favorite! I did it for you.”
“Just because I love them doesn’t mean I only want to listen to them at. Our. Wedding!”
“Exactly—our wedding. You sided with my mom and turned against me!”
“I was hormonal.” She shrugs. “You created this monster, not me.”
“I am so sorry I roped you into this madness,” I say to Sully. “They’re embarrassing.”
“Oh, hush. We’re not that bad.”
“You are pretty exhausting,” my dad chimes in.
“You stay out of this, Mr. Fun-Ruiner!”
I turn to my dad. “What’d you do to get in the doghouse, Pops?”
“Put my foot down and said there will be no chicken dancing. So, naturally, she’s pissed.”
“I’m not pissed,” my mother says, her lips pulling down. “I’m just…disappointed.”
“You haven’t been disappointed since the day you married me thirty-some-odd years ago.” He winks at her.
“Can you not?” Jonas says, gagging a little at the innuendo.
“Do you even know how long we’ve actually been married?” my mom says to him, ignoring her son.
My dad rolls his eyes, but there’s no real irritation in them. “Of course I do. You’ve reminded me every day since we were twenty.”
“Over thirty years?” Sully speaks up, obviously doing the math. I realize he doesn’t know much about my parents and their great love story. “And you got married when you were just teenagers?”
“Tell him the story!” Frankie says, clapping her hands together. “It’s so cute!”
My mother grins, patting my dad’s shoulder. “Yeah, Harvey, go ahead and tell them.”
“Ugh. Not this again,” he grumbles. “Okay, fine. We met at a convenience store, of all places. Letica had dropped a gallon of milk. I was lost in my own little world, just trying to grab my lunch and get out of there and back to the jobsite, and I slipped in the puddle.”
“Whacked his head on the shelf of chips when he went down and sent those toppling over too,” my mother cuts in. “I felt awful. He looked so pitiful just splayed out on the floor, unsure if he should grab for his head or his back first.”
“She just stood there, just stood right over top of me with her arms crossed over her chest, eyes narrowed like she was annoyed at me for slipping in the mess she made. Then she said—”
“You should really watch where you’re going.” My mother laughs at the memory, then shrugs. “What can I say? I lacked a filter.”
Sully glances over at me. “Now I know where you get it from.”
I tuck my lips together. “You love it.”
“I sure do.”
Hey there, butterflies. Good to see you again.
“After I finally got back on my feet, she offered to buy my lunch as an apology—though, I do want to point out that she complained about it the entire time.” My dad shakes his head. “Anyway, we’ve been together since. Can’t seem to shake the smartass.”
“Please, like you’d want to get rid of me at this stage. Who would put up with all your awful jokes?”
“I’d find a willing victim.”
I watch them go back and forth, an ache forming inside my chest.
I’ve always wanted what they have, something fun and supportive, something lasting.
Something real.
Can we be real, Thea?
Sully’s words from before echo in my mind, but I try not to cling to them, instead mentally insisting, It’s just sex. You’re getting ahead of yourself.
“They’re so in love,” Sully mutters from beside me.
I’m not sure he even realizes he said it out loud, but when he pulls his eyes from my bickering parents, goose bumps break out over my skin.
“Yeah, they are,” I say back, swallowing.
“I think I’d like something like that someday.”
My breath stutters.
The way he’s looking at me? It’s real, like I’m not getting ahead of myself.
It’s everything I want.
And everything that frightens me.
Slice Eighteen
Sully
There was no juju, no magic moment. Nothing special occurred.
It just happened.
I’m in love with Thea Schwartz.
I want her for real. For however long she’ll let me have her, I want her.
“You okay?” she asks when we climb into my truck.
“Yeah,” I tell her. “Why?”
“You just seem quiet.” She grins at her own words. “Aw, who am I kidding—you’re always quiet. Are you getting nervous about the wedding?”
“No.” It’s the truth, because being with Thea has become so natural I can’t count the number of times I’ve forgotten this wasn’t real. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“So you can get your signed football, right?” she teases.
“Obviously. Gonna be worth thousands one day.”
“What a gold digger. Only wants me for my famous connections.”
Oh, Thea. I want you for so many other reasons.
“Are you excited for