Chapter Twenty-Four #3
Ned warns her, “Stay out of it, Mar.” Then, he settles back on the counter, crossing his arms over his chest, looking like he’s settling in to watch a good show.
Suddenly, the eldest of Natalie and Danny’s boys, Diego, swoops in, scoops some of the pie out with his bare hands and smears it down both Caleb and Natalie’s faces before hooting triumphantly and taking off, licking his fingers.
Cameron, standing off to the side holding Pepper, doubles over laughing before fist bumping his cousin.
Danny looks like he’s about to scold his son but stops short when Natalie’s look of shock morphs into one of amusement.
She licks her lips, swipes the pie off one of her cheeks, and whirls around on her son. “Oh, this means war!” she proclaims, snatching the pie from me and chasing Diego around.
An all-out food fight breaks out at that point.
Laughter and happy mayhem all around. No one is even taking sides anymore, it’s every person for themselves.
I’ll probably never be able to get these stains of my dress, but at this point, I really could care less.
Let the memories stay embedded in the fabric because this is the best Thanksgiving I have ever had, and, for the life of me, I’m not so sure what I was ever terrified about to begin with.
This is what family is supposed to be, after all, and the only profound, life-altering thing to happen tonight was me realizing that this is exactly what I want for my future.
Gaining more beautiful family members—the best kind, found family.
Making wonderful memories together. Loving and accepting one another.
The house is still in a bit of disarray, but Lauren seems unfazed by it as she slips in bed next to me while Caleb is still out chatting with Cam and getting ready for bed himself.
She snuggles in next to me, clinging to me something fierce.
I can tell, however, that this is her contented cling, not her anxious one.
I kiss the top of her head. “I love you, Lo.”
She tilts her head up, smiling at me. “Love you too, Marco. Today went so much better than I thought.”
I nod. “Agreed.”
“Imagine if your parents had come up for Thanksgiving,” she hums, then shudders.
I scoff. “I’d rather not. Dad would have had a meltdown and insisted that I changed. Would have set the whole dinner off on a sour note. Then, Mom would have just sat back and allowed it, which is just as bad.”
“You know they’re going to guilt trip you into having us go back down there for Christmas though, right?”
“Fuck,” I groan. “I’m running out of excuses to give them as to why we can’t. That, and I’m sure they’ll be even more jaded if they find out your parents are coming up, and we didn’t extend an invite to them to do the same.”
Lo winces. “I haven’t heard from Xavier, but I’m pretty sure Grady is coming with my parents this year too,” she adds, referencing her brothers.
I roll my eyes. “Fuck, seriously? All Grady does is make fart jokes about everything. He’s thirty-four, for cripe’s sake. Grow up already.”
Lauren giggles. “I wanna say he’s toned it down a bit, but… this is my brother we’re talking about.”
I moan, tossing my arm over my eyes. “Ugh, whyyy, Lo?! Why’d you tell him he could come?”
She sighs. “Because Brody’s been gaming with him online lately, and Grady promised him he’d come up and they’d have an all night video game bender.”
I huff. “Whatever, as long as he’s making Brody’s holiday, I guess that’s what matters.”
When Caleb finally slips in the bedroom, all my disdain immediately melts away. He saunters over, shirtless and sexy as hell, to my side of the bed.
“Scoot over,” he signs to me.
“Oooh, big spooning me tonight?” I tease him, shifting both Lauren and myself over.
He grins. “More like the little spoon awkwardly trying to slot himself in behind the big spoon.”
I fold back the covers for him, letting him in. He scooches up behind me, lazily draping his arm over my waist, and kisses the back of my shoulder. I twist my neck, looking back at him.
“Love you, C,” I hum, taking note of just how exhausted, yet content, he appears.
His hand spreads over my stomach, forming the sign for “I love you.”
Lauren makes the same sign, pressing her hand to his. He peers up over my shoulder, pursing his lips and blowing a kiss at her. She mirrors the same gesture before resting her head back down on her pillow and shutting her eyes.
I can’t help but smile, sandwiched between the two of them, because tonight I know we’re all too exhausted to partake in any between the sheets activities, and still I’m about to drift off completely satisfied with both my life partners.
Even in the quiet moments, I still feel loved and adored.
There’s intimacy here, even when there isn’t any intent on sexual intimacy.
We’re just three people wholly in love with one another.
They fill my sails. Leading us into uncharted waters, yes, but I trust the ship we’ve built. I trust its bones, the very structure of it. It is going to be able to withstand whatever lies ahead of us.