59. Leo
Leo
Lucy’s whispered, begging words send me straight to the edge.
I take a second to breathe, to soak in this perfect moment. I still can’t believe it’s real.
Lucy is my girlfriend. She has feelings for me, just like I do for her.
I lean back, breaking our kiss so I can look at her.
This beautiful, amazing woman who makes my heart beat faster with a single smile.
Something in my chest tightens and expands. It’s an intensity I’ve never felt before.
I swallow hard, then kiss her again. Then I thrust up into her once, twice, then three times…
Release slams through me. I groan into her mouth as pleasure grips my entire body. Every muscle tightens. My blood pumps hot, and my lungs expand.
And my heart…my heart feels like it’s on the verge of exploding.
I press my eyes shut, burying my face in the smooth, soft crook of her neck. I run my tongue over her satin skin and cover her in kisses.
“Fuck, Luce,” I mutter. “You’re perfect.”
I lean back, panting hard as I stare at her. Her sweet mouth curves up in the most beautiful smile. My favorite smile. The one where her eyes light up, and it makes my heart feel like it’s too big for my body.
I press a soft kiss to her mouth, then slowly slide out of her.
I pull off the condom and toss it into the nearby wastebasket. And then I grab her by the waist and pull her against me.
“I can’t believe we just did that,” she says, biting her bottom lip like she’s shy. “I can’t believe I told you to fuck me in…”
She trails off as she gazes around the dimly lit space. “Wait, what is this room?”
“My mom’s old office. She uses it for storage now.”
Lucy giggles, and I laugh too.
“Oh my gosh. I can’t believe I demanded that you fuck me in your mom’s office.” Her cheeks are bright red, and it’s cute as hell.
“Hey.” I gently grip her chin in my hand. “It was insanely hot.”
That shy look in her eyes fades, and she smiles.
“Don’t move out,” I blurt before I can stop myself. Crap. I shouldn’t have said that. We’ve already spilled our feelings tonight. I don’t want to overwhelm her…But I can’t help it. I want to live with my girlfriend.
She blinks at me. “You want me to stay?”
I nod. “I understand if you want your own place—if you want to be on your own. But if you want to stay, I’d like that. I love living with you, Luce. I love waking up next to you in the morning and going to bed with you every night.”
The most gorgeous smile spreads across her pretty face. “I love that too.” She tiptoes up and kisses me softly. “Okay. I won’t move out.”
My heart tumbles in my chest as I kiss her. We help each other get dressed, then head back out to the main part of the house where my family is.
My sister sees us and walks over to me.
“Don’t worry, Dad already left.”
I tense up for a second. “Good.”
Zoey walks off, and I notice Lucy’s focused stare on me.
“Are you okay after what happened with your dad?”
The concern flickering in her eyes sends a wave of emotion through me. She cares about me so much.
I nod at her. I’m not gonna waste one more second thinking about him.
“I’m good, Luce. I swear.”
I give her hand a soft squeeze. The worry in her expression fades, and I feel like I can breathe again.
When we drive back to Denver that night, she holds my hand the whole way home.
* * *
Lucy opens another box of her parents’ belongings.
She pulls out a rainbow tie-dyed T-shirt that looks at least three sizes too big for her. She smiles as she looks at it.
“What’s that?” I ask.
She holds it up to me, the look in her eyes warm. “My dad’s old shirt. He’d wear it in the spring and summer when he was doing work in the garden.”
I set aside the empty cardboard box I’m holding and walk over to her. I sit down next to her on the floor of the shed and kiss her on the cheek.
“It’s really bright,” I say.
“My mom would tease him for wearing it. It was an old shirt from college that he refused to throw away.”
She carefully folds it up and sets it aside, then looks at what else is in that box. Every day Lucy comes out to the shed and goes through her parents’ things. And every time, she’s a little less sad. She smiles more. She talks more too. Tells me about the memories they bring up.
I come out with her to help her sort through them almost every time she does. I don’t stay the whole time though. I want to give her privacy too.
I kiss her forehead and stand up to break down the empty cardboard boxes that have piled up.
I step over to the space heater in the corner and bump up the temperature.
It’s the middle of December, so winter is in full swing here in Denver.
There’s a fresh layer of snow on the ground this evening, and the temperature is well below freezing.
