Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“You do it for me every time,” I whispered. The evidence of my arousal was sliding down the drain with the rest of the water. I reached for a terry cloth bath towel, awkwardly wrapping it around Dash as I continued to hold him flush against me. “Let’s go to sleep. We’ll find another time this week for me to fuck you.”
If being smitten so far into a relationship was possible, the devotion, and sheer love I had for him welled inside me, day after day, week after week. Right then, I only wanted to put him to bed, wrapping myself around him, coasting on our beautiful life. My cheek rested against his forehead.
“I love you. I’m proud of what you’ve accomplished. The podcast’s gonna be awesome.”
His lips pressed against my neck. “You’re always giving to me. I don’t do my part.”
“Not true. I came. Don’t worry,” I whispered. “Our sex turns me on, I can’t hold it.” Dash clutched tighter around my neck. My heart tripped in my chest. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”
“You’ll have to hold me,” Dash reared his head back. “All night, like we used to do.”
Got it. Same page.
I lifted the towel to run over his hair and gently down his body. Then I did the same for myself. Curled up in our comfy bed, sleep came easy.
18: The Anniversary
Beau
July 4, 2023
Sea Springs Texas
First off, I wouldn’t have chosen a tuxedo. Then the white suit jacket against all black slacks, ties—his a bow tie, mine a standard knotted necktie—dress shirts and vests, was also weird to me. A Great Gatsby-themed party in a world of graphic arts and anime was a bold choice. I readily admitted the use of CliffsNotes when my class read the book in high school.
I had no idea what was really happening in our backyard for that matter, but Dash had again taken my year to plan our anniversary, and gone way overboard on the theme and the decorations. Well, maybe Stone, Dash’s personal assistant, had done most of the work, but no doubt he’d only followed Dash’s vision.
Round tables and chairs were sprinkled over large portions of the backyard, enough seats to have our hundred or so guests be comfortable. A large, multi-course buffet was set up on one side, both jazz and swing bands on the other, playing in intervals. The porch had a full bar and bartender. Dash and I were swaying together on the portable dance floor between the bar and the swimming pool which was currently full of children.
Twinkling lights, sashes, and beautiful fresh flower arrangements decorated the yard. The same style flowers were made into centerpieces atop the white table drapes. Candles flickered, adding a softness to the party. Somehow the bugs stayed away, and Dash cooled the air from one side to the next, with equipment that made very little noise.
The beautiful part of tonight was the happy love that seeped off Dash into me. We danced together arm in arm, listening to an older multi-genre playlist while the last remaining band took a break. While we swayed in place, everyone else danced to the rhythm of the complicated jazzy tune. The fringe on period dresses bounced this way and that, and spiffy suits and tuxedos topped with straw hats moved all around us.
Amelia handmade the girls’ flapper dresses, and the boys’ wore three-piece suits. They looked adorable until they stripped down to their bathing suits. Fisher and Hunter were the first inside the swimming pool. It was all it took for the other children to follow.
“The next song’s our song,” Dash said, tilting his chin up to me, lips puckered.
I eyed him closely before bending down to accept the offer. “We apparently have lots of songs. Which one’s this one?” I asked. Over twenty-three years of bimonthly new songs, we had to have amassed over a hundred and fifty by now.
My guy, with his love of music, knew exactly when the next song was slated to begin. He stepped fully into me. No space between us. “When I heard it again, it imprinted on me. This is our official song. Nothing can change it. It fits us.”
The songs changed with a small pause.
He rested his cheek against my shoulder, our elbows tucked into our sides. Tingles raced across my body as I pressed my cheek against his forehead.
“Unforgettable…” The song hit emotionally right where Dash had wanted it to. My guy nailed it. I listened to the sultry tune, holding Dash closely. The lyrics were hypnotic and truthful. I squeezed Dash tighter to me. He held me in just the same way. My emotions laid bare as the words resonated.
On one side of my leg, Fisher circled his arms around my knee. He was still wet from the swimming pool, moving back and forth with us to the end of the song. Our tiny dancer had no shame in joining our special moment and was probably the only thing that might pry Dash and I apart. We glanced down between our bodies to see Fisher’s giant smiling grin staring up at us.