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I’d reference the movie American Pie, except I know she hasn’t watched it.
“When you say it like that.” She grabs the hem of my shirt she’s wearing, pulling it up her thighs. “Fucking and all…”
I get the view of her wet pussy, then her navel. She stops at the underside of her breasts, teasing me.
Bitterness is black ink, spreading inside me like poison.
But, again, I made a promise to Leighton. Swore I’d tell her the truths she needs to hear for us to move forward.
It’s the right thing to do. We have to start the rest of our lives together.
We don’t have a choice.
Her cycle is due in the next week or so. I hope to fuck it doesn’t come. I hope like hell our firstborn’s already brewing in her beautiful stomach.
“Enough.” I yank the shirt back into place.
“Okay, okay, I’m done playing.” Her eyes lose their playfulness. “What’s up?”
She doesn’t ask if she’s done anything wrong. Leighton knows my anger isn’t and never will be aimed at her. I’m relieved. Grateful for her.
She gets me.
“Remember the day at the pool a week ago?”
“Yes.” There’s a smile sneaking past her stern expression.
She likes the memory. Likes it so much that she forgot why we were in the pool to begin with.
“I owe you a story.” I return to rubbing her feet. “The last piece of the puzzle.”
“Oh.” Leighton sits up straight, pulling her legs under her. She looks at me, and her eyes begin to water. “Fuck, Marcus, we had so much fun that I totally forgot about Rylan. I’m the worst friend. The worst goddamn friend ever, and—”
I don’t wait for her to finish the sentence. My arms fold around Leighton, and I drag her to me until she’s in my lap.
“I forgot about her.” Her hands are fists on my bare chest. “At first, I put the real world aside because you asked me to. I didn’t forget about her then. I just put everything aside.”
“I’m grateful for that.” I stroke her hair. “So grateful for you, Leighton.”
“After that…” A sob rips through her. Her tears are a stroke to my ego. That she lets herself cry around me. “I did forget. You’ve taken every available space of my life. I—I—I forgot.”
“You didn’t.” My lips kiss away the tears. Stop the rest from coming. “I made sure you were focused on us. On our happiness. What we were owed. I’ll die before apologizing for this. Over these few quiet weeks together here with you.”
“Rylan, though—”
“We’ll have our whole lives to spend together, beautiful.” Hopefully. “I told you I’d do my best for us to have one big family, and I meant it. Now, no more crying. You have to focus and hear me out.”
She wipes at what’s left of her tears, blinking her red eyes at me. She’s a mature woman through and through, but it’s moments like these that I remember how young she is. How careful I have to be around her.
“What I’m about to say won’t be easy to hear.” Gently, I place Leighton back on the couch. “You have to trust that I’m telling you the truth.”
Leighton sighs heavily, tucking her feet under her again. “I think I know where you’re going with this.”
Her chin dips. I place a finger under it, returning her gaze to me. “You do?”
“I love Rylan. More than love her. I adore her. I would’ve been raped if it weren’t for her. I would’ve been so lonely without her.” Leighton shudders, and my pulse kicks up. “My life wouldn’t have been the same without her laughs and easy smiles. She’s so much fun to be around. The fact that we don’t share DNA doesn’t matter. She’s my sister.”
My days as a psychiatrist taught me a crucial lesson. If a person needs to talk, you let them. Uninterrupted. Bare of judgment. So, I sit there, quiet, and do just that.
