17. Banana-Flavored Dicks #2
She blows out a deep breath, spinning around before she sways into my side, holding my arm. “I might have a few ideas.”
“Spill ’em, trouble.”
“Well, the last year is for us to explore all the different aspects of vet medicine so we can decide where we want our specialty to be. So, my first chunk is at the school itself, where we do surgeries, emergencies, radiology, that kind of stuff. Afterward, we get to choose our rotations. I already know I want to go into shelter medicine, and I’ve arranged to do most of my elective rotations at Wildheart.
I’m hoping, if I do well, they’ll hire me as a vet after graduation. ”
“You’re going to be fabulous. And they already love you there. I can’t imagine them not wanting to keep you.”
“Yeah, I hope so. I’d really love for Connor and me to get our own place too.
I know Marco wants to move in with Archie, but our apartment is so small.
There’s barely enough room for Connor and me, let alone another adult.
And they’re so selfless, they’ll never ask me to leave.
If I can get a job and tuck aside the first few pays, then I should be able to afford to get Connor and I our own apartment, with his own room. ”
“I like your dreams. They sound perfect, and I know you’ll reach them. In the meantime, we can give Connor his own room at my place.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Why not? I’ve got four. And I plan to keep you two as much as I can, so it makes sense for him to have something a little more permanent than a playpen we stick in an open room, yeah?”
She blushes, nibbling her lip. “He really loved those glow-in-the-dark stars you hung up for him.” She peers up at me. “That would be really wonderful, Adam. Are you sure?”
“I’m very sure.” I roll my eyes and tip my head at the dogs ahead of us. “Now go break those two up.”
“ Bear
!” Rosie dashes over to the dogs, trying to get mine to dismount hers. “You’re neutered! You can’t have Bear and Pig babies, as cute as they’d be!” She stares down at them, fists propped on her hips. “What are we gonna do with you two?”
I laugh quietly as Rosie has to wind back around and separate them a second time, only moments after she turns her back on them.
“We were gonna take you two for pup cups, but now I just don’t know.
” She shrugs, as if she isn’t going to climb in my front seat, give me those puppy eyes, and say, “Weren’t they so good today?
They deserve a pup cup, don’t you think?
” just like she does every single time. And just like I do every single time, I’ll wind up with whipped cream all over my hands while the dogs make a mess of the pup cups I hold for them.
Connor stirs, turning to tuck his face into my neck, laying his tiny hand over my heart.
I kiss his waves, tightening my hold on him, relishing the fullness I feel in this moment, right here in this forest. I look around at the dirt, all the trees, the sea of green that makes this place smell so fresh, and I can’t believe here is where I found exactly what I was looking for.
A tree to my right catches my eye. It’s an old, towering pine, just like the rest of them, but on its thick trunk, the bark is marked with faded carvings.
“Look,” I call to Rosie, touching the bark, the old, rough heart carved into it, the three letters in the middle. D, M, R
. Beneath it is a series of numbers that make a date from ages ago. “It’s been here for thirteen years.”
I hear the crunch of the earth beneath her shoes, the way they stop abruptly, the sharp intake of breath. I glance at Rosie, finding her hand at her mouth, eyes filled with tears, and I squeeze her arm.
“Hey. You okay?”
Her eyes don’t leave the heart on the tree.
“You found it. I-I…I’ve been looking. Every single hike, for seven years.
I’ve never been able to…I couldn’t remember…
” Her chest rises sharply with a staggered inhale, and those tears spill down her cheeks before she throws her arms around me. “ You found it
.”
I look back at the heart, and something clicks.
D, M, R
. Dad, Mom, Rosie.
“You’ve been here before. With your parents.”
A broken sob shakes her to her core, and she buries her face against my shoulder as I run my palm over her back.
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
Rosie swipes the tears from her cheeks and nods. Taking her hand, I urge her down to the base of the tree, pulling a sleeping Connor into my lap. Rosie rests her head against my shoulder before she tells me her story.
“My parents and I loved the outdoors. We were always hiking, camping, swimming, exploring. Anything you could do outside, we did it. We spent every summer traveling, and when I was eleven, we came here. We drove across Canada, spent two weeks in Alberta, took our time driving through to British Columbia. And we finished here. Vancouver was my favorite, so we extended our stay a week, and we hiked this trail every single morning.” Rosie looks up at the carving, a smile on her lips.
