Before You Go

chapter forty-six

Leon

"Well," Liz says as she pulls her jeans up. "I promised myself I would never do that again, but it seems as though I lied to myself."

I'm still laying on the rock, dressed but still coming down from my high. A smile creeps its way across my lips. "I'm assuming you thought a lot about that night while I was gone?"

"Stop laying there and looking so smug."

I open one eye, peeking through my lashes. Her cheeks are flushed and I know it's not from the chill of the rain; it stopped raining about twenty minutes ago. She's embarrassed I've guessed her thoughts correctly. "Is that a yes or a no?"

"Ugh," she groans, glancing at me. "It's a yes, okay? I couldn't stop thinking about you and that night for days, months, years." She pauses for a moment and mumbles something.

"What was that?" I grin.

"And I'm going to be thinking about these past experiences for the rest of my life," she says, sounding exasperated. "There. Are you happy now?"

"Smugly," I nod.

"Asshole," she mutters.

Getting to my feet, I walk over to her hand wrap my arms around her, burying my face in her neck. "You love me."

Liz instantly melts into my embrace, resting her head against my chest. "I do," she agrees. "But we should head back now. We're going to have to face this mess sooner or later. We might as well get it over with."

I loosen a shaky sigh. "James is going to murder me, isn't he?"

"I honestly can't say," she replies. "But if he tries to, I think Tenille's got your back. And so do I." She pauses. "Speaking of Tenille, were the two of you talking?"

"We were," I admit. "Sort of. I told her the real reason I came for the wedding a while ago. I thought she was going to beat the shit out of me, to be honest. But she was surprisingly supportive."

"Figures," Liz laughs. "I think she's wanted us together since the beginning."

"Well," I say, pressing a kiss to her temple. "She's been with us forever."

For a moment, we stare out at the darkening creek and forest. As we do, I let the memories flood my mind: the night I left, when I broke my ribs, when we planted to stonecrop. I can't believe we're standing here, together again. My dad also crosses my mind. He's going to be ecstatic Liz and I have made amends. 

"I'm sorry I ripped up the stonecrop," Liz whispers.

Her voice is shaky and I don't like it. Her voice only shakes when she's on the verge of crying. Concerned, I turn her around and rest my fingers below her chin, tipping her face up to mine. As I stare into her green eyes, I relish in the fact that I managed to outgrow her. For the longest time, I was either looking up at her or at even eye level.