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“Yes,” I said at the same time as Will said, “No.”

Has scoffed, glaring at me and tapping his temple—I will never forget this.

We piled into the taxi as soon as it pulled up, and headed straight for the hotel.

“Are we all staying in the same place?” I asked, loving that I had no idea. Will only had leave for Saturday; he had to be back on base tomorrow afternoon, so we were doing a quick 24 hour thing, but our friends had flown in yesterday.

“Mostly. We have a suite for the guys, a room for us, and a room for Christian and Mari. I think Jaimie and Rachel got a room across the street,” Will said. His hand was just casually resting on my thigh and I couldn’t stop staring at it.

“Has, where are you staying?”

He looked unsure. Nervous. “I’ll probably crash with the guys.”

Will looked at him for a moment and then out the window again. “When you know who Jaimie is to you tonight, let me know, man. I’ll follow your lead.”

Has nodded. I slipped my fingers in between his, squeezing his hand, and we rode the rest of the way there—the three of us connected skin-to-skin.

45

The Last Dance

Las Vegas, NV

Will

The music was loud enough that I felt it in my chest, a steady pulse, but I wasn’t really listening to it. Louisa swayed in front of me. Tipsy. Happy. She moved like she wasn’t thinking about how she looked, which made it impossible not to look at her. Her hands came up to my shoulders, then slid around the back of my neck, fingers warm against my skin.

I let mine roam all over her. She leaned into me like it was instinct, her hair getting caught in the stubble on my jaw, her body fitting into mine like we’d spent the last few months growing together. Pas de deux.

She laughed at something I couldn’t hear—nothing, probably—and tipped her head back to look at me. The lights caught in her eyes, bright and unfocused. They glittered across her face and she glowed gold.

“Hi,” she said, loud, like it was funny.

“Hi,” I said back, louder, like a dad. Her eyes twinkled as she laughed again.

I tightened my arms around her like if I held her like this long enough, I could log the feel of her somewhere to come back to later.

Her body rolled in time with the beat, easy and unselfconscious. She wasn’t trying to get a reaction out of me. She was just moving because it felt good and I moved along with her because it felt good. I knew I’d be thinking about this later, in places where the memory would have to do the work.

She shifted, her mouth near my ear. “You’re very serious,” she said.

“I’m imagining being inside you,” I told her, “which I take very seriously.”

She laughed and did something small and silly with her hips—just to make me hard—and I grabbed her and held her there against me. She beamed like she’d won and when I kissed her, she hummed, pleased with her prize.

We let the song finish. Then a few more. I was running out of time, but I wasn’t in a hurry; I was soaking it up like bread in oil and herbs. The scenery changed throughout the night, but it all blurred together behind the woman in front of me.

Jaimie and Has had taken off hours ago, and as the night rolled into the early morning, the rest of the group started to splinter. I said my goodbyes as they split off. Christian pressed his forehead against mine—we didn’t need to say anything. Marisol kissed my cheek and adjusted the collar of my shirt.

“Don’t cry, Mari.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Will. These are Christian’s tears, they’re just coming out of my eyes, okay? I know my role.” I laughed and hugged her long and hard. For me. For Christian.

Louisa and I walked together on the Strip for another hour, hand in hand. The weather was nice, and she wasn’t wearing anything underneath her dress since I’d ripped her little panties off as soon as we got to the room. My mind hadn’t strayed far from that fact all night.

On our way to the elevators, we passed a sign for the hotel’s 24-hour wedding chapel. Without warning, Louisa whipped around to face me—meeting my eyes with a mischievous smile that quickly turned violently seductive. On her tip-toes, she pressed herself against me like she had in the club, wrapping an arm around my neck, her hand on my chest. With her lips running along my jaw, she murmured, “Want to get married, Will?”

I tipped her head up to look at me. My hand was on her cheek and I brushed my thumb across her bottom lip. “Yes,” I said. She’s everything.