Love Interest(101)
I hold up the story first because talking about the letter right now will only make me start to cry again. “This will create a shitstorm.”
Alex walks forward, shrugging. “It already has. I turned over my entire email exchange with Robert to Tracy Garcia before I came here. Plus, multiple board members called for a vote of no confidence in Dougie after Tracy broke the news to them.”
I balk. “That was fast.”
Alex nods. “A matter of hours,” he says. “I wish you could have seen the fallout. Obviously, the deal with Strauss is off.” He’s right in front of me now, hot breath ghosting over my cheeks. The cloudy sky has started to spit noncommittal slush. But warmth still blooms in the center of my chest, sliding through my veins and into my fingers, all the way to the tips of my ears.
“What will happen to you?” I ask.
“I definitely need to be fired,” Alex says softly, staring at my lips. “I’m shocked it hasn’t happened yet, but then again, I am in a foreign country with no functioning cell phone.”
I laugh, then abruptly stop when I realize: “The SEC is going to find you culpable of something,” I say. “Hopefully just compensatory damages.”
“Sounds like a good use for the trust fund.”
“What about BTH? All your hard work?”
“The work’s already been done,” Alex says. “That launch will happen under a new CEO. I’m certain of it.”
Slushy rain is turning his cheeks wet, but Alex looks unbothered.
“What now?” I ask.
My words break a spell, and Alex hauls me into a hug. His hand rubs soothing circles over the small of my back, coaxing me closer. “You tell me.” He sighs, and the sound unfurls along my neck and ears. “I’m far from perfect. I probably need therapy, and I think I still want to freelance wherever the jobs are. Hopefully here. All that said, you tell me, Casey.”
I breathe in his musky scent—like linens left in cold rain. It’s different from what it was when we first met, but better now.
His lips graze the shell of my ear, and I say everything I mean: “Be with me.”
We kiss like two starved and half-crazed wild things, so desperate to drink each other in that we both forget to breathe.
“Gonna take some time off,” he mutters, fingers in my hair. “Lawyers, probably, and depositions, plus apartment hunting, for you, and—hiking.”
“Hiking?” I gasp when his teeth graze my ear.
“Southern coast of England. I’m into hiking now, thanks to you.”
I try to smirk against his chest, but my body is pulled taut, my emotions as stretched out as a limp rubber band. “Hiking would be good,” I say lamely, trying to steady my breath.
He lifts my chin and says hoarsely, “Maybe our life together won’t ever be steady or sure-footed. But I will always come back to you. You are my North Star, my safe harbor, and I love you so much I could die.”
I stretch onto my toes and wrap my arms around Alex’s neck. “I’m proud of you,” I whisper to him. “I think you’re brave. I love you, too, and I’ll always be your home.”
“I’m sorry you had to think I let you leave without saying goodbye.”
I shudder. “You’re here now.”
“I’m here now,” he agrees.
His trembling fingers trace my lips in reverence, and his mouth parts open when he leans in to kiss me. The last vestiges of winter chill expel from my body the moment our lips touch once again. He pushes his mouth gently against mine, tipping my head back and pressing his arm into the small of my back. It’s the most romantic moment we’ve ever had. The rainy slush gets a bit more serious, but I can’t feel it at all. There’s only him, the perfect words shoved in each of our pockets, and a sense of calm that tells me we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be.
EPILOGUE
Behind the Zines: A Day in the Life of Casey and Alex
Did y’all see they’re dating irl???? There’s a reddit thread!
Alex WOULD be the type to want flavor added to his (iced) coffee (in the dead of winter)
The set of pink reusable utensils at Casey’s greenhouse (i.e., cubicle), and how happy she got when she showed them to the camera
I’m a sophomore in college and because of Casey I just changed my major from Economics to Finance. Love you Casey!
Did anybody see the SEC case against Alex’s dad??? Fckn wild!!!!!
* * *
Jack and Jill’s wedding reception is all soft pinks and royal reds, with tall flower bouquets and four open bars. A chandelier made of carnations is hanging over the dance floor, and a disco ball at the arrangement’s center spills light all over the refurbished Georgia barn while scorched cherrywood smoke drifts inside from the bonfire.
“This is different than I was expecting,” Alex admits as I cut into my beef tenderloin, served to me in my seat (fancy) by a waiter with a sparkly bow tie (fancier).
“What were you expecting?” I ask.
Alex pauses. “That question feels like entrapment, and I’m not going to answer it.”
I smirk. “Well, at least we’re in a barn. And at least there is a dude in a kilt.”
We both look over at the man in full Scottish formal wear: tartan, sporran, black knee socks, and all. One of Jill’s distant cousins, apparently.