Chapter Twenty-­Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

Cecelia

W ater streams from Tobias's face as he triumphantly lifts the apple with his teeth. His eyes are dancing with victory as I clap for him while he shakes the water out of his hair like a soaked dog.

"Good job, King. Bobbing for apples, check ," I say through a laugh, "but you didn't have to put your whole head in."

He pats his face dry with a kitchen towel. "I don't see the point of this."

"Me neither, really. It's just a thing."

"I think we'll skip it next year," he says as he runs the towel over his neck, and my heart warms at the idea of another year. He tosses the apple onto the newspaper we have spread on the floor, just as my curious mutt interjects himself between us, dipping his snout into the large tin of apples.

"Non," Tobias snaps, and Beau jerks back before gathering a pile of pumpkin spaghetti guts in his paws and dragging it off with him.

"Ah, come on!" I cry as Beau tries to escape. Tobias manages to catch him, wiping his feet off before letting him out the back door. I trash the newspaper as Tobias lights the candles in our finished pumpkins. I walk over and click off the kitchen light as he sets the lid back in mine, and join him where he stands as we survey them both on the table.

"Well, I believe you win," I say, admiring his raven-littered pumpkin. "It's awesome."

"Yours is terrible," he retorts, looking at my gap-toothed jack-o-lantern.

Laughter bursts from me as I weigh his serious expression.

"All right, boyfriend 101, even if it's terrible, or I look fat in my jeans, lie to me."

"Now you want me to lie?"

"You are such an ass."

"Come on," he orders, picking up his pumpkin. "We have to put them on the porch to scare the bad spirits away."

Grinning, I gather my terrible pumpkin and follow him out to the porch. We sit them side by side in the freezing, star-filled night. Wrapping his arms around me, he pulls me back into his chest as we survey my front yard. The trees lining the driveway are nearly bare, but the view is picturesque due to the size of the yard and the distant moon beaming high above the field across the street.

"It is peaceful here, Cecelia."

"But?"

"No but, I have adjusted . Come on. It's cold."

Just as we turn to walk in, I see a dark object racing toward us and scream as it comes into full view, eye level, and hovers just feet away.

"Don't be afraid," he chuckles. "It's just Tyler, saying hi." He lifts his hand and flips him the bird.

"That's a drone."

"Yes."

Yeah, just your average, normal, everyday Halloween, Cecelia. But no part of me resents it.

"Since when do we have drones?"

"I told you."

"No, you didn't. I'm pretty sure I would remember you telling me we have drones. "

"Oh," he recalls, "I told your parents ."

"Well, it sure helped that they knew." I glance back at him, and he flashes me remorse.

"Sorry."

"This is a prime example of why you'll forever be in the doghouse, King." I turn back to where the drone is and wave enthusiastically to Tyler before I start to blow kisses.

Behind me, Tobias growls, before jerking me back inside the house and pinning me to the back of the door. He flips the lock three times, placing his palms next to my head, eyes narrowing. "You don't give those away."

"No?"

He jerks his chin. "No. Not negotiable."

"Such a jealous man. It's a good thing I don't want to kiss anyone else."

"Non?"

"Non," I whisper and bite my lip, anticipation thrumming through me when he lifts his finger, tugging it free from my teeth before running his thumb along it, his eyes pooling. He leans down and places a brief kiss to my lips, his gaze drifting down to my pajamas before he steps away.

And now I'm starting to hate my own flannels.

"What's next?" I ask, following him back into the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, after sharing a joint, caramel apples setting, we cue up Halloween and take turns shoving popcorn into each other's mouths. Amazed at the turn this day has taken, I study him through the flicker of tealights and the flashes of light from the movie. I watch him watch the slasher flick for the first time.

I'm his first girlfriend and his only love. The truth of that sinks in as I stroke his chest through his thermal.

Being a part of his firsts will never get old, no matter how big or small. It's painfully obvious he's missed a lot of living, and because of that, there's a sort of innocence about him that's still there, despite his age and the type of life he's led up to this point. It wasn't purposeful. It's just how it happened. And the truth of that is so alluring that I can't help but burrow deeper into him, pulling him closer to me.

He deserves this vacation just to be able to experience a little life without the club's expectations. The same way he did in those short months we were together, but even then, he was working. He's a free man now, and I'm determined to make it good for him. What he needs from me is so fucking simple. He needs me to assure him that it's okay to live for himself, for his own happiness, because he doesn't know what living is if he's not doing it for someone else. It's a habit I'll be hard-pressed to break, even though it's one of the most incredible things about him, but he's suffered enough for it. And in truth, it seems an unbreakable habit seeing as how he's done it most of his life.

But any small victory for me will be a sweet loss for him. However, in time, I will force him to make decisions based on what he wants—to be a little more selfish with his own needs. He runs his hand along the wings on my back as I press a kiss to his throat. His eyes dart to mine as the familiar serial killer track starts to play, his muscular arms tightening around me as he flicks his attention back to the screen and absently strokes me with his fingers.

Best Halloweenie ever.