5 Years Later_a second chance romance novel

by London Casey

  He sniffled and let me go.

  I went right to Lily.

  I scooped her up and hugged her. I breathed her in. I felt alive.

  “Want to do something crazy with me?” I whispered to her.

  “Crazy? I think we’ve got that covered,” she said.

  “Then come for a walk,” I said.

  I looked back at Big Mike and gave a nod.

  I grabbed Lily by the hand and walked her out of the church basement. See, she had been waiting for me to propose to her. I took a week to just keep to myself, keep to Lily, spending as much time in my bed and in her heart as possible. I faced Alice. We cried. We were going to work things out. I hung out with Felix. I explained to him - man to boy - the truth of his young life. I wasn’t his father but I would forever love him. I would forever be there. I would forever take care of him. No matter what. I thought he wasn’t going to understand the situation, but you know what he said to me? He said he was excited. Because he now had an uncle. A father, maybe, and an uncle, definitely. Even if his father decided to stay out of the picture, nothing would change between Felix and me. The kid had gone through so much already. He was now talking and nothing was going to stop him from progressing even more. No matter what, he would always have a place in my heart.

  But all that needed to be put aside for a minute.

  I opened the door and saw it was raining. Perfect.

  “Hope you don’t mind getting wet,” I said.

  “I’m always wet around you,” Lily said.

  “You talk like that in a church?”

  She laughed.

  I started to run, Lily coming with me. The heavy raindrops splattered over us.

  I hurried around the front and up the steps. I grabbed for a bright red door. I couldn’t remember the last time I was actually in a church.

  I pulled the heavy door and pulled Lily inside.

  The door shut with a little echo of a boom.

  I hugged her and turned her back to everyone we knew. Alice. Felix. Her friends - Eve and Paige. Everyone from the diner she worked at. Prick, Big Mike, most of the people from downstairs. The guys from St. Skin - Tate, Cass, Maddox, and a few more.

  “Aiden…”

  “How crazy do you want to get with me?”

  “What are you up to?”

  I stepped back and reached into my pocket. I pulled out a diamond ring.

  Lily gasped.

  I took her left hand. “I want you forever. Forever. Whether my forever is five minutes or fifty years. And no more spending time apart. I want to marry you, Lily. I want to finally experience what forever actually feels like.”

  “Of course, I’ll marry you, Aiden. Yes. Yes. Please. Yes.”

  Everyone managed to keep quiet behind Lily.

  Because I wasn’t done yet.

  I slid the ring on her finger.

  Eve stood up and had a dress on a hanger.

  I reached into my pocket and took out two more rings. I showed them to her.

  “What are those for?”

  “Right now,” I said. “Let’s get married right now.”

  “What?”

  “We get married right now. And I promise you, if it’s not what you wanted, we’ll get married again. And again. And again.”

  “Aiden…”

  I kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, “Turn around, sweetheart.”

  She turned and when she saw everyone, she covered her mouth.

  “I know that’s not a wedding dress,” I said to her as Eve stood there with a flowery sundress. “But that’s the dress you wore when I had to leave the first time. And you never got that birthday dinner, Lily. So, I want to make that up to you. I want you to wear that dress and marry me. Then I’m going to take you to any restaurant you want.”

  Lily was in shock. I couldn’t blame her. But I wanted to show her crazy in a way that only we could define it.

  She looked at me.

  “You make the call,” I said. “We can wait. You won’t hurt my feelings. I just want you now and I want you forever. I’m done waiting.”

  “So am I,” Lily said. “Give me that dress. And you better have vows written.”

  I kissed her cheek. “Sweetheart, I started writing my vows twenty years ago. And I’ll keep rewriting them every day I spend with you.”

  Lily let out a shaky breath.

  It took quite a bit of sneaking around to pull it all off, but I did. And the wildest part was that Big Mike married us. He took some class online and was allowed to do so. I never thought I’d stand in a church, facing Lily, listening to Big Mike’s deep voice talking about me and Lily spending forever together.

  But that’s exactly what happened.

