41. Grae
Grae
Later
Two weeks away from her, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to die.
Once we were both medically cleared for travel, I finally convinced Alana to go to Japan with me.
Kyoto was awesome—otters, temples, cats, and Pokémon.
We went to Nara, where we were both aggressively attacked by deer, and spent a day in Osaka.
She declared it a draw, but there were other places we needed to travel to in order to see who had the best overall taste.
Then I flew to Seoul, and it was dull and boring without her.
I got a ton of work done and met a few of my dream clients, and the whole venture will be sure to bring me more time on the charts.
But I was counting the minutes until I could get back on the plane.
Even first class isn’t enough to make the trip home less tortuous.
I’ve got travel stank in every crease in my skin.
My only mission is to go home, kiss Alana, shower and fuck her stupid.
Maybe if we multi-task we can get some pregame action in the shower.
Finally, I drag my bags up her stairs and unlock her front door. She’s been staying at the house because it’s so close to Amanda. Plus, Midge likes it more.
“I’m home.” I drop my bags in the foyer.
Alana stands in her living room, wearing black leggings and a baggie sweatshirt. Excellent. No buttons to fight with, all for easy removal. I’m about to kiss her when I stop dead in my tracks. She’s twisting her fingers around and biting her lower lip.
“Don’t be mad,” she rushes out. Oh no. My brain flips through the millions of things that could be wrong, but I stop at number 176 because that’s when she speaks again. “I got you something, and I think I really messed up.”
Now I’m even more confused. “Whatever it is, we’ll work it out together.”
She dips her head and leaves the room. There’re squeaky noises that my brain places, but my heart won’t let it process fully.
She opens the bathroom door and comes out with a white and brown furry ball.
I stop breathing, and I’m getting dizzy.
The furry ball twists in her hands as she places it on the ground.
Two oversized triangle ears and short stubby legs scamper around in a circle.
“A puppy?” My knees shoot with pain, but I think that’s because my legs gave out as I hit the floor. Holy shit—it’s a corgi! She bought a corgi!
It hops around and runs towards me, barks twice and steps back.
I put out my hands, and its wet nose sniffs and pokes me before it runs back to Alana.
Euphoria isn’t the word—blackout bliss could be close.
Alana walks closer to me and the puppy follows, jumping into my lap.
He starts nipping at me and licking my face.
Big ugly sobs well up and explode out of my chest. “I love you so much.”
“Are you talking to me or the dog?” She asks.
“I don’t know.” The words break me, and I bury my head into its soft body. It squirms out and runs around twice, bouncing the whole time. “I don’t see the problem. Why would I be mad?”
The puppy rolls onto his back and I rub his belly. His mouth opens and his tongue flops to the side. A few seconds later Midge comes down the stairs. She meows at me and walks over for pets. “Did you meet your new brother?” I ask as she jumps on my lap.
“Yeah,” Alana lets out a deep exhale. “So that’s the problem.”
Midge pushes my hand off the puppy and swats at it with her tiny paw. No claws. But when the puppy crawls back into my lap, she seems fine if I’m petting both of them. The puppy yawns and does a circle resting his head on my leg. Midge curls up next to him and starts grooming him.
“She loves him. What’s wrong?”
Alana frowns and motions to the coat rack.
There’re two harnesses and two leashes hanging up.
“She loves him and that’s the problem. She can’t be away from him.
” Alana walks over and scoops the puppy and walks him into the bathroom, closing him behind the door.
Midge hisses at her and begins pawing and yowling at the bathroom.
This continues until Alana opens the door and lets the puppy back out.
Midge and the puppy tackle each other and run zoomies around the room.
“See… she’s miserable without him.” Alana moves her arms around wildly like this proves her point. The tears still streak my face, and I try wiping them away but more keep appearing.
“Babe, I need you to go really slow because I don’t see what’s wrong.”
“Midge is my cat.” Alana stomps her foot down. “She lives with me and we’ve been together way longer than I’ve been with you.” She crosses her arms and watches them play. “He’s your dog and is supposed to live with you.”
I blink at her a few times. “Soooo?”
She huffs and points at the animals. “It’s not fair to separate them.”
“And you’re upset because…you’re asking me to move in with you?” Maybe it’s jet lag and that's why it’s taken me so long.
Alana puffs out her cheeks and looks more annoyed than defeated. “You’re not moving in because I want you to, it’s what’s best for the cat and dog.”
I squint my eyes again trying to follow her logic. “Honestly, I’m not seeing a downside to this at all. I get to wake up next to the love of my life, and I get two fur babies.”
She frowns and stamps her foot again. “This wasn’t the plan.
I had one plan that I worked on for years and you fucked that all up.
I crafted a new plan while we were checking out of the hospital.
I figured we would date for like six months, then move in and eventually have a lengthy discussion involving lawyers and prenups. ”
My knees crack as I stand up and walk towards her with my hand on my chest. “Why, Ms. King, is this your way of proposing to me?”
