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“That was easy. I could get used to this compromise thing.” He smiles as he wraps his arms around my waist and crosses his hands behind me. And when his nose touches against mine, I feel like I could cry. Happy tears seemed like a lifetime away a few hours ago when I thought I was gonna die.
“I love you, Gracie, so you gotta promise that I ain’t gonna lose you. Not even if I fuck up.”
“Do I even have a choice? I do recall you claiming me against a barn wall.”
“Stop being clever and kiss me.” His finger flicks my chin up and lifts my lips on to his. He takes them like he owns them. And it feels good to know that he does. No returns.
“Come on, let’s go back to the cabin.” He takes my hand and leads me back up the track. Whistling for Duke to follow, but the shaggy mutt is already moving.
“Does this mean I’m your old lady?” I ask him excitedly, wrapping my arms around his neck as we walk, and loving the wide smile it causes him to make.
“Yeah,” he laughs at me.
“So I get to ride everywhere on the back of the bike?”
“Yes,” he rolls his eyes playfully.
“Ohh… maybe I could get my own bike?”
“Absolutely not.”
“What about one of those cool jackets, like the one that woman wore to the wedding.”
“Jackets?” he scrunches up his forehead in confusion.
“You know the leather ones that the girls wear, only mine would say ‘property of Brax’ on the back in diamante.” I leap with excitement.
“Whatever you want, Gracie,” he chuckles to himself.
“Brax.”
“What?” The smile holds on his face while he waits for my next request.
“I didn’t say that I love you back,” I stare at him, seriously.
“You’ll never have to.” He pulls at my waist and kisses me again, just as the sun creeps over the hill and shines its warmth on us. And despite how we got here and how hard we’re gonna have to work at our future, it feels kinda perfect.
“Please tell me this is the last of it?” I pull the tail gate of the truck down and unload more boxes, as Nyx shakes his head.
“How much stuff does one girl need?” He passes me the box labeled, nail polish.
“What have I let myself in for?” I snatch the box out of his hand when he laughs at me, and pile it on top of the others on the porch.
“Stress, anxiety, a lifetime of being wrong,” Jessie says, staring at the freaky looking doll he loads off.
“Can’t we just say this fell off on the way up here?” I take it from his hands.
“I heard that,” Gracie calls from inside the house. And Jessie and Nyx both cringe at me.
They wish me luck and leave when we’ve finished unloading the boxes, and I head inside to see if Gracie needs help with anything.
“What the fuck is that doing on my wall?” I look up at whatever it is she’s hung.
“Um correction, our wall. And it’s a tapestry. I think it makes the place look homely.” She crosses her arms over her chest and admires it.
I see an opportunity and run with it.
“Okay, you get to keep the… thing, if we can lose the doll that looks like it might come alive and kill us in our sleep.”
