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She wrapped her arms around my waist, holding herself against me, and I felt every line of ink beat for her with the pulse she drove wild. She and Ella matched, in their own way, both wearing shades of dark blue. Ella was more conservative than my Lizzie, who gave me a glimpse or two of the lace underneath her dress as she squeezed herself around me, with a neckline that didn’t dare as much as my girl’s. Listen to me. My girl. Holy hell.
I lost track of what was happening, my thoughts on Lizzie and her underwear. When I came to, because Lizzie let go of me, I saw Jesse standing between Avery and Sean with the girls next to Avery. Jesse waved at everyone to approach, and I slipped into the spot right behind Sean. When he first asked me to stand behind him, I didn’t know what to say or how to even react. He told me I saved him, I saved Avery, and to him that was life; I was family…I was his brother. It felt increasingly right, like that was my place, and the longer I stared at Lizzie, the more I knew it was true.
I was biting my lips, clenching my jaw with each mindless movement she made. From wiping stray hair from her eyes to squeezing Ella’s shoulder, that woman was my world. Lizzie’s eyes met mine four times, each followed with a smile she either tried to blush away or playfully glare back at me. I wasn’t letting her win. I stared right back at her, not hearing anything Sean and Avery said until the small group erupted into cheers once Avery was locked in Sean’s arms with their mouths entangled with the other’s.
I stood back, watching everyone and feeling overwhelmed with how it all came full circle. I reflected on how I met them, thinking about protecting Avery that day months ago when Sean almost died, the same day I met Lizzie and my life changed forever. Ella tugged on my arm, distracting me.
“Want to take a walk?” Her gentle voice hummed below my shoulder. I glanced down and nodded, letting Ella take my arm and guide us away from the celebration. We slowly wandered to the other end of the rooftop, the one with a view partially blocked by condos but with enough view of Lake Monona.
“How’s living with Lizzie?”
“Amazing,” I replied. It was the truth. I felt myself mindlessly begin twisting my left index finger and thumb over the E tattooed on my right ring finger. Elizabeth. My Elizabeth.
Ella leaned over the railing, staring at the glistening lake. “I noticed your new tattoo.”
“You like it?”
“I do,” she beamed, “but I have to ask…how long are you planning on being in Lizzie’s life, because if—”
“Forever, Ella,” I interrupted, lifting her chin to meet my glance. I recognized the sparkle in her blue eyes because I’d stared at it so often in Lizzie’s; it was excitement, worry, and hope all swirled into one unique and beautiful blend of blue. I winked at her, peering once over her head to see everyone else still together near our table.
“…if it isn’t forever, I’ll kick your tattooed ass halfway across the country,” she continued her adorable threat. I lowered my knuckles back to the railing, shaking my head with a laugh at Ella’s attempt to protect Lizzie after all we’d been through, and stared at the skyline.
“Can I tell you a secret, Ella?”
She was at my side instantly, our arms squished together. “I love secrets.” She rested her head against my bicep, her brown waves tickling my arm in the breeze, and linked her arms around mine.
I gently kissed her hair and leaned my cheek against her head. “I’m going to marry Lizzie.”
“Good,” Ella replied. “Make it soon.” She squeezed my arm once more, letting out a sigh that could fill the lakes surrounding our little isthmus.
“Soon because we love each other?” I probed in a whisper. “Or soon because of something else?”
Ella let go of me, turning her back on the railing to watch everyone. I followed her gaze without turning around, catching her eyes fix on Jesse and Avery. “Because something else,” Ella whispered as she watched Jesse’s palm spread against Avery’s stomach, “but also because you love each other. It’s your story, not mine. Just be the man she thinks you are.”
“I promise you that, Ella,” I narrowed my eyes on her, curious as to why the bubbliest of the three became the intimidator.
***
Lizzie heard from Avery almost every day while she and Sean were on their babymoon, honeymoon, whatever it was called. They spent three weeks on holiday, cooped up in some Atlantic Coast cabin in Maine. At first, I thought it was a terrible idea. I wanted to be on the beach with Lizzie, drinking margaritas without a care in the world, in our swimsuits…but we weren’t about to pop with twins. Lizzie asked them about it once, and they told us the beach wasn’t their thing anymore. I didn’t ask questions; I just swallowed my coffee and smiled. I need to plan a trip to a warm beach with Lizzie soon.
While they were away, we had dinner and coffee with Ella and Jesse, Lizzie got two new tattoos from Silas, and I tried to unpack. I purged so much once officially in her condo, realizing I wasn’t using half of what we brought over. The weekend before Sean and Avery planned on coming home, I was building the new bookcase Lizzie got me and drinking beer while doing it because I’d screwed and unscrewed the same frustrating screw four times.
“Your phone’s been ringing for twenty minutes,” Lizzie hollered from the bathroom. I heard Muffin’s claws scramble against the hardwood floor as he followed Lizzie’s footsteps. I grimaced at the bookcase, only half finished and three hours into it, when Lizzie stood in the doorway.
“Noah?” She was wrapped in a towel, holding my phone.
“Put it down. Let’s go fool around.” I raised my eyebrows at Lizzie and stood up, walking toward her and wrapping my arms around her waist. Lizzie hummed with laughter as I grazed her neck with my teeth, licked the length of her throat, and whispered sweet nothings into her ear. Okay, they were sweet and also totally inappropriate.
“Obviously,” she snickered, placing a hand to my chest, “but someone really needs to talk to you and I’m dripping wet. Also, Muffin had an accident in the bathroom that I need to clean.” I hung my head, defeated by my girlfriend, my geriatric dog, and the bookcase.
“Fine.” I took the phone from her hands. “I’ll clean the mess. You stay just like you are and meet me in the bedroom in five minutes.”
I watched Lizzie walk away, hardening with each sashay of her body barely covered in a towel. My libido slammed into the floor when I recognized the number flashing on my phone. I carried it out to the patio, where I anxiously rested on the edge of one of our chairs. Glancing at my bare feet, I thought of painting the patio with Lizzie a few weeks ago and how she purposely dropped paint on me so we’d have to shower…together. Life with her was perfect.
When it buzzed on my leg, I answered the phone and leaned back in my chair while listening to the officer tell me I’d been officially called. This time, there won’t be a rescheduled duty. It was imperative that I report. Blah, blah, Lizzie is waiting for me in the bedroom, this call is not going to fracture us, Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie. I really did try to listen, but it was with a different frequency this time around. I wasn’t afraid. While he explained the timeline, the duration, and all details I normally wrote down and tattooed into my memory, I drifted off and thought about Lizzie. It hadn’t been a year, but it sure as hell had been a lifetime that I’d fallen in love with. Even Callie threatening our future, deployment, and the initial rush and worry it’d been too fast…none of that mattered one damn bit. Lizzie and I were in love. Now, what in the hell force was stronger than that?
“Mermaid?” Lizzie softly ran her fingers through my hair, sending a wave of oxytocin through my blood. “You’ve been out here for an hour already. We’re going to be late for dinner.”
