17. Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Seventeen
Elijah
Time was up. The Labor Day weekend had arrived and I was no closer to feeling excited about attending the Back to School BBQ. My friends took on the burden of setting up my booth simply because if it were left to me, it wouldn't happen. All I had to do was show up and pretend I wanted to be there, with my fake smiles and memorized, canned responses. Even that felt insurmountable as I bitched and moaned under my breath while getting ready. It took four tries to get my tie right and another fifteen minutes to finish my hair. Even my shoes gave me problems. If it could go wrong, it did.
The twenty minute drive to town was going to be a chore in and of itself. The scenery I loved so much went by in a blur that I couldn't find the energy to appreciate. To be completely honest, I wanted to fast forward to my inevitable loss of the campaign so I could try to pick myself up and dust myself off. It was sort of like ripping off a bandage—I wanted to do it quickly and get the pain out of the way.
The same sentiment lingered as I approached the straight-away I loved the most. Instead of feeling the excitement of being able to let loose and press down on the pedal, I felt annoyed. The source of the annoyance was the sight of a familiar grill guard on a white cruiser tucked out of the way on the shoulder of the road ahead. William. My William who was ignoring me and likely getting mad at himself for it. My eyes narrowed as a plan, impulsive and reckless, began to take form.
My eyes flicked from my speedometer to the posted speed limit and back toward the cruiser in the distance. Fifty-five miles per hour. I applied more pressure to the pedal and squeezed the steering wheel in my grip as the needle crept higher. Sixty. Sixty-five. I pressed harder. Seventy. Seventy-five. The blur of white as I sped past his vehicle triggered a fit of hysterical laughter as I removed my foot from the accelerator and let the car coast at its breakneck speed.
I knew I had achieved what I wanted as soon as I spied the flashing lights in my rear view mirror. The natural topography had my car slowing of its own accord, but I helped it along with a foot to the brake that had the car lurching and the tires squealing. I nudged the nose into the shoulder and came to a hard stop before slamming it in park, flicking on the hazards, and throwing the door wide open. Incensed and still slightly hysterical, I was already storming toward his cruiser before he even fully stopped behind me.
His door flew open and he jumped out with a scowl so scathing, it could make the Devil himself recoil. Thankfully, I was beyond the ability to be effected by such expressions.
“What the hell are you doing, EJ?!” William strode toward me with fire and brimstone in his eyes as he bellowed. “Do you know how dangerous—”
“Shut up,” I blurted before doing the second-most reckless and impulsive thing of my life. I quickened my pace and leapt on him like a wild animal, sending him staggering over the pavement as he caught the full force of my weight. Without missing a beat, my lips sealed over his as I grappled with his frame, climbing him like I'd fantasized so many times.
His shock was evident in his momentary lack of response, but everything clicked into place in rapid-fire succession and before long, he was kissing me back with just as much feral vigor as I ravished his mouth. We were reduced to muffled grunts, grappling hands, and tangled tongues in a matter of seconds.
Will’s back hit the side of his cruiser as he stumbled under my weight, but I refused to let go or return my feet to the ground. In fact, I clambered higher and cinched my limbs tighter around his body, knocking his ridiculous hat off before adding a fist to his hair for good measure. I'd completely lost my mind and found myself not caring in the least.
Will pulled away with a gasp, barely uttering my name before I silenced him again with another kiss. He'd had a chance to talk all these days and weeks. The result was radio silence, so I was taking charge of the communication. Screw words—kissing was the only way I wanted to talk from now on if it meant I could have him just like this. Pliant, panting, and perfectly mussed.
It took all his strength and numerous grunts before Will managed to pry me off of him. I was just as out of breath and wild-eyed as he was as our passionate roadside makeout session simmered into a silent standoff laden with everything left unsaid. One of us has to break the spell, but I would be damned if it was going to be me.
“EJ… I'm sorry.”
The level of drama in my eye roll was record-worthy. “No. Enough. How many freaking times do I have to accept your apology before you finally forgive yourself ?”
“I… it… agh!” He stammered and stuttered and threw his hands up in frustration. “I don't know!”
“I don't want any more apologies. I don't want sorries and remorse and guilt and regret. I just want you !” I flung my hands skyward in a mirror of his movements without even thinking.
“And I want you!” He shouted back and took a step forward at the exact same moment I advanced toward him.
“You already have me!” My voice echoed over the rolling countryside and we both froze, stockstill and silent. A poignant moment passed before realization sunk in and our shared laughter broke the tension.
