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“No one can guarantee anything in life; you know that. We can only do our best.”
Elizabeth nodded. She didn’t voice it, but she also worried that how she felt about Alex would inevitably cause problems for her career. She knew now that if it came down to a choice between Alex and her career, she would choose Alex.
It was the selfish choice. The work she was doing was important. Elizabeth would be letting down thousands of people, all for the sake of her own personal happiness. Still, she couldn’t see herself making any other choice.
She could only hope that it didn’t come to that. Maybe she could have both—Alex and the job she loved. Perhaps for them, the stars would align and things in life would, for once, go as planned. She could only wait, and hope.
8
Alex
Alex woke up smiling. She woke up smiling most mornings nowadays—that is, on the mornings she didn’t wake up moaning. Elizabeth had a wonderful habit of waking her up with oral sex, which was a most pleasurable way to start the day.
There was nothing she enjoyed more than seeing Elizabeth between her legs and hearing Elizabeth’s own moans of pleasure as she licked Alex. Elizabeth claimed it was her absolute favorite thing to do and Alex believed her.
After her unit was killed, she had never thought she’d be truly happy again, much less fall in love. And yet, she had now achieved both of those things. Some days, she could barely believe that this was her life. She got to work for the woman she loved, doing work she enjoyed and found fulfilling.
She was slowly getting her PTSD under control and didn’t have to worry about being a burden to James anymore. It was almost perfect.
Of course, the one thing that would make it completely perfect eluded her. The person who was out to kill Elizabeth was still out there. Whoever he was, he covered his tracks well, because the police hadn’t been able to find any leads. They didn’t even know if he was working alone or with a group.
Every day, Alex reminded herself to remain vigilant, but she knew that it wouldn’t always be enough. When she suggested she start teaching Elizabeth self-defense, Elizabeth agreed readily enough.
“No, you need to duck that way. If you duck that way, you’re ducking right into my fist and you’ll be hit in the face,” Alex explained patiently.
“Right, sorry. Let me try again.”
This time, Elizabeth dodged the blow the correct way, but stumbled on her way up and fell into Alex’s arms. Alex patiently steadied her. “Keep your feet spread like I showed you. That way, you won’t lose your balance.”
Elizabeth sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m just no good at this. I’m too old for it.”
“You’re not old, Lizzy. Besides, no one is ever too old to learn self-defense. It just takes time. Your body has never been through this kind of conditioning before. Trust me, it’ll come.”
Elizabeth nodded, her face set in determination. “Alright. Let’s try again.”
What Elizabeth lacked in experience, she made up for in perseverance and dedication. Alex would make a fighter out of her yet.
After their usual morning lesson, they returned to Elizabeth’s home office to work on her campaign. Elections were only a year away, but Elizabeth insisted that was no time at all and they needed to get ahead of things now.
She had a folder of new laws she wanted passed in her desk, but she would only get those pushed through if she got the numbers she was hoping for in the elections. Alex had looked at her folder and had gotten teary-eyed reading it.
The world Elizabeth painted was beautiful. It was a place where LGBT+ people didn’t have to fear discrimination or violence. It was a world where everyone was treated equally and with the respect they deserved.
Alex didn’t know what she’d ever done to deserve a woman like Elizabeth, but she thanked her lucky stars every day that Elizabeth was hers.
Weeks slipped by like those sweet spring days before the heat of summer hit. Alex felt like she was floating on air. It was almost too good to be true. Sleeping with Elizabeth had drastically reduced her nightmares, which meant she was getting proper rest most nights.
There was no further activity from Elizabeth’s would-be assassin, but Alex didn’t relax her vigilance. She knew that she couldn’t afford to get lax. It would only take one moment of negligence, and Elizabeth’s life could be snuffed out forever.
“Alex, we need to talk.”
Alex gulped. That was never a good thing to hear. She endeavored to keep her voice casual. “What’s up?”
“I think I need to start making public appearances again.”
“But you’ve been doing so well with online. Your numbers are ticking up steadily.”
“Exactly—they’re ticking up. It’s steady, but it’s slow. I’m going to need to do better than that if I want to win the next election. I’ve run the numbers, and while the support I’ve been gaining is good, it’s not enough. Not if I want to make the difference I’m hoping to make.”
