Page 199 of Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal
“So please, forgive me... forgive us, because we don’t want you to go. We want you here, contributing to this town, adding friendship and laughter and smiles. Please stay, Betty, because... I love you and I can’t fathom you leaving. Not when I just found you.”
Tears spill down my cheeks while he takes one more step forward and wipes them away.
He cups my face and then whispers, “Please forgive me. I’m so fucking sorry.”
I wet my lips, staring into his beautiful eyes, and all I can think about is that even though I was hurt, I feel the same exact way. I can’t fathom leaving this town. I can’t fathom not seeing Atlas every day, and a part of the grief I was feeling was not just from being hurt but from putting myself in a situation where I wasn’t a part of this town, a part of Atlas’s life.
I couldn’t stomach it.
And I can’t stomach it now.
I lean into his touch and say, “I love you too.”
A smile crosses over his face, and he pulls me in tighter. “Please tell me you forgive me. Because I promise, I will not hurt you again. I won’t fuck this up.”
I nod and whisper, “I forgive you.”
He scoops me into his arms and then captures my mouth with his, his body relaxing into mine as his lips lead the way, claiming me as his.
Cheers erupt all around us while I part my mouth ever so slightly for him, melting into his hold and grateful for this town and everyone in it.
When he pulls away, he presses his forehead to mine and whispers, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I whisper back as he hands me the bouquet. Chuckling, I say, “Where did you find this?”
“I made it. Took some time.”
“What else did you do?” I gesture to everyone around us. “Because this seems very convenient.”
“Well, I went back to my roots. I had to trap you to talk to me somehow, and I’m just glad I had more hands on deck.”
“Can we get hugs too?” Storee asks, waiting patiently. I nod, and she comes running up to me, pulling me in close. “I’m so sorry. Please know, our friendship has always been real.”
“I know,” I say.
“Good, because I don’t think I could stand helping Atlas that much unless I actually liked the person he was hanging with.”
I chuckle and pull away just as Uncle Dwight comes up to me and gives me a hug.
“You approved of this?” I ask.
He looks over at Atlas and says, “We had a chat and worked some things out. He’s on probation.”
Uncle Dwight pulls away, and Atlas scoops me into his arms again, kissing me on the lips. “Fuck, it’s going to be a great Christmas now. I have so many things planned, starting with turning the power back on at your cottage.”
I gasp, pulling away. “You turned that off?”
“Not the first time,” he says in defense. “But today, yeah, as I had to get you out of your cottage somehow.”
I shake my head. “I’m not sure if I should be impressed or scared.”
“Impressed.” He takes my hand and brings me around to the side of the store, out of earshot of everyone else. Growing serious, he says, “I want to make sure you’re okay, that you can express your feelings without an audience.” He continues to hold my hand, waiting.
“I’m not happy about what happened,” I say honestly. “But also, I’m not innocent in this whole thing either. I shouldn’t have gone after you so hard. I should have gotten to know you as well before taking Dwight’s opinion on the matter. You deserved better.”
“I deserve you,” he says, squeezing my hand.
“I deserve you as well,” I reply. “And I think we can launch from here, forget everything else, and just... just date.”
