Page 154 of The Illusion
We stay like that for one more minute, just breathing, just being. Then he slaps my ass, sharp and sudden, and I yelp and twist to look at him.
"Shower," he says, his eyes dark with promise. "Round two."
I follow him back to the bathroom, my legs shaky, my body already wanting more.
CHAPTER
FIFTY-SEVEN
RYAN
I'min Julie's backyard assembling the fourth Adirondack chair I've done today when it hits me how fucking happy I am. Like, stupidly happy. The kind of happy where you catch yourself grinning at nothing and don't even care if you look like an idiot.
The sun is warm on my back, there's a playlist of Julie's favorite songs coming through the speaker on the deck, and I'm building furniture for the housewarming party she's planned for the weekend. I tighten the last bolt and sit back on my heels, surveying my work. Four chairs, all lined up in a neat row, ready to be arranged around the fire pit I dug yesterday.
"How's it going out there?" Julie calls from the kitchen window.
I look up and see her leaning out, her hair pulled back in a messy bun, a smudge of paint on her cheek from where we were touching up the trim this morning. God, she's beautiful. "Almost done," I call back. "Come see."
She disappears from the window, and a minute later, the back door opens. She's wearing cutoff denim shorts and one ofmy old t-shirts, the hem tied in a knot at her waist. Her feet are bare, and she's carrying two glasses of lemonade.
"You're a lifesaver," I say, taking one of the glasses and downing half of it in one go.
"You're a workhorse," she counters, handing me the second glass when I finish the first. "Have you even taken a break today?"
"I took a break when we had lunch."
"That was four hours ago."
"Was it?" I glance at my watch and realize she's right. "Huh. Time flies when you're having fun."
She laughs and sits down in one of the chairs, testing it out. "These are perfect. I can't believe you built them."
"YouTube is a hell of a teacher."
"Still. They're amazing." She runs her hand along the armrest, her smile soft. "I love them."
"Good. Because I'm not building any more." I drop into the chair next to hers and stretch my legs out. "My back is killing me."
"Poor baby." She leans over and kisses my shoulder. "Want me to rub it later?"
"I want you to rub a lot of things later."
She laughs again, and the sound makes my chest feel too full. I reach over and take her hand, lacing our fingers together.
"This is nice," she says quietly.
"Yeah. It is."
We sit like that for a while, just holding hands and looking out at the yard.
"What are you thinking about?" Julie asks.
I squeeze her hand. "I'm thinking about how lucky I am. How happy I am. How much I love you."
Her eyes get a little misty. "Ryan."
"I mean it, Buttercup. I've never been this happy in my life."
