Epilogue #4
It had only been a few weeks ago that he’d planned our date in the park under the stars with a picnic that was fit for kings and queens.
He’d bundled us up under fluffy blankets and wrapped me tight in his arms as we laid back against a thick oak, its roots cuddling us in for the night.
His laptop sat on my lap while I sat between his legs, and the movie that had been one of the many catalysts for our love played in black and white against a moonlit sky.
Third time being the charm, I finally watched To Have and to Have Not all the way through that night, nestled into the arms of the great love of my life.
“I remember.”
Ethan’s touch on the back of my neck swept down and picked up my hand in his, palming my grip gently. His other arm circled my waist, the heat of his hand a welcomed scorch through my dress.
Gazing down at me, he asked, “Do you remember the song we danced to that night?”
My heart swelled with a thousand butterflies at that point, ready to take flight as memories paraded behind my eyes of that magical night and that magical moment.
As the credits rolled on the movie, Ethan stood and held a hand out to me.
I took it, swooning as he played a song from his phone that had been in the movie.
We danced under the stars to a soulful cover of that song, and then we went back to my apartment and made love to it.
I threaded my arm around his body, erasing the left over space between us. Ethan’s heart drummed the most enchanting rhythm against my chest as I caressed my lips right below his and whispered, “Remind me.”
His soul sparkled in his eyes, and I thought and hoped he might kiss me even though we’d agreed not to. The corner of my mouth tingled as he laid his next to it, passing my lips. He kissed down my jawline instead—unhurried, savoring kisses—until he reached my ear, and there he settled himself.
And then we began to sway.
My body moved where his did, rocking side to side at a pace that lulled any remaining nerves jostling around inside of me to a dreamless sleep. Velvet purred through his voice as he hummed low and soft, a song straight from his lips to my heart.
Every now and again, murmured words of song would pass through his lips, clipped lyrics of hopeful love, and the title of the song, “How Little We Know.” I sank further into him, allowing only him and his golden voice inside my head as we swayed back and forth in the middle of the kitchen.
The memories of this night and this song were so sweet, and somehow his hum was sweeter, traveling through my head like honey, enriching the flavor of his love that flowed through me.
The occasional rough brush of his trimmed beard against my cheek as he sang was a sensation I was coming to crave.
I gripped him hard, overwhelmed by a rush of emotion that swept my head up in a whirlwind of easy love. Contentment.
Pure bliss.
Lips feathered a kiss on the rise of my cheek, pulling happy tears to fill in behind my closed eyes. Ethan moved to press his forehead to mine, rocking us slowly as his song came to an end.
“You two weren’t just being dramatic when you said soulmates, huh?”
Monica’s voice snapped Ethan and I out of our songbird trance, eyes finding my sister leaning against the wall, watching us both with an indescribable look about her.
Ethan stopped our slow dance, but didn’t release me more than enough to allow me to turn and face Monica, his hands still holding the curves of my waist.
“Sorry, we—”
“I don’t need you to apologize, Alice,” Mon said with a chuckle and a shake of her head.
“It’s something we’re working on,” Ethan added, digging his fingers into my waist for just a playful second, popping a fit of giggles from my lips.
“It’s kind of… relieving to see it in action, if that makes sense.”
Confused, I asked, “See what?”
“You two.” She gestured between us, a peculiar glint to her cool brown eyes. “You both said you couldn’t help but fall for each other, but seeing is believing in my book, and now I can see it. Ethan, you never danced with me, and I didn’t even know you could sing.”
Ethan shifted behind me uncomfortably, and Monica was quick to pick up on the weirdness.
“And I don’t mean that as a bad thing. I mean it as a good thing for you two. Plus, I hate dancing.”
That unraveled another small cluster of laughs from me, easing the atmosphere once again. Then Monica turned her focus to me, tilting her head to the side with a softness to her eyes that made me want to cry.
“You look really, really happy, baby sis.”
Elation lodged a rock in my throat, burning tears threatening to emerge. “I am,” I whispered, settling into Ethan behind me.
Mon smiled for me, truly and plainly content in that moment.
“Good.”
She moved her attention over to Ethan once more. “And I don’t think I even have to warn you that if you hurt her—”
“Never,” Ethan cut her off, hands squeezing my waist. “I appreciate the threat, but you don’t have to worry about that.”
