Page 74 of The Significance of Moving On

“Do it again,” she whispers. My girl, god, how could he do this to her? And on her birthday.

“You sure?”

She holds me as if she never plans on letting go and my T-shirt moves from her cheek pressed against it nodding.

I’m scared to hurt her more and I know denying her will hurt her more. What’s a man to do? Either way there’s a possibility of hurting her. I decide on the only real choice and bring my lips down to cover hers softly.

Her salty tears mix with the residue of cherry lip gloss. She opens her mouth to me and goddammit if I don’t want, no need, to taste more of her—this girl who invades my thoughts at the worst of times and consumes my being at the best of them—I taste her, and taste her again. Wefit. And this is every dream and every nightmare I’ve had since she woke up on my couch almost a year ago not wanting it to end, yet so scared it will. Every excuse I’ve ever given flies out the window with this one kiss. Every. Single. One.

“I got you a birthday gift,” I tell her once the brain fog has lifted.

A slight smile peeks at the corners of her mouth. Right as the big birthday reveal is about to happen, her day will be rescued,hestirs.

“Get your ass out.” I yell while my brother crawls toward the front door. One good kick to his backside sends the would-be rapist tumbling headfirst onto the porch. The deadly calm from yesterday returns with an intensity I never knew I held until this very moment. And what I tell him is absolutely true.

“Tal doesn’t want to call the cops but if you step foot near me or her again or I hear you’ve touched another girl—so help me—they willneverfind your body.”

I slam the door before he says something stupid, not that he’d be reckless enough to, and I walk back over to where Tally stands, arms crossed over her chest, watching.

“I hate him, Casey. I hate him and I’ve never actually hated anyone before.”

“I promise I won’t let him hurt you again.”

“You didn’t let him hurt me this time. That’s all on Daniel.”

Tears she’d managed to hold back finally break through, streaking the raw emotion down her beautiful face. Her eyes are hard and I know it’s not sadness but anger at him and at herself for letting him get to her, but Jesus, Tally wasattacked.

She’d have to be some kind of robot to not be affected by this. I hold my hand out waiting patiently for her to accept it, accept me again, but my girl bypasses the hand, leaping onto me, her arms tighten around my neck and I hold on… just hold on.

“Can I open my present somewhere else?” She cries into my shirt. “I just—I just have to get out of here”

Only we would do a birthday like this. I threaten to kill someone, and she wants to discuss gifts. “Don’t worry about it. Your presentissomewhere else, sweetheart.”

She’s cute when she’s confused.

I let her off the hook. “I booked us a cabin up by Indian River.”

“What?” She half screams, half shrieks but full-on squeezes me tighter. This feels right.

Tally swipes her thumb across my cheek. “Thank you,” she says… and kissesme.

I’m not surprised when she fights me about taking pictures of her injuries. I figure that maybe with a clearer head and a new perspective, she may want to file a report against Daniel. Astutely she sees that I’m not backing down on this one and she relents allowing me to snap photos from every angle. Then she showers.

Once she’s dressed and worked magic on her face covering up those black and blue marks, I lock up the house and lead her down to the pickup, holding open the door and helping her inside. I’m determined to salvage the day for the both of us.

We hold hands the whole car ride up. Three hours and this beautiful woman won’t let go. Only long enough for me to pump gas, but when I go to pay she hops out stretching her legs and linking our fingers once again. Being a hero has its perks. And I can’t get enough of them. Enough doesn’t exist in my vocabulary when it comes to Tally.

Staying in a cabin, we’ll need supplies, provisions. I turn up Barbara Ave. and pull into a supermarket. She lets me go long enough for me to run around and open her door. Then we’re joined again—an undeniable couple—Tally and I walk through the entrance of the store.

“Get anything you want,” I lean down and say in her ear. “Tonight, we celebrate.”

While I fill the cart with practicals like meat, vegetables, bread, milk and fresh fruit, Tal dumps in cheeses, crackers, cookies, tea and honey. Last thing I do is grab a cake from the bakery in back and some candles.

“You all aren’t from around here,” the cashier astutely notices as she rings up our stuff.

“No. We’re staying in the cabins for the weekend,” I say with a slight puff to my chest from getting to give this weekend to my girl.

“We have a sale on condoms,” she says back, pointing over my shoulder.

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