“Why are we yelling?” Will broached the distance and gently neatened my tie with his fingertips.
“Why are we arguing?” I straightened his badge and brushed invisible lint from the pale blue fabric of his uniform shirt.
“What are we even arguing about?”
“You running away again?”
“Or this ridiculous pause situation?”
I squinted at him with a thinly-veiled smirk. “I did try to take it back, but you ignored my messages.”
The color in his cheeks was equal parts adorable and vindicating. “Yeah, okay. Fair.”
“Are we on the same page now, babe?” I splayed my hands over the width of his chest.
“If that page equals us being together and not on a pause, or whatever, yes.” His palms landed on my hips and tugged me closer. I searched the depths of his gaze, washed in shades of red and blue from the lights still flashing on top of the cruiser propping us up on the side of a back road.
“The footnotes on the page state that you need to respond to my damn calls and messages, plus a moratorium on apologies.”
“Deal.” Will leaned in and pecked my mouth with a noticeable curve to his lips. It was good to have him smiling again. I went to deepen the kiss, but he pulled back with a soft tut. “Don't you have somewhere to be?”
“Depends. Are you coming with me?”
“I’ll do you one better. How about a police escort?” A playful glint appeared in his eyes. One that had been noticeably absent for too long. I was more than happy to oblige anything that brought that twinkle back.
“Brixton will shit a brick.”
“Good. I just noticed the signs the other day—I might have hidden a few behind some bushes. Don't tell.” The mischief in his expression had my heart swelling in my chest. Hope blossomed right along with it. My Will was still there, buried beneath the burdens of everything he was dealing with. The optimism inspired by this discovery was enough to quell any and all worries. Regardless of whether I won the election or not, things would be okay so long as I had what I had secretly always wanted—William Doherty by my side.
“Let's get on with it, Sheriff. We have a spectacle to put on.”
“Speaking of spectacles,” he murmured, leaning in to capture my lower lip between his teeth with a sharp nip before continuing. “Boyfriend or not, the next time I catch you going that fast, you're getting a damn ticket. And a spanking.”
A spontaneous shiver ran down my spine with his threat. Never had I ever thought about spanking, but apparently my body thought that was an exceptionally exciting idea. “Shit… okay, we’re tabling that comment for later.”
“Deal. Now get in the damn car. I'm about to abuse all sorts of power.”
I jogged back toward my car with a laugh, sliding into the seat and turning off the hazard lights before clipping my belt in place and shifting back into drive. True to his word, Will pulled back into the road and took off, the lights still flashing as he gunned the engine. For all his talk about speeding and reckless driving, I had to accelerate well past the posted limit to keep up with him as we played chase along the winding roads we both knew like the back of our hands.
Naturally, he slowed the cruiser as we hit the town limits, moving even slower as we approached the school grounds. The crowds were prolific, as they were every year, and the kids rushed forward with cheers and shouts to revel in the display of lights and the chirp of the sirens. Kids loved law enforcement officers, and they especially loved the thrill of the sights and sounds of a police cruiser in all its flashing glory. By the time we were able to nose into the circular driveway of the school, the swell of the crowd forced us to a veritable crawl.
My booth was easy to spot once I found a place to park my car. Sally had gone all out with the rainbow colored decorations yet again. There was even a giant rainbow balloon arch with a gaudy metallic streamer backdrop set up for photos. The idea confused me, but I had to trust her vision, especially since the onus of the work had fallen on her shoulders during my massive depressive temper tantrum. As I moved through the crowd, my friend group came into focus. Much to my surprise, Ashley was standing right alongside them in one of the campaign t-shirts purchased for the event.
My face must have expressed my surprise. She was hesitant for all of thirty seconds before she came running toward me with reckless abandon. I barely managed to widen my stance before she hurtled into me like a short, stylishly dressed, and impeccably coiffed linebacker.
“Elijah!” She hit with far more force than I expected, driving a gust of air and a grunt from my chest as I caught her smaller frame. “I'm so sorry!”
“Ash, it’s okay—”
“It's not. It's not okay. I was so gullible and na?ve. And because of it, I almost ruined everything!”
“Ashley, really,” I responded, bringing a palm to the back of her head as I hugged her tight. “I'm not mad.”
“You should be. He was just using me for information and I was too distracted by his charm to realize. You have to know, I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to risk our friendship. I just wasn't thinking clearly.” She clung like a barnacle and, not for the first time, I wondered how I ended up with a collection of clingy koalas as friends.
