Hold On

He kissed my neck below my ear and slid out of me.

I was in no way over suffering the loss of him when he shifted over me, arm at my waist yanking me with him like I was a human-size doll, and I found myself on my feet with Merry beside his bed. Naked.

He let my waist go, grabbed my hand, and I was being dragged across the room.

I opened my mouth.

“Shower,” Merry said before I could start speaking.

I shut my mouth and hit Merry’s bathroom, naked with a naked Merry, doing it grinning.

*

Forty-five minutes later, in my dress and shoes from the night before, hair wet, I walked up to my house.

Normally, I wouldn’t care what this said about me.

Right then, seeing as Merry had my hand in his and was walking right beside me, I really didn’t care.

We stopped on the stoop, and when I got my keys out of my clutch, Merry took them from me.

He shifted me out of the way of the storm door as he opened it, then he let us in.

The storm whispered then banged.

Merry closed the front door.

Then he took me in his arms and he kissed me.

I was hanging on tight, slightly breathless, when he lifted his mouth from mine.

“Be here to pick you and Ethan up at five thirty,” he said.

“Okay, gorgeous,” I replied.

He smiled at me.

I memorized that smile in a way I was certain never to forget it, not if I lived an eternity.

Then he gave me a squeeze, let me go, and moved to the door.

At the door, he looked back to me.

“Later, sweetheart.”

“Later, Merry.”

He lifted his chin and disappeared when he closed the door behind him.

I stood where he left me, in my dress and shoes of the night before, hair wet.

“I’m not gonna fuck this up,” I told the door.

Right then, right there, after last night and that morning, I was as intent on that as I was on giving my son a decent life.

Absolutely.

I shrugged off my wrap and tossed it to the bucket chair. I pulled my phone out of my clutch and my clutch joined the wrap.

Finally, I bent my head to my phone, pulling up Merry’s text string.

Best night I ever had. Thank you, baby.

I stared at it, thumb hovering over the send button.

“I’m not gonna fuck this up,” I told my phone and my thumb hit the screen.

I let out the huge breath I didn’t know I was holding, walked to the door, opened it, locked the storm, closed the door, locked it, then moved back to my bedroom.

I had my dress and shoes off, new undies and jeans on, when my phone I’d tossed on the bed sounded.

I snatched it up.

I’m glad, brown eyes.

I grinned and my thumb moved.

Best morning too, BTW.

I tossed the phone back to my bed and went to my dresser to choose a tee.

I was tugging it on when my phone sounded again.

I went back to it.

That’s my good girl.

I didn’t grin at that.

I shivered.

After I experienced that hint of beauty, my thumb moved again.

Stop turning me on and go fight crime.

I hit send.

I was making coffee when my phone sounded again.

Worth the wait.

I stared at Merry’s text, my eyes feeling funny—not dry and burning, something else—before I lifted my phone and tapped it against my forehead like I could tap the words of his text into my brain.

I brought it down and my thumb flew.

Later, gorgeous.

Not long after, I got back, Absolutely.

I poured my coffee and after, turned my back to the counter and rested against it.

I stared at my awesome kitchen that was full of personality.

And I took that moment to revel in another of the boons life sent my way—boons that were coming far more frequently these days—this being the fact that I was facing the first day in a very long time, riding a quiet high of anticipation for what was to come next.

The day before had been fucked up by me being worried about what Merry would think about Ethan sending that text and not me.

This day, there was nothing to fuck it up.

Nothing.

It was all good and the forecast was strong it would only get better.

I’d never had that either, so I knew to appreciate it.

And that I did.