Page 81 of Dark Consequences

“You’re right,” I say, agreeing with Alice.

“He’ll be a good father,” she says as if reading my mind.

I chuckle softly. “He already is.”

“I’ve never seen him so happy,” Alice admits. “I’m glad he found you. Both of you.”

I draw my knees up and rest my chin on them, keeping an eye on the pair. “I am too.”

“Are you happy?” Alice asks after a long, quiet pause.

Twisting my head, I look back at her and say automatically, “Of course I am.”

Her warm, dark eyes see past my lie. “You can be honest with me.”

I huff out a small breath. She’s not saying it out of malice but support, so I reward her with the truth. “Most of the time, I am.”

“And the rest?”

“I’m getting there.” Nodding in the direction of the beach, I add, “Days like this help.”

Alice smiles, and the only sign of her age is the tiny laugh lines that appear. “Good. Because you deserve it. Every bit.”

Holding the box does little to quell my shaking hands and frayed nerves. It’s a silly thing to be worried about. I know he’s going to love the gift. Unconventional sure, but to be fair, he gave me the severed, flaccid dick of my first abuser in a box.

So what is conventional or normal, really, in the grand scheme of things? A gift is meant to be unique and thoughtful, special even. And when I thought about what Raphael wants, only one thing came to mind. I’m just worried he’ll find it gross or something.

“Hey, what do you have there?” Raphael asks, coming up beside me and carrying two flutes of champagne.

“A gift for you,” I mumble.

“For me?”

I shrug. “Yeah, it’s no big deal.” Deflection 101, folks. If you pretend to make something not a big deal when it is, in fact, a big deal, then you won’t be disappointed when it turns out not to be a big deal.

“You don’t have a dick in there, do you?” He eyes the box as if measuring the sides to see if one would fit.

“Ha, ha. Maybe there is.”

Raphael sets the flutes down, and when he turns back to me, his eyes are dark with pleasure. He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me snug to his chest. Dipping his mouth to my ear, he says, “The only dick you’ll ever see again is mine,” and then he nips playfully at my neck.

I giggle and attempt to squirm away from his grasp, but he effortlessly pulls me closer and kisses me in a way that makes me wonder if I’m the air he needs to breathe.

“Fair enough,” I sigh out when we break apart.

“When do I get my gift?” Raphael asks, his eyes dropping to the white box.

“Midnight.”

He glances at the clock on the wall. We have less than a minute until the ball drops. Raphael hugs me close while the time counts down.

“Five…four…”

Turning into me, Raphael cups my face in both his hands. I was feeling nice and let him ditch the sling for tonight.

“Three…two…”

“I love you, Lily.”

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