“It's not like he could have gotten anything of value from you. It's really okay. Yes, I was surprised and a little hurt, but I was never mad.” I pulled back and swept a thumb under her leaky eyes before her mascara could leave indelible marks in her foundation. “Promise. We’re okay.”
“I'm still sorry. I swear, I've been working double hard to make up for it. I talked about you to every single client. I even sent campaign stuff to my mailing list and Instagram.”
Touched, I pulled her back in for another hug, this one far less football tackle inspired than our first. “Thank you, Ash. Seriously.”
“Everyone else doubled their efforts, too.” Ashley fluttered her manicured fingernails toward our friend group. I was startled to see all of Will’s friends amid the collection, each one of them wearing the same t-shirts. Benji really stole the show, though. Not only was he wearing the t-shirt, but he'd added a new hat and a plethora of rainbow streamers to his ensemble as well. The bullhorn in his hand gave me pause. He caught my eye and held the thing over his head.
“Don't worry, they took the batteries out after about ten minutes.” His grin was pure sunshine and earnest innocence. I couldn't help but shake my head and laugh in response.
“Ashley, move. You're stealing my cuddle rations.” Lionel muscled his smaller frame through the gathered people and smoothed his t-shirt with a huff before latching onto my side. “Quite the entrance, Elijah.”
“Yeah, I guess dating the local Sheriff has its perks.” I kissed the top of Lionel’s head and draped my arm over his shoulders. “Thank you guys so much for all of this. Sorry I've been such a downer lately. I appreciate this more than you’ll ever know.”
“Everything figured out with lover boy?” Brent jerked his chin over my shoulder and I turned to spy my boyfriend swarmed by a mob of children with a brilliant grin on his face, dimples on full display. The scene inspired a smile of my own, just as bright and unfettered.
“Yeah, I think so. Took us a minute, but we got there.”
“You mean a decade, not a minute.” Josh, the man I recognized as Will’s best friend, stepped forward, a criminally adorable baby propped on his hip and wearing a miniature version of my campaign shirt. If I had ovaries, they would have exploded.
“Oh my God, who is this?” I fluttered my fingertips at the baby and gasped in surprise as the little tyke nearly flung himself into my arms. Josh settled him on my hip with a chuckle.
“Grayson. Sorry, he's used to being tossed around the friend group like a rugby ball.”
“Pleased to meet you, little guy.” I awkwardly resituated his squirming weight and melted a little more inside as the kid nestled his head against my shoulder before babbling a long string of incoherent syllables and sounds.
“Yep. Marriage at the ballot box and kids by Christmas.” Benji fist-pumped the air with a whoop. “I knew I was right. You guys really underestimate my intelligence sometimes.”
I glanced around at all the faces in confusion. “What?”
“Yeah, ignore him. Benji, hot dogs!” Cam snapped his fingers to get his friend's attention.
“Oh, shit. I forgot there was food at this thing!”
Brent shifted his eyes and gently pushed his glasses higher on his nose. “Benjamin, it's a barbecue. Food is in the title.”
“Huh,” Benji mumbled with a tilt of his head. I swear, it was like watching a goofy pitbull dog try to do mental math. “That's super smart. You got smart friends, Elijah. I'm gonna learn so much cool shit.”
“Shit!” The baby in my arms jolted up straight and giggle-shrieked. “Shit!”
“Oh God,” Josh groaned, rushing forward to grab Grayson and gently press a palm to his mouth. “No, Gray. You can't say that. That cannot be your first word.”
The little guy pushed at the hand with even more peels of heart-exploding baby belly laughter. “Shit, shit, shit!”
One by one, the infectious giggles pulled us all under their spell. For the first time in weeks, my laughter came easily and effortlessly. My eyes skated over the crowd and instantly met Will’s own searching gaze at the same time. With mirrored, megawatt smiles, we communicated across the distance with nothing more than winks and smiles. It was everything I needed, wanted, and more. He was everything. I knew without a shadow of a doubt, it was all going to be okay. I swiped the tears of happiness and hysterical laughter from my cheeks and then blew him a kiss. I knew I found my soulmate when the goofball pretended to catch it midair and press it to his chest. The gawky goober teenage boy I had fallen in love with a decade ago had turned into a gorgeous, goofy man and he was all mine. I couldn't be happier for it.