“On our last day, my dad carved this. He promised we’d come back again, that we’d find it.
” She looks back at me. “You know Capilano Bridge? The suspension bridge through the mountains? It’s covered in lights all winter long. ”
I nod. “I’ve been a few times. It’s beautiful.”
Rosie smiles wistfully. “I bet. I’ve only seen pictures, but it looks incredible.
The snow-covered trees, all those twinkly lights…
it looks like magic. I wanted to go so badly, but of course the lights weren’t on in the summer.
My parents said we could come back in November for my birthday to see all the lights.
” Her chin quivers as new tears build, sliding silently down her face.
“My parents passed away in September. We never got to go.”
Cupping her cheek, I swipe at the tears that come rolling down. “I’m so sorry, Rosie.”
“It’s why I’m here. Why I chose Vancouver, even though there’s an incredible veterinarian school forty-five minutes from my hometown. Because this is the last trip we took together. Because we were so happy here. We were together, and we were happy. Because Vancouver, because here, right here
, is where I feel my family.”
Rosie climbs to her feet, holding her hand out to me, inviting me to follow suit. She traces the shape of the heart, the date, that D
and M
. “I don’t want to lose this again. I can’t. I can’t forget where this tree is.”
“You won’t,” I promise her. “I’ll remember. We can put something here to mark it. Plant some flowers.”
She grins. “Peonies?”
I smile, touching my thumb to the dimple in her chin. “Peonies.”
Rosie stares at the heart for a long moment before she places her hand over the carving, eyes fluttering closed. When they open again, there’s a clarity behind them, a newfound hope. She’s not lost anymore; she’s found.
She clutches to her heart. “You know what I think, Adam? I think you’re the one who found it because you’re my family now too. You feel like it, anyway. You didn’t just find my family; I found my family in you.”
I’m glad I can give her something she’s been missing, something she so desperately craves and so wildly deserves.
Because I know, in her, I’ve found something I’d given up on.
I’ve found love.
* * *
“I think she’s ready to have sex.”
The chatter around me dies, and four sets of eyes rise to mine.
Carter twists his twenty-fifth Oreo apart, slowly licking at the icing, and Garrett rips open a bag of Flamin’ Hot Funyuns before sticking his hand inside, pulling a handful out at the literal pace of a turtle.
Jaxon pops the cap off a bottle of beer even though he already has one, excitement gleaming in his eyes as he tips both back to his mouth at the same time, and Emmett pulls out his phone, the sound of his fingers clacking at the screen filling this awful silence.
A horrible, high-pitched, dying bird type of screech filters into the backyard from Carter’s kitchen, and sweet Christ, what I wouldn’t give to get that awkward silence back.
“ Rosie’s ready to have sex
!” Cara shrieks from inside. “ Our sweet angel baby’s getting his dick wet
!”
“Jesus fuck—” I scrub my hands over my face and look to Emmett. “Does she ever, you know…not?”
He shakes his head wistfully. “Never. Never does she not. She always does.”
“When do you see her next?” Jaxon asks, reaching for Garrett’s Funyuns. Garrett glares, tearing the bag out of reach.
“Tomorrow.”
“And what makes you think she’s ready for sex?”
“Well, she…we’ve been…I mean, things have progressed, naturally.”
Garrett shoves a handful of his snack into his mouth. “Naturally.”
Carter tosses his cookie into his mouth. “So you w-icked ’er cookie.”
“I refuse to acknowledge you when you talk with cookies in your mouth and call body parts after them.”
“Meh meh meh meh meh,” he mimics, then tries to rip the Oreo pack out of my hand when I grab it. “No! You don’t get my cookies if you’re gonna make fun of me.”
“Carter,” Olivia warns from inside. “Share your cookies.”
His brows tug so tightly together with his frown as he relinquishes the cookies. It’s incredibly hard to take him seriously when he’s wearing that T-shirt, Support Your Local Girl Dads
stamped on it. He makes grabby hands at Emmett, who’s holding Ireland. “Gimme my baby.”
“No.”
“If I can’t have my Oreos, I need my princess.”
