by Louise Hall
I look up at him, “if that’s true, why didn’t you come after me?”
He looks shocked and I almost want to laugh because if he really cared about me, he’d have fought for me. “Your family didn’t tell you?”
I roll my eyes because of course there would have to be more deception in this already sorry tale, of course there would be. “Didn’t tell me what?”
Zev grits his teeth, “I flew to Seattle the Sunday after you left, Lola. I waited outside your parents’ house every day for almost a week until your brother socked me in the jaw and threatened to call the cops if I didn’t leave you alone. He said you never wanted to see me again and that me being there was actually hurting you.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not,” he sinks down on to the couch next to me, putting his hand on my stump. “You can ask anybody: Rusty, Vada, Shanks, even Emmy but maybe you should ask your brother.”
Darn it, I’m going to cry and that’s the very last thing I want to do. I take a deep breath and channel my sadness into anger because that’s way easier to deal with. “Please could you pass me my phone?” I say as calmly as possible.
I know even before the call connects that Zev is telling the truth but the resigned sigh from my brother when he answers the phone confirms it to me. “Why would you do that?” I demand. “You heard me asking for him when I woke up from surgery?”
Zev’s hand tightens on my stump.
“You’re my sister, Lola. He’d already lied and cheated on you once. You’d just lost your leg. Did you really think that I was going to let him come back for round two?”
I grit my teeth because I might have lost my leg but it doesn’t make me weak. “That wasn’t your call to make, Mateo.”
I hang up before I say something I’ll later regret to my brother.
“You asked for me when you woke up, hot stuff?” Zev’s voice is extra husky but I can’t look into his eyes just yet. I’m too raw.
“Of course, you were the first person I thought of.” I place my hand on top of his on my stump. “I’m so angry with Mats. Do you know how many times I cried myself to sleep at night thinking that I was so easily forgettable to you?”
Zev drags me onto his lap and wraps his arms around me. “I couldn’t forget you, Lola. I love you.”
I take another large gulp of breath to fortify me for what I’m about to ask, praying to goodness that I don’t get hiccups. “What happened with that girl?”
Zev breathes out a deep sigh and I guess we’re both all about keeping the air supply moving. I rest my head against his chest and he strokes his fingers through my hair as he tells me about Sam and their complicated history. It’s like my aunt said about trusting my gut instincts about people and coupled with what my dad told me about what happened with him and Mum when she was pregnant with me, what Zev is telling me feel like it’s the truth.
“I never pitied you, Lola,” Zev insists. We’ve shifted so we’re lying on our sides facing each other on the couch. He still wears my accusations from all those months ago like an open wound.
“I know that now,” I say softly. I weave my fingers into his dirty blonde hair, bringing him closer until our noses rub together. “It sounds strange but after the first accident, I didn’t feel whole again until I actually lost my leg.”
“It’s beautiful,” he murmurs, reaching down to rub his hand over the stump.
He’s holding back, giving me all the power but I’ve been without him for so long. I brush my lips against his, shivering as his lip ring snags deliciously against my bottom lip.
I’d forgotten how his ocean-blue eyes have little flecks of green in them. His hand moves up from my stump to my hips and he gently flicks the dermals he put there.
“Stay with me,” he says, pulling me closer.
I don’t know if he means just for tonight so I joke, “I can’t exactly go anywhere with just one leg.”
He pulls back to look at me, his eyes are so serious. “I mean it, Lola. I can’t be without you again.”
I know what he means. I don’t even want to think about a Zev-free future.
“Is that really what you want?” I tease, stroking my hands over his jaw. “My sister says I can be kind of annoying after a while.”
He smirks, “you do have a habit of running away from me but I think I’ve found a way to stop that.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Mm,” he places a gentle kiss just below my ear. “I’ll just have to steal your prosthetic.”
“Hey,” I mock-protest, “that’s not nice. Besides I’m an absolute legend at sliding about on my bottom these days.”
“You might be good but you’ll never be better than me, I’ve had a lot more experience, hot stuff.”
I might not play football anymore but I’ve still got my competitive streak. “I bet I can get down the stairs faster than you.”
“What’s the prize for the winner?” he asks.
I tap my finger on my chin as he carries me across to the door, “the winner gets to choose the loser’s next tattoo or piercing.”
“It’s a deal,” Zev says, plonking me down at the top of the stairs. “I’ve always thought you’d look cute with a little ring right here,” he tickles under my nostrils, “like a raging bull.”
I scowl at him, “keep going like that and maybe I’ll choose something very painful and intimate.” I look down at his crotch.
He throws his head back and laughs, “who says I haven’t already had that done? You haven’t tried the goods yet, hot stuff.”
Has he really had his junk pierced?
I’m still distracted when Zev says go and he quickly goes ahead of me. I try my best to catch up but my gutter mind is still thinking about Zev’s junk. He must be able to guess what I’ve just been thinking about because he busts out laughing when he sees how dreadfully I’m blushing.
“You didn’t play fair,” I pout. “I want a rematch.”
“Nope, it was a one-time offer,” Zev chuckles. He goes into the back room and hands me my prosthetic.
