Chapter 38 Raynor
Raynor
PAST
Vae has been asleep all day. I push open her bedroom door and creep in.
The perfume she’s wearing is really nice.
I sit on the edge of her bed and shake her arm gently.
“Hey, Vae.”
She peels open her eyes, but her face is flushed, and she doesn’t look good.
“You don’t look good.”
“Feel awful.”
I pull out my phone and send Deacon and Mal a message, then I get up, toe off my shoes, and close her door.
I climb into bed and wrap my arms around her.
Vae groans but settles into a deep sleep.
Mal and Deacon bring her cupcake with a candle on it. They sing happy birthday at the top of their lungs.
I smile at them, and Vae just looks enchanted.
She frowns and clutches her stomach, and I note that the illness she has is still hanging around. I wish I could make her feel better.
“Happy Birthday, Vae,” Mal whispers and kisses her cheek. “Ooh, I like your perfume.”
He steps back, and I take his place, passing her a small box. She opens it and finds a delicate gold necklace of a star with a tiny diamond in the middle.
“You don't need to live on a star, Vae, you are a star.”
Deacon kisses her cheek. “Love you, Vae. Happy birthday.”
She strokes the delicate necklace and closes her eyes. I know she’s making a wish.
I make one, too.
The thought is random and strong and impossible to ignore.
I wish she was mine.
PRESENT
Vae’s eyes are bright as Mal twirls her around the kitchen. He catches her and dips her quickly before he drags her up and walks her, pressed against her back, to the stove where they continue to cook.
This is happiness.
“Mal, you need to get ready! We have to go to practice. We’ve got a game tonight.”
Mal sighs and lets Vae go, kissing her thoroughly before he rushes off to get ready.
“I’m coming with you today,” I tell Vae.
Together, we go to her place, and I try to stay out of the way while she creates her magic. She’s got an offsider now. The store has been a roaring success.
Just watching her has become an erotic fixation, the way she swirls the icing over her cupcakes. Or how she rolls the cookie dough out. I don’t know how many times we’ve waited until closing time before I grab the whisk, icing bowl, or just bend her over the counter and fuck her raw.
I pick up my guitar and start singing. More and more people come in, getting a slice of something, a coffee, and listening to me play. Before long, she’s got a line out the door.
All day, we work, and it’s the happiest I’ve ever been.
But, gradually, I start noticing something different about the way people are talking and responding.
“What’s going on?” I ask Gerry.
She smiles, pulls out her phone, and shows me the video of me that’s online.
“It’s viral.”
My stomach drops out. I blink rapidly and then search for Vae.
She’s smiling at a couple of old ladies and boxing up some cakes for them.
My happiness dims.
The dream I’ve held onto for so long versus the one I have now, well, it’s no contest, Vae is the one I want.
“Put it away.”
Gerry follows my gaze. “She will be happy for you.”
“I don’t want her to be happy for me; I want her to be happy with me, and Vae has given up her dreams for us for far too long.”
Gerry puts a hand on her ample bosom and blinks rapidly. “You are something else, Raynor.”
Vae packs up the shop and dances over to me, slipping into my arms. If I compare fame and fortune and singing on a stage or having Vae like this right now, it’s not even a competition.
We leave Gerry and the cleaners to pack up and head to the game.
The arena is full of roaring fans. We’ve got seats near the ice.
“So, are you going to accept the offer?” Vae asks and glances sideways at me.
“What offer?” I ask in confusion.
“The offer to run off and become a star.”
I sit back in the seat, thinking about how to word this so she believes me.
“Vae, do you remember how much Deacon and Mal wanted to play hockey? How they changed their entire lives for hockey?”
“I remember.”
“I don’t feel that way about being a musician, not a famous one. I don’t want to perform on stage for thousands; I like performing in cafés. All I want is to make music. That’s the difference.”
“So…”
“I’m not leaving. Not for anything. To me, you are the passion of my life.”
“So you’d just be a viral sensation playing in my bakery?”
“Yes, if you’d have me.”
She sniffs, and, in the next blink, she’s wrapped in my arms, snuggled on my lap.
“I’m never leaving you, not for fame, not for fortune, not for anything.”
She kisses me. I lose myself in her, falling into her honeycomb candy kisses, wondering if any cake she could make would ever taste half as sweet as her.
A bang has me tearing my mouth from hers. Mal and Deacon are on the other side banging on the glass.
I stick my finger up at them and kiss her again.
When I swing her up, Mal skates back and blows her a kiss, returning to his workout. Deacon goes to the captain and hugs him.
The vibe of this game is a hundred times different. The team is flowing together. They are happier.
They win.
On the way out, I find Marilyn waiting for us. She raises an eyebrow.
I shrug and put my arm around Vae.
The approval in her eyes and the way she relaxes says all I needed to hear. She glances to the side, and I see Jansen. He waves, but his arms are around another alpha, and he barely even looks at us, though he and Vae, much to Deacon’s disgust, have become best friends.
The roar and the scream of the crowd continues as everyone celebrates the win.
I’m happy for them, I really am, but this right here is what I’ve always wanted. Ever since I walked into that house and saw the tiny girl.
A pack of my own. People who won’t abandon me.
People who won’t forget me.
Someone that, when I love them, it’s enough. It’s more than enough.
I walk with her, guiding her through the crowd. In the distance, I see Deacon and Mal, both with wet hair, surrounded by fans, but when they spot us, their smiles change. They become something radiant.
I thread my fingers through Vae’s.
Are you happy?
She smiles, seeming to hear the silent question I haven’t voiced. “Yeah, I am.”
“Me, too.”