  Because life twisted and turned whenever it wanted to. But having someone like Lily by my side was the greatest offering life had ever given me. And I told her that. In my vows. Written with my heart and memorized by my mind. I told her plenty more, too. In fact, I told her so much, Big Mike had to cut in and remind me we only had the church for an hour. Everyone laughed.

  I told myself I’d continue my vows later.

  In a whirlwind of a day, I finally got what I always wanted, from the second I helped Lily off the ground when she was a goofy-looking thirteen-year-old and I was some punk wannabe bad-ass fifteen-year-old. Time did its thing and finally…

  I married her. I married my Lily. My flower. My forever love.

  Chapter 44

  (One Last Vow)

  PRESENT DAY

  (LILY)

  I was glad I didn’t have some fancy wedding dress. Maybe I’d regret the whole instant wedding thing someday, but that day was not today. Plus, the second Aiden ripped the dress off my body, I couldn’t even imagine what he would have done with an actual wedding dress.

  “Fuck, sweetheart,” he growled as his lips flirted just below my belly button. “I’ve wanted to rip that dress off you for a long time…”

  We were both a little drunk but a lot in love.

  I grabbed the sheets and felt my hips already shivering with anticipation.

  I put my head back and let out a much-needed sigh as his lips moved over my sex. Kissing so gently, his hands grabbing my legs so tightly. I was a molten mess, heat pouring from me.

  All I needed…

  I gasped at the first flicker of his tongue. Almost flirting with my body, cutting from the bottom to top. I crunched forward with a groan as his tongue curled around my clit. Then his lips collided together, sucking against me. My hips jumped off the bed as I cried out. Aiden brought his hands up my body, cupping my breasts. He pulled away from my body with a wet noise and then growled. He went right back to me, his tongue going wild. Any and every direction. My body quivering. His hands squeezing my breasts the right way. Everything in my body quickly connecting.

  “Fuck yes,” I whispered.

  I managed to get my right ankle around his body, digging my heel into his back. I reached down and took a handful of his hair, pulling him tighter to me. I started to rock against him, demanding more. We were synced up, his tongue working like magic.

  “Yes, yes, yes,” I said over and over.

  Aiden released his hold on my breasts and moved down, grabbing the sides of my body. His big hands, tightly gripping, with full control over me. He pushed harder between my legs, his tongue against my clit so rough it stole my breath. He moved his tongue down and thrust forward, entering me.

  I clawed at his head harder as I felt myself already starting to climax.

  Aiden moved his tongue up to my clit again and did not let up.

  As I came, I had to grab the sheets. My head fell back. I stared at the ceiling, listening to the sound of his tongue taking good care of me.

  Aiden eased himself away. By the time I was able to take a breath, Aiden was standing and stripping himself. I forced myself to stand up and stuck my hand down his pants. My fingers grazed along his steel-like shaft, tip down to root. I grabbed him and squeezed.

  �
�Hurry,” I whispered. “I’m aching for you.”

  “Trust me, sweetheart. We have forever.”

  Aiden kicked his jeans off and I had more than a handful of his thick cock. I stroked up to his tip and over, feeling how full and ready he was.

  He grabbed me by the hips and lifted me. He put me right back on the bed and started to kiss me. I tasted my own sweetness on his tongue. It turned me on even more.

  A moment later I felt Aiden nestling between my legs. That first initial swell of his cock as he broke me open, welcoming himself to my body. I groaned into his mouth as he sank deeper inside me. Before he could go all the way, he pulled back, almost out of me, held there for a long, torturous second, and then thrust forward with more force.

  I grabbed for his arms, feeling the hard definition of muscle. And that was it for me. I was in for the ride of my life.

  And not just Aiden fucking me, but every day, night, and moment in between…

  I was breathless as Aiden threw his arm around me and pulled me close to him. I felt his body, his muscle, the swell of his pulsing cock resting against my bare back. My body shivered under the covers. I stared at my left hand. I’d gone from no rings to two rings in the matter of an hour. A crazy hour, at that.

  “What are you thinking?” he whispered as he kissed my shoulder.

  “Still trying to figure out what happened,” I said.

  “You’re my wife now. Something we should have done a long time ago.”

  “So, what comes next, Aiden? We always seem to have something crazy happen and then we’re apart. And then it gets crazy again.”