Emmett tickles Ireland’s belly, and she giggles around the silicone hockey skate she’s gnawing on. “She’s happy right here. Aren’t you, angel?”
The patio door slides open, Olivia stepping outside. Her gaze sweeps the patio before landing on Emmett and Ireland. “There’s my girl. I need to feed you, sweetheart, but I promise I’ll bring you right back to Uncle Emmett, okay?”
“I’ll be waiting.” He blows Ireland a kiss and leans back in his chair, crossing one ankle over the other, looking me over. “Back to you having sex.”
“You know she slept over for the first time last week. And she’s been saying…she’s been saying she wants this next time to be baby free. So I think…do you think…” I brace my elbows on my bouncing knees. “Does that mean…?”
The four of them leap from their chairs, high-fiving each other.
“ Ay-yo
!”
“There it is!”
“That’s totally the sign!” Garrett tells me, sinking back down to his seat.
Carter nods. “Ollie always says she wants baby-free time when she wants to go all night or get super loud.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Olivia growls from inside. “ Carter
!”
Emmett clinks his beer against mine. “Looks like you’re having sex tomorrow night, bud.”
“Tomorrow night? But that’s…so soon…and what if I…” My throat runs dry, and I lick my lips. It’s been so long. Too long. I’m out of practice. And what if I’m not good? I look down at my trembling hands and blurt, “My hands are sweaty.”
Jaxon watches me carefully. “So Rosie’s ready…but are you?”
Am I ready?
Nobody’s ever asked me that before. I guess…I guess I hadn’t really thought of it. I was never ready before, but then, none of those girls were Rosie. I just want to be enough for her.
I leap to my feet, knocking the Oreos to the ground, eliciting a gasp from Carter, who dives for them. I shove my fingers through my hair and blurt the first thing that comes to mind. “I-I-I…I don’t have any condoms.”
With his cookies safe on his lap, Carter runs a palm over his puffed chest. “I’d give you one of mine, but it’d be way too big.”
Olivia’s snort drifts through the patio door. “Carter, if anyone’s taught him the importance of wearing a condom, it’s you. Everyone here knows you don’t own a single one.”
Garrett exhales loudly, leaning back in his chair, kicking his legs out in front of him, resting the back of his head in his clasped hands. “I’d give you some if I had them, but Jennie lets me fuck her raw.”
“ Yeah I do, baby
!”
“Take that back,” Carter growls lowly.
Garrett tosses one of Carter’s cookies in his mouth. “No.”
Emmett puts his hands up. “Don’t look at me. Me and Cara are trying to have a baby.”
“What’s a condom?” Cara calls.
Jaxon sighs and rises, fishing his wallet out of his back pocket. “I got you, big guy. What do you need? I got ultra ribbed, bare-skin raw, G-spot—that one’s designed for her pleasure; Rosie’ll like it—magnum, banana flavored, fire and ice—”
“Why do you have so many?”
“You never know what she’s gonna—”
A loud crash ends his words, and we turn, watching Carter and Garrett wrestle on the grass.
“I said take it back!” Carter shouts, pinning Garrett to the ground.
Garrett rolls on top of him. “And I said no!”
“You stole my cookies!”
“Ollie said you have to share!”
“You can’t have unprotected sex! You might accidentally have a baby!”
“Proof I fucked your sister! And don’t call your daughter an accident!”
“Ireland, baby, Daddy loves you! You were a happy surprise!”
The patio door slides open, and Olivia, Jennie, and Cara step outside.
“Oh my,” Olivia murmurs, handing Ireland back to Emmett.
“Children,” Jennie mutters.
“I’ve got a hundred bucks on Gare-Bear,” Cara says. “Who wants in?”
“Not fucking me,” I grumble. Garrett’s grown a whole new set of balls since he and Jennie started dating. It’s a lot of fun to see him terrorize Carter. Also, I’ve learned not to bet on Carter. His wedding was a seven-hundred-dollar mistake I’m not making again.
“You look frustrated,” Olivia says as she takes a seat beside me, Carter’s lost box of Oreos now in her lap. “You know what’s great for that?”
“Sex?” I guess on an exhausted sigh.
She tosses a cookie in her mouth and winks. “Sex.”