Page 146 of Bad at Love
He holds my face with one hand, running his thumb over my lips, gazing at me deeply. “I’m sorry if that was a bit rough.”
I break into a wide grin, still weightless and full of light. “I like it when you’re rough.” I pause and gently nip his thumb between my teeth for a moment. “I like it when you’re wild. I like it when you’re slow and gentle and whispering my name. I like, no I love, everything you give me Laz.”
He smiles softly and kisses me again. “I love you. Even more now than I did five minutes ago. I’ll love you even more five minutes from now. I will love you and love you and love you more and more and more. Until the end of the world.”
My heart swells, swells,pops.
Confetti in my soul.
I blink back tears.
“Promise?” I ask him.
“Promise,” he says. “Now let’s go get Noah. Poor kid is probably traumatized talking to Frank.”
“I don’t know,” I say. “He wants to be a rock star now.”
“Well who bloody doesn’t?” Laz asks with a roll of his eyes. “At least he has the hair for it.”
“Yeah, I told him to take up the drums.”
“I’m sure my mum is going to love that.” He laughs. “First Jane, now Noah.”
He opens the door.
We step out into the light.
EPILOGUE
LAZ
One Year Later
“To Have and to Hold”
“Didyou know that the worker bees can make a queen bee by taking any larvae and feeding it exclusively royal jelly,” Marina says.
“Actually, I did know that,” Scooby says smugly. “Did you know that honey is the only food that contains all the substances necessary to sustain life, including water?”
“Yes,” Marina says. “Everyoneknows that.”
Naomi puts up her hand and then raises the hand of Steve, the guy she’s currently dating and super into crazy PDA with. “Actually,wedidn’t know that. In fact, I never know what the fuck you guys are always going on about.”
“Hey, watch your language in front of the child,” I tell them, covering Noah’s ears.
Noah pulls away from me. “Stop it, you’re embarrassing me.”
“Stop it, you’re embarrassing me,” I mimic him.
“Guys,” Jane says. “Behave.”
“Bee-have you mean,” I say and wag my brows at Marina.
But despite the ever-persistent bee joke that I’m always dropping in her presence, I’m actually nervous as fuck.
Today is a celebration. Noah, me, Jane (who is visiting for a few weeks at my request), her boyfriend Ryan, Naomi, Steve, Scooby and Marina are all gathered on Venice Beach, blankets and towels and coolers spread out in the sand.
We’re here to celebrate Marina’s new book.