“No!” She steps back but she’s too slow, and I grab her wrist. With one quick pull she’s in my arms and mumbling into my chest. “It’s just we didn’t discuss any of this and now I’ve got to speed up our relationship timeline, all because the stupid cat and dog fell in love.
” Her frustration boils over into an almost adorable whine. “It wasn’t part of the plan.”
“All right. Tell me the original plan.”
“Okay,” she says. “Step 1: The Four Families have been taken care of, and all of their enemies are gone, and everyone is in love and happy because that’s what Nonna paid me to do.
Step 2: When I’m well established in the Olympian Company, and left that life behind…
” She trails off. “Then, and only then, would I start Step 3.…” She gestures vaguely.
My heart lifts a little, my whole body dipping with the shift in her tone. “Oh.” I get it. My soul warms. “You were going to come find me?”
“Yeah,” she admits, like it hurts. “I would come find you at some fancy event, and one of three things would happen, and I played out three different outcomes.” I raise a brow, waiting. “First,” she says, ticking it off. “You’d be with someone else. And we’d just… have closure. Of some kind.”
“Second?” I prompt.
Her lips curl slightly. “I’d be wearing an incredibly sexy dress, and we’d have a night to remember. And then, once I found out why you broke up with me, I would ruin your life beyond all recognition.” She shrugs. “Which would be a super fun hobby for me.”
I snort. “Have you tried making crochet animals?”
She shoves me. “Or” she continues, rolling her eyes like she hates even saying it. “We’d move forward. You and I. And maybe finally… I don’t know. Have our happily ever after, I guess.” She shifts, clearly uncomfortable now.
“Well.” I tap my chin as I playfully say, “You nailed parts of that plan. We found each other. We did have an awesome night. And we learned the shitty truth about what happened twelve years ago. So… check, check, and check. I don’t understand why you’re upset.”
“It’s not done,” she snaps. “People aren’t safe yet, and there are too many loose ends.
” Her voice tightens. “And I’ve done terrible things.
I thought maybe in the deep, deep back of my mind, that if I fixed everything, if I got it all together, it would make up for my sins.
That I would deserve it. But now everything’s wrong because things aren’t going according to plan, and I...
” She cuts herself off, burying her face in her hands.
The dog trots back toward his crate, and Midge follows him.
“When you committed to that crazy, arbitrary fourteen-day countdown… what was the purpose of that?” I ask.
“Well you asked for a month, which was too long and too easy for us to fall back in love,” she groans.
“And I figured after our two weeks we could lay the groundwork for something later. Three, four years down the road. When the time was right everyone would be okay.” She exhales sharply.
“But in our current reality?” She throws her hands up, “I’m a freaking anime villain who’s been defeated by a twelve-year-old boy. ”
“What?” I blink.
“The cat,” she says flatly, pointing to the other side of the room. I follow her gesture. Midge has her eyes closed resting her body against the puppy’s. “The cat is what ruins everything. It’s the freaking cat.”
“Oh. Because you bought me the dog and Midge loves him.” I can’t hold back my smiles anymore. “Got it.” I squeeze her tighter. “Which anime villain are we talking about? Technically not anime, but… are you thinking Voldemort? Orochimaru?”
She sighs. “Voldemort was stupid.” She tilts her head. “No. I was thinking more like Crocodile from One Piece.”
My heart stops. My God she’s perfect! I pull her in and kiss her hard, pouring everything I’ve got into it. When I finally pull back, I’m still breathless.
“I love you,” I say. “With my whole heart. The fact that you are such a nerd—oh my God, I can’t even. You’re incredible.”
She blinks at me.
“I love you,” I repeat, softer. “And I need to spend the rest of my life with you. Plans, cats, chaos, random anime references, whatever. It doesn’t matter.” I cup her face gently. “You’re allowed to choose yourself. You’re allowed to choose your own happiness.”
Her expression flickers.
“If you need everything to be perfectly aligned before you can have that happiness…” I swallow. “It would absolutely destroy me to lose you again.”
“What if everything blows up?” She presses closer, her forehead resting against my chest, and I tighten my arms around her.
“Then I’ll take care of it.”
She looks at me, something soft and uncertain in her eyes. “Baby… I truly doubt you’d be able to handle all of it. Regardless of your… fighting ability that you think I don’t know about.”
“Okay,” I say quietly. I smile, brushing a thumb across her cheek. “Then if everything blows up… I’ll take care of you.” I put both my hands on her cheeks. “Have any of your plans ever not worked out?”
“Most of them do, it’s only the ones involving you that get all fucked up.” Her pout hasn’t disappeared, and it makes me want to taste her lips.
“How about this—how about we make a plan to love each other for the rest of our lives, and then take each day at a time?”
She relaxes and sinks into my body as she loops her arms around my neck. “Fine. But if anyone asks, it’s my plan.”
“Deal.”
And we kiss while both our minds race, our hearts give in to the inevitability of it all, and chaos dances at our feet.
The End