the fear that gripped me every time I thought of Nana being locked away somewhere and Bird taken away, the knowledge that Rumi and I were together now, permanently, filled every spare part of me with hope.

“Then someday might as well be tomorrow.”

“I think we have to go register for a license first,” I said as he stood back up to strip off his cut and jeans. “You can’t get married same day in Oregon.”

“Then we’ll do that tomorrow and get married the next day.”

“The day Nana turns herself in?”

“You think it would be safe to wait longer than that?” he asked quietly.

“Probably not,” I mused. “But our anniversary is going to suck.”

Rumi barked out a quiet laugh. “We’ll pick a different date to celebrate, then.”

He walked to the door and locked it, raising his eyebrows as he glanced over his shoulder.

“We’re alone.”

“Weare.” I pushed the blankets off.

“You think Bird will still come in here at some point?” he asked, stripping off his T-shirt. He turned to toss it into the hamper, and I took in his wide shoulders and the tattoo that covered most of his back. I’d seen it a few times when he was changing, but I hadn’t ever had time to get a good look at it.

“He might,” I murmured, distracted. “That thing must’ve taken hours.”

“It took a minute,” he said with a nod. “But since Micky waited to get his until I had mine, we were gettin’ tattooed all fuckin’ day.”

“He waited for you?” I asked, grinning. “You guys are so cute.”

“I think he was just tryin’ to put it off,” he replied dryly as he came back to the bed. “Pussy. Sit up, sugar.”

I pushed myself up and raised my arms, thankful that I could do it without my ribs protesting. Rumi sighed happily as he stared at my boobs.

“You can touch them, you know,” I joked, arching my back a little.

“I want you naked first. Lift up.”

I laid back down and let him strip my sleep shorts and underwear down my legs.

---