I raise an eyebrow at him, “you kicking me out already?”
He shakes his head as he helps me stand up. “I want you with me because you want to be not because I stole your prosthetic, Lola.”
I wrap my arms around him, “I am, I promise.”
As much as I’m enjoying being wrapped up in Zev’s arms again, I’m still curious. “Have you really got your…” I gesture towards his crotch again, “pierced?”
Zev smirks, “you’re obsessed.”
I shake my head as I follow him up the stairs, “I’m curious, there’s a difference.”
ZEV
“Fine,” she huffs when we get back upstairs to the apartment. She looks so adorable when she’s pretending to be in a grump. “I guess I’ll just have to wait until we’re married to find out.”
I pretend I’m unaffected as I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her shoulder. “You want to marry me, hot stuff?”
She looks over her shoulder at me, “Meh, I guess you’ll do.”
“Come on,” I laugh, lifting her feet up off the floor and carrying her into the bedroom.
“I think,” Lola teases after she’s removed her prosthetic again and changed into one of my old t-shirts, “since you’re so hell-bent on protecting my virtue, maybe you should sleep on the sofa tonight?”
I strip down to my boxers, remove my own prosthetic and climb into bed with her. “Not happening.” I’ve been without my girl for way too long.
She rolls on to her side and I have to catch my breath because it’s just like old times but it’s a hundred times better because I’ve been honest with her about my past now. I fit myself around her and I’m almost asleep, thinking I’ve got everything I ever wanted in the world right now with Lola back in my bed, until she starts wriggling that cute little butt against me.
“Something wrong, hot stuff?”
“Nope, just getting comfortable.”
I bust out laughing, “are you using your bottom to try and work out if I was telling you the truth about having my junk pierced?”
She stops, “I might have been.”
I roll her over on to her back, our stumps rubbing together for a minute. “I’ve decided what my prize is going to be.”
“Huh?”
I flick my thumbnail over her dermals again. “Your next tattoo or piercing?”
“OK,” she says cautiously. I know she’s not exactly thrilled at the thought of having her septum pierced but she’ll go through with it not to please me, hell no but because my girl never backs down from a challenge.
I reach for her hand and rub my thumb over the base of her finger, “I’ll be a gentleman and let you choose between a piercing or a tattoo but I want it right here.”
She thinks about it for a moment, “tattoo. It’s too trendy to have a piercing there.”
“I’ll sketch something out.”
“OK,” Lola makes to roll over again but I stop her.
“Just in case you were wondering, that was me asking you to marry me, hot stuff.”
Her eyes open wide. “What?”
“I can’t exactly get down on one knee, Lola.” I brush a strand of inky-black hair away from her face. “But I’ve spent the last few months living without you and I don’t want to feel that empty ever again. I want yours to be the last voice I hear before I go to sleep at night and the first smile I see when I wake up in the morning; I want to make you laugh as many times a day as I can because nothing makes me happier than seeing you happy. I want to be your best friend, your lover, your husband and the father of your children, I want everything with you.”
“Sheesh, you’re determined to make me cry, aren’t you?” she whispers, a big fat tear trickling down her cheek.
“What do you say, hot stuff?”
She giggles, “yes, I’ll marry you.”
We kiss until our lips are puffy and sore. “Does this mean?” Lola asks cheekily, reaching down to lift the t-shirt of mine she’s wearing up over her head. “You’re finally going to tell me if you’re pierced down there?”
“Nope,” I press my torso to hers, not trusting my self-control enough to look down at my half-naked fiancée just yet. “I’m not going to tell you anything.” She pouts but her sneaky fingers are already tugging at the waistband of my boxers, “but I might just show you.”
LOLA
Yes, we finally do it!
When I wake up the next morning, I’m sore in lots of weird and wonderful places but I’m beyond happy.
My hand feels itchy so I lift it up out of the covers and there’s a red plastic ring jammed on my finger that I definitely don’t remember putting there.
At that moment, Zev pushes open the bedroom door so he catches me mid-scowl.
“You know most women don’t death-glare at their engagement rings.”
“They do if their fiancés sneak them on to their fingers in the middle of the night while they’re asleep.”
“You’re adorable.” He kisses the top of my head and before I can swat him, he runs around to the other side of the bed.
“You have to forgive me because I brought you coffee,” he smirks.
“This isn’t just coffee,” I take a deep breath, savouring the delicious scent, “this is Vada’s coffee.”
Zev climbs back into bed with me, “yep, I made a special trip. I figure it’s the least my gorgeous fiancée deserves.”
“Thank you,” I lean back against the pillows, letting the early morning sunshine warm my skin. “You do realise if we keep this up, we’re going to make Emmy puke every five minutes?”
Before he can answer, my phone rings. I look down at the screen and it’s Sierra. She literally never calls me unless it’s an emergency so I have to answer it. “I get to pick my own dress,” she blurts out before I can even finish putting the phone up to my ear.
“OK.” Either I’m sleep-deprived or she’s called me by mistake. “You do realise it’s your sister, Lola you’re talking to right now?”
“Duh.”
When I look over at Zev, he’s smirking. “Are you sure you still want to marry into this craziness?” I mouth.
