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“Yeah,” I rasp, stroking her hair, “on a beer can some idiot had tossed to the side.”
Silver sniggers. “You cursed so bad, I’d never heard a man curse that foul before.”
“Sorry bout that,” I say with a grin and tug of guilt but she shakes her head.
“I looked for males like you when I grew up, men who were bad-tempered, unafraid and with a bit of an edge.” She inhales. “I was always left cold and disappointed, never found anyone that could measure up to you.”
“Made that big of an impression did I?” I say and she nods.
“They’re all sissies compared to you, Ric,” she breathes, “all of them.” She bites her lip. “You’ve changed me...,” her voice stutters a little, “you’ve made me trust men again.”
“You’ve changed me too,” I rasp, nodding at the cliffs. “See those rocks over there? They’re reshaped every century or so by the forces of nature, it happens seamlessly and elegantly as if in a dream. That’s what you’ve done to me, my girl.” I nuzzle her, whispering, “You’ve reshaped a stubborn, old man.”
A tear slides down her face. “Oh Ric!” she cries out, clutching me and I let out a groan before our lips meet in a kiss. And there she is... my midwinter and my love for her will go on even in the cold, even in the dark.
Epilogue
Silver-three months later
When the last of the music dies out, I switch off the lights and hurry out of my workplace. A wide grin crosses my face when I see Relic, leaning against his car with his arms over his chest and there’s so much shimmer in his eyes that I barely remember the tortured man he used to be and he chuckles. I squeal, throwing myself at him and he spins me around a couple of times before putting me down and his eyes bore into mine.
“Had a good day?” he asks and I shrug.
“It was alright but I counted the minutes until I could be with you.” I stroke a strand of my hair out of my face. “How was your day?”
“Same old, same old,” he replies and I don’t really know much about what he does, only that it involves packages and ships but I’m relieved he doesn’t work out on the streets and risking his life every day.
“Can we keep the windows down?” I ask, jumping into the car and he nods. “Woohoo!” I howl and he grins.
He has refused to keep the windows down for weeks now ever since the time when I stuck my head out and almost crashed a mailbox. Relic isn’t exactly fond of the idea of me walking around with a concussion. We drive up the road and I’ve never felt more alive than after meeting him. He’s the man I always wanted in my life but never thought I’d had. There’s not a single mean bone in his body, and the guy’s nothing but rightness which means that every night that I fall asleep on his chest, I fall asleep with a smile.
I’ve finally found my peace. And so has he. Fate brought us together and fate will keep us together, no matter what anyone thinks or says.
We drive past a small neighborhood that’s on the way to our place and a middle-aged woman’s outside, watering her petunias. I flash a sweet smile, waving and she automatically waves back but when she recognizes me, she pinches her lip as if to say she doesn’t approve.
Oh well...few people do around here. Not that anyone would dare say anything or they’d have to deal with Relic and he can be pretty intimidating when he wants to be but there’s definitely been some chatting here and there.What’s a nineteen year old doing with a forty-four year old?It’s that type of stuffand they lay it on thick with the judgment but they don’t know our story and they don’t know our love. Only we do and to us it’s not taboo or wrong, it’s so freaking right that we both feel it with every cell in our bodies.
Glancing at Relic, I grin when I feel a shiver down my spine from how good looking he is; fierce, coarse, grumpy and the biggest marshmallow deep down. I reach out, teasing him by trying to mess up the cornrows he gets done at the barbers every month.
“Hey, quit the shit or I’ll pull you over my knee and give that pussy a good spanking,” he grunts but his mouth’s curving and I giggle, biting my teeth and pretending to be sooo scared of him. When he doesn’t respond, I lean over and nip his lower lip with my teeth and he groans, his eyes turning glassy before he lets out a curse. “Silver...,” he warns and I lean back, flashing him my boobs and he goes googly eyed, cursing and we nearly end up in a ditch.
He manages to get control over the wheel again. “You have it coming as soon as we get home, little girl,” Relic growls and a smile crosses my face when the wind tangles my hair and he puts a possessive hand on my knee. He’s my primitive protector, my savior and the only man I’ve ever loved. Our lighthouse sparkles in the distance and I let out a sigh. Life...sometimes it turns out to be everything you dreamed of.
****
Relic-Five years later
We’re at the compound, Silver and I are visiting over the weekend and everyone’s gathered around the dinner table, every single made man of the mafia together with their wives and their kids. Silver sits right next to me, our son and daughter fighting over which one gets to sit in her lap until I finally grab our son and put him in mine. He looks up at me with wide eyes and tugs on my beard to get my attention.
“Daddy, is it true I’ll be strong and brave like you one day?” he asks breathlessly.
“One day,” I rasp, stroking his wavy hair. “Do you want to be like me?”
He nods, his eyes full of admiration. “You’re an action hero.”
“And mommy’s a mermaid,” our daughter coos and Silver laughs.
“I’m not but dad’s definitely a hero.” Our eyes meet and our bond hooks and sinks us like always, until we meet beneath the surface and become each other’s only source of oxygen. Never did I even in my wildest think things would turn out this good. I got the prettiest wife around and she makes me the happiest man alive every single day.
