I lower my head and nod. “Okay.”

“You know, there’s one thing left for you and I to talk about.” He squeezes my neck to get my attention, and I look up to meet his eyes. “I’m afraid I have to break up with you, Celia.”

I shut my eyes and turn away from the ache. Who would have thought those simple words could hurt so badly?

“Hey, hey, don’t you start crying on me again,” he says with a gentle shake of my shoulders. “You and I both know that part of our relationship died years ago. We just never said the words. I’m saying them now, and I want you to move on with your life without all this guilt. I want you to be able to love Cain without feeling like I’m an albatross slung across your back. I never meant to be your burden, Celia.”

“But I feel so torn, Lucas,” I cry. “How do I leave you?”

“You don’t. You’re still my best friend … my family. Cain doesn’t strike me as a man who would ever ask you to turn your back on your family.” He shakes his head and smiles.

I think about the type of man I know Cain to be, and without a doubt, Lucas is right. He let me keep his family even when I carelessly threw him away. He’d never make me give up my own. Seeing him with Audrey and Lucas today, it seems as if he’s already adopted them, his heart is just that big.

“I know you’re right. He’d never ask that of me.”

“See, you can’t get rid of me that easy,” he says with a laugh.

I rest my head on his shoulder and watch him feed the fish. “I’d never want to,” I whisper.

“You know, there’s someone out there for me, too, Cece. It just isn’t you—and that’s okay.”

He tears open the next sandwich, rips it in half, and hands me a piece. I take my half from him, and raise it in the air. “Here’s to first loves and last loves.”

He raises his sandwich. “Here’s to breaking up.”

We knock them together before taking a bite. “Here’s to breaking up!” I laugh and chew at the same time.

Cain gives Lucas a firm handshake and slaps his back. “It was good to see you, man. Same time next week?”

“I tell you what, it’s good to be seen,” Lucas replies with a huge grin. He looks my way and winks. “Next week it is. Take care of our girl, all right?”

“You know I will,” Cain replies, without an ounce of malice. They each love me in a completely different way, and I’m grateful Cain can recognize the difference.

Lucas and I embrace one last time, and even Audrey and me give each other a small hug. I can see the ice melting slowly on our relationship, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s been a rough few months without my best girlfriend.

Cain and I stand side by side as Audrey drives away, and I reach down and lace our fingers together. He gives me a squeeze, and I curl into his side.

“I’m not ready to go yet,” I whisper as I watch the car drive off into the horizon.

“We can stay as long as you like, darlin’. It’ll be you, me, and the lightning bugs.”

The night settles around us, and Cain leads me to the back of the truck and pulls down the tailgate. I hop up into the truck bed, legs dangling below me. I kick my sandals onto the grass and let the evening air cool my feet.

I nibble on my bottom lip, trying to keep the smile from curving on my traitorous lips. His hungry eyes devour me, only stopping when his gaze reaches my sparkly pink toenails. His hand wraps around the arch of my foot and runs slowly up the inside of my calf as he hitches my leg on his hip.

“Wait, I think we should—”

“Shh, not yet. I need to just…” Cain answers with a shake of his head. He reaches up and runs the tips of his fingers through my hair and around my ear. He traces down my cheek, neck, collarbone, and then finally reaches the center of my chest. He pushes the flat of his palm over my heart and exhales long and deep. He leans in close and runs his nose across my cheekbone. His lashes flutter closed, tickling my face. When he opens them again, the corner of his mouth lifts into a half smile, half smirk.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” I whisper back. I watch his every move with flushed cheeks and an overflowing heart, praying for him to close the distance between our lips.

The wind dies away, the stars stop mid-twinkle, and the moon shuts its eyes. The world holds its breath, waiting for the kiss that will finally free me from these chains. And when his lips touch mine, we all exhale.

“Speakers” by Sam Hunt

Present Day

I DON’T CARE how long she’s wrapped in my arms, and sealed to my lips, it will never be enough. The hunger for her is overwhelming. The languid slide of her tongue, the gentle brush of her fingertips, the erratic beating of her heart—they all intoxicate me.

“Wait, Cain,” she whispers between bruising kisses, a smile playing on her lips I’m so softly biting. She places both her hands on my chest and pulls away. “How did we get here?”

“I drove us here, woman. Now where were we?” I snake an arm around her waist and pull her closer. Her dress slides up her legs, and my cock gets just enough friction to make me groan in frustration.

She grinds into me and sighs. “That’s not what I mean. Lucas mentioned some lawyer? And he said you and Audrey make a good team. What have you two been up to? How did all of this happen?”

I guess we’re doing this now, then.

I push away from her and she whimpers, reaching for me. I shake my head and chuckle.

“Oh, no you don’t, Tink. You want to have this talk? I’m gonna need a little space to think clearly.” I grab my neck and take a moment to collect my thoughts. There’s so much I need to say. “This all started when Audrey came to my apartment the night of Alex and West’s going away party. I’ve got to say, she shocked the shit out of me. She apologized for interfering in our lives and promised to do everything she could to fix it.”

“I’m surprised you listened to a word she had to say. I know you two haven’t been the best of friends these last few months.”

“Oh, believe me, I made the girl work for it. But it took a lot of guts for her to come to me. She swallowed her pride and did what she had to do to help you and her brother. People make mistakes, but good people do what they can to fix them. Audrey did that, so she’s forgiven as far as I’m concerned.” I move closer to Celia, placing my hands on her knees. I look straight into her deep blue eyes, still swimming with unshed tears. “She told me you loved me … that she’d never seen you act this way before … not even with Lucas.”

“Yes,” she says simply, her expression telling me everything I need to know.

Just one word. How can three simple letters mean so fucking much?

“Then she told me about the about the last six years. You, your grandmother, Lucas—all of it.”

I wait for her to respond, but she stays painfully quiet. Her eyes roam my face for some clue of how I’m feeling. So I tell her.

“I was so hurt that you kept all this from me—that you thought you couldn’t tell me. It took all of my restraint not to drive straight to your house and lay into your pretty little ass. This entire time, I thought you were mourning a dead man.”

Her lower lip trembles as tears well in her eyes. “In a lot of ways I was. Schizophrenia took my Lucas away a long time ago.” She looks off into the distance and shakes her head. “I’m so sorry, Cain. I never meant to lie. I may not have been completely honest with you, but that doesn’t change what happened between us. I fell in love with you, no matter the unsaid details,” she explains with a frown. “I kept Lucas a secret for years, and thinking back, it’s hard to explain or even understand why I did it. That one decision caused so much pain. The only thing I can come up with is that I honored the Landrys’ wishes out of some misplaced respect for them. God knows those two don’t deserve any respect from me.”