“Emmy’s my cousin,” he mouths back. Yeah, he’s definitely got a point there.
I turn my attention back to Sierra. “Why are you calling to tell me that you get to pick your own dress? I would have thought at your age that you’re more than capable of picking out your own clothes although after seeing some of your selfies on Facebook, I’m extremely sceptical.”
Sierra huffs like she thinks I’m the biggest dumbass in the history of dumbasses. “I’m talking about for your wedding, you idiot. I’m your only sister so I’d better be one of your bridesmaids and I’m just warning you in advance that I’ll let you pick the colour but I’m picking the style of my dress. I’m assuming that you’re going to want to get married in Hawaii and so there’ll be lots of hot guys there and I’m not going to let you dress me in a sack just so you can look even more gorgeous in your wedding dress.”
When she finally stops to draw breath, I splutter, “how the heck did you know that I’m getting married?”
“I was listening in when your hottie fiancé called to ask Dad for his permission.”
“I can’t believe you still do that!”
“It’s really not that big of a deal,” I can tell she’s rolling her eyes at me. “So you agree that I can pick my own dress?”
“Yes,” I sigh because sometimes it’s easier just to agree with her. “If you haven’t annoyed me so much that I’ve kicked you out of my wedding, you can pick your own dress.”
“Excellent,” she giggles. “I’ve got to go but can you please not tell Mum and Dad that I called you and… congratulations, by the way.”
Zev’s still laughing when I put my phone back on the bedside table. “You don’t know what you’re letting yourself in for,” I groan. “Emmy might be a fire-breathing dragon but Vada’s her sister and she makes the world’s best coffee. I’m struggling to think of any redeemable qualities for Sierra right now.”
He’s still drinking his coffee and yes, I’m absolutely sleep-deprived because it only just hits me exactly how my sister knows that I’m getting married even though Zev only actually asked me a few hours ago. “When did you ask my dad for permission to propose to me?”
“Yesterday.”
“Yesterday? As in when I was still really angry with you, yesterday?”
“That’s the one.”
“How did you know I was even going to talk to you again let alone agree to marry you?”
“I didn’t, hot stuff. What I did know was that if I was lucky enough to get a second chance with you, I wasn’t going to make the mistake of letting you walk away from me again. I’ve spent the last few months without you and I never want to feel like that ever again. I wanted to do things properly so I called and asked your dad for his blessing just in case I got you back.”
“I can’t believe my dad gave it to you. Please tell me he made you work for it?”
Zev winces as if replaying the conversation in his head, “he definitely did. He also said that I should be thankful he wasn’t putting me through the same interrogation he got from your gran after he married your mum.”
I bust out laughing, “I think the fact that I’m not already knocked up might help matters.”
As much as we might want to stay in our perfect little Lola and Zev bubble, Zev has to work today and I need to talk to Mats.
“I really don’t want to do this,” I admit as we get to the bottom of the stairs. There’s still a lovely big door between us and the rest of the world, i.e. the Ink. I can hear Emmy and Shanks bickering on the other side.
Zev curves one hand around my hip, his thumb flicking my dermals and slides the other one into my hair. He presses me back against the wall and kisses away my worries. When he pulls back, I turn my head so I’m facing away from him and blink really quickly. I don�
�t want him to see how affected I am. During the horrible months that we were apart, I didn’t think I’d get to kiss Zev again.
He unlocks the door and then holds it open for me so I can walk through.
“What’s going on?” he asks Shanks and Emmy as we walk into the front of the shop.
“I need to check what appointments I’ve got booked for next week?”
“I still don’t know what you’re asking me for?” Emmy huffs. “I might be a woman but I’m actually a tattoo artist and not the office manager around here.”
“Lola would be able to find out just like that,” he clicks his fingers. “You need to get her back, Zev.”
Zev winks at me. “Yeah, about that…”
Emmy elbows Shanks in the chest, “ugh, you never listen to me, do you? We don’t mention Lola in front of Zev. It’s a sore subject for him. You know she was supposed to come by here last night.”
Zev coughs dramatically before they can dig themselves into an even bigger hole. They both look shocked when they turn around and see that not only am I stood right next to Zev but we’re holding hands. “Thank goodness you’re back,” Shanks says, “can you please tell me if I’ve got any appointments next Tuesday after six? I’ve got plans with Stace.”
I take a step toward the counter but Zev tugs on my hand. “We’re engaged,” he announces.
Emmy’s mouth drops open and I want to tease her that she’ll catch flies if she stays like that but I don’t want her to throat-punch me so I stay quiet.
Shanks just shrugs, “congrats, dude.”
“That’s crazy,” Emmy blurts out, “you can’t get married. You only just got back together.”
Zev narrows his eyes at his cousin, “I wasn’t aware that you were the ruling authority on marriage around here, Emmeline.” Yikes, he must be annoyed if he’s using her full name.
After I’ve helped Shanks sort out his appointments and got the deets about his new love, there’s still a weird tension between Zev and Emmy. I think it’s for the best if I leave them to sort it out so I get an Uber over to my brother’s house. I’ve got my own family drama to resolve.