I’m in the middle of piling up the flattened boxes to bring to the recycling bin when I hear Lucy gasp.
“Oh my god…” She’s staring at a small stack of papers in her hands.
I walk over to her. “What’s wrong?”
She doesn’t say anything at first. I watch as she skims the text on the paper. A second later, she looks up at me. “I think this is my mom’s will.”
She looks back down at the paper, flipping through the pages. “I didn’t think she had a will.”
I look down at the document. “Wait, she didn’t tell you?”
Lucy shakes her head. “No. And I didn’t think to look for one when she died because it was so sudden.”
She’s quiet again as she scans the text. Her eyes go wide.
“No way,” she rasps.
She turns the paper to me, and I read it.
In the event of the decedent’s passing, possession of the property at 977 Pickett Street shall be inherited by Lucy Rebecca Bailey, beneficiary and daughter of the decedent, immediately.
“Oh, shit,” I blurt.
She looks up at me, her eyes big. “That means…”
“Lucy, this means the house is yours.”
She stands there, her mouth open in shock. “I can’t believe it. It’s really…Is it really mine? All this time, it was mine?”
I nod and cup her face in my hands. “It’s yours, Luce.”
Her eyes water, and her mouth curves up in a wobbly smile.
Lucy can finally get her house back. After two years of struggling, she finally has a home again.
A second later, her brow furrows and her smile fades away. “Wait, how do I even go about this?”
“What do you mean?”
“How do I get the house back?” she says. “Richard lives there. He’s been living there for over two years. If I go over there, even with my mom’s will, he’ll refuse to leave. You met him. You know what a jerk he is. He doesn’t care about doing the right thing.”
I’m quiet for a second. Lucy’s right. That asshole isn’t going to leave quietly even if she shows him her mom’s will. Even though she has a legal document proving that the house belongs to her.
Anger spikes up inside of me when I think about what he stole from her. How he stole her parents’ home from her and made her suffer for this long.
But then, a second later, realization hits me.
I grab Lucy’s hand along with the stack of papers and head inside the house.
“Poppy will know what to do,” I say as I walk straight to Nick’s bedroom. “Her parents are lawyers. She was gonna go to law school.”
I knock on his closed door. A second later, he answers.
He grins at us. “Hey. What’s up?”
“Can we talk to Poppy?”
“Yeah, sure.” He steps aside, and I see Poppy sitting at his desk, headphones on while working on her laptop. It looks like she’s editing a video for her YouTube channel.
He gently touches her shoulder. She looks up and smiles at him, then takes her headphones off.
“Leo and Lucy wanted to ask you something,” Nick says.
Poppy spins around in her chair and smiles at us. “Hey, you two.”
“Hey. Um, this is kind of a weird question, but do you know anything about wills or transfer of property when someone dies?” I ask.
Poppy frowns in confusion. “A little. My parents would know a lot more. I can ask them. Why, what’s up?”
I walk over and hand her the papers. “Lucy just found this in a box of her parents’ stuff. It’s her mom’s will. It says she left the house to Lucy.”
Poppy’s expression turns focused as she studies the text.
“That means legally the house belongs to me, I think?” Lucy asks. “My stepdad has to move out and give me the house back, right?”
Poppy looks up at us and nods. “Yeah. The house belongs to you, Lucy. Legally it’s yours, and he has to give it back.”
Lucy lets out a shaky breath. Her eyes are teary again. I give her hand a soft squeeze.
“I’m not a lawyer, but when I was studying for law school, I reviewed a whole section about estate law and wills, and this document would hold up in court,” Poppy says.
Lucy’s smile fades. “Wait, I have to take him to court? I…I don’t have the money for a lawyer though…”
“It’s okay. My parents are lawyers, and they have a colleague who just started doing pro bono work. I’m gonna call them right now and talk to them about this. They can help you.”
Lucy hugs her.
When they break apart, Poppy holds Lucy by her shoulders. “We’re gonna get your house back.”
She asks Lucy if she can take photos of the will to send to her parents. Lucy says of course.
Poppy calls her parents and walks out of the room to talk to them. Nick follows her, leaving Lucy and me alone.
Her eyes are still teary, but there’s a hopeful look in her gaze.
I hold her face in my hands. “It’s gonna work out, Luce.”
Her mouth curves up in a soft smile. “I hope so.”