Mon gave him a skeptical look, turning her chin up at him like she was observing him, waiting for him to crack under her scrutinizing gaze. When he didn’t, her mouth pulled a sly grin, and she stalked towards us. “Glad to hear it.”
Just before she brushed past us, she paused, eyes on Ethan. “And for the record, it never would have worked out between us. I hate men who can sing better than I can.”
She batted a wink at us both, and we three fell into quiet laughter as she walked away and out of the kitchen.
As she strode away, she took with her the compact ball of worry rolling around in my stomach.
She plucked it free from my body, lifting a weight off my chest, and I gulped down my first full breath of the day.
Just behind Monica as she passed by, an image caught my inhale mid-take, and it stuck tight, constricting my airflow.
Dad.
He was standing off in the background, only visible through the large opening in the wall that connected the kitchen and the dining room. Dad stood unmoving, face drawn stern and indecipherable as he stared at Ethan and I.
The front door cracking open with a ‘whoosh’ interrupted the moment, and familiar voices drew Ethan and I towards the source.
I dragged Ethan around the kitchen on a path that would avoid a meeting with my father, spitting us right out at the front door and in front of two smiling faces and one not-so-much.
“Alice, my love!” Mary exclaimed, pushing her newly cut bangs back on her forehead as she made her way towards me. She engulfed me in a sea of warmth and fresh-smelling flowers, like she’d rolled around in a meadow of daisies right before she got here.
I hugged her back just as tight, hearing Monica greet Stella to my right and Ethan welcome in Astrid to my left.
“Oh my god, you smell so good,” I mumbled into her shoulder, stealing another whiff of her perfume. Mary tossed her head back in laughter, and then buried her face in my hair in return, pulling laughter straight from my belly.
“Right back at ya, sis.”
“Gotta love those cherries,” a deep voice mused from just over my shoulder. A peeking smile from Ethan flipped my stomach inside out in the best way possible.
“Dear lord. You’re smitten. We know .”
Mary’s teasing earned her a playful shove from Ethan, who righted her back up with a bear hug, swooping her off of her feet.
A hand tugged at my arm, and I rotated just so to find Astrid’s beaming face. Bright purple hair stunned my eyes as I’d been expecting the platinum blonde from the last time we’d seen each other.
“Oh my god, you’re purple!” I laughed.
“Well, I’m Asian, but also that, yeah.”
Huffing a scoff, I pressed my fingers to her shoulder. “You know what I meant.”
She spun around and flipped her newly purple hair. “You like?”
“How can you look so good in every hair color? It’s not even fair.”
Ethan ducked next to me, his mouth and husky voice finding my ear. “I think you’d look sexy as hell with purple hair for the record.”
“Oh yeah?” I pivoted my attention to him, a smirk finding my lips as a blush found my cheeks. He nodded, a roguish excitement tugging at his features.
“Hey, hey, hey.” Ethan and I snapped our heads back to Astrid as she slipped an arm around my waist and lugged me into her side. “You get the rest of your life with her. She was right in the middle of saying hello to me. Think you can leave her alone for five minutes?”
The cheekiest of smiles broke out across his face. “Nope.”
Astrid’s eyes rolled, but the accompanying twist of her lips gave her away. Mary popped up next to her girlfriend, squeezing between her and her brother. “What am I missing over here?”
“Just your brother being obsessively in love.”
“Oh, I know.” She scoffed. “Get a room already.”
Ethan arched a questioning brow at me. “Is that an option?”
“No!” Joy bubbled up inside of me, popping beneath my skin like tiny fireworks as Ethan smiled a devilish smile.
He slid his arm around the other side of my waist, sandwiching me in between him and Astrid.
Mary joined in, looping her arms around her brother’s and girlfriend’s waists on either side of her, completing our circle.
The four of us held each other, grinning like idiots in our glee until Astrid leaned in some and spoke in a hush. “How’s it going, by the way? Are you guys the black sheep of the family still?”
I sucked down a deep breath and held it in. “Rough start.” Then Ethan’s gaze pulled mine like magnets, and I blew out a breath through tilted lips. “Better now.”
We four broke apart from our huddle a few minutes later, happiness settled like a campfire in my chest. Warm and mollifying. There was only one person I had yet to greet, and her stare finding mine across the room was the equivalent of throwing a bucket of ice all over my cozy fire.