  Aiden rolled me to my back and touched my face. “That’s the craziest part of this. That we’re together forever now, Lily. Nothing can get in the way.”

  “What about your stuff?” I asked. “The demon…”

  “I’ll take care of it,” he said. “And you’ll be there with me. But I need you to promise me that you won’t let it get to you. You won’t worry more than you should. You have a life ahead of you that’s going to be beautiful. And I get to watch it happen. I have one last vow for you, Lily. And that vow… is this moment. Right here. Us. Because this moment will never end, will always change, but I will never forget this moment, never take it for granted, and I will never let it go. Remember something, Lily…”

  Aiden kissed me. A slow and romantic kiss that melted through my body and made my toes curl.

  He put his lips to my ear.

  I could barely breathe.

  Then he whispered something to me.

  “… the love, lost, living in this place…”

  The lyrics from that song he wrote all those years ago.

  I felt my heart jump.

  He kissed my neck again. And again. Then one more time. I moved my right leg and tugged at him, needing him again. Aiden slowly moved his body to mine.

  He was the only person who could constantly make my heart race.

  I looked into his eyes and felt it. The it being something people spend their lives looking for. And I found it when I was so young. And I waited for it for so long.

  Aiden grinned, without saying a word, knowing exactly what I was thinking.

  I slid my fingers into his hair and dug my nails into his head.

  I pulled him down to kiss me. He thrust forward to have me.

  Finally. Together.

  … the love, lost, living in this place…

  Epilogue

  (Straight A’s)

  5 YEARS LATER

  (AIDEN)

  I got between the two guys and stood there like a dick, sipping my hot coffee.

  “Tastes like shit,” I said. “But that’s what you get for a buck.”

  “Who the hell are you?” the guy on the left asked.

  “Figure it’s easier to just stay cool,” I said. “I mean, bad enough we’re at war on the inside here. No need to bring it to the surface.”

  “What, are you protecting this guy?” the other guy asked.

  “No. I don’t know who the fuck you both are. But what you’re thinking? Not going to happen here. So, let’s do something honest. Empty your pockets. Shake hands. And then I won’t have to arrest you.”

  “Arrest us?” the guy on the left asked. “Who the fuck…”

  I stuck my fingers into my mouth and whistled.

  That’s when Breck climbed out of the police cruiser that these two morons didn’t see pull up. The guy on the right got jumpy and I grabbed his arm. I lifted my shirt and showed a badge. Yeah, my badge. Go figure. Working in law enforcement, right in the heart of drugs. Dealing with dealers, junkies, turf wars, suppliers, everything. Putting my ass on the line to help others. Now, I wasn’t exactly what you would call the most serious, though. I took a lot of heat and figured my position wouldn’t last all that long.

  “What the fuck,” the guy on the right side. “I’m here for a meeting, man.”

  “Me too,” I said with a smile.

  Breck strolled up. “What have we got here?”

  “I’m assuming this asshole,” I pointed to the guy on the left, “he has the cash. He didn't flinch. This asshole here,” I added, gesturing to the guy on my right, “he’s got the goods.”

  “Coming to a meeting with a supply,” Breck said. “If Big Mike was still around, he’d knock you out.”

  “Who the hell is Big Mike?”

  I grabbed the guy’s shirt. “The guy who saved my ass and a lot of people’s asses. You may not know who he is, but you will soon. Now empty your fucking pockets.”

  As the guy took out two small baggies, I thought about Big Mike. Life caught up to the big guy in a hard way two years ago. He was on the run after a young kid who was about to get shot for a bad deal when his heart tapped out. Here one second, gone the next. His last breath taken on the streets that he worked so hard to protect. I fucking loved Big Mike for it and I’d made him a promise.

  “Jesus Christ,” the guy on the right said. He started to cry. “I have two kids…”

  Breck slid the baggies into his pocket.

  “Then get your fucking ass in there and think about those two kids,” I said. “I’m going to be all over your ass now, man. So how about you give me your name.”

  “Jeff,” he said.

  “And you?” I asked the other guy.

  “Parker.”

  “Well, Jeff, Parker, let’s go have our meeting.”

  “That’s it?” Jeff asked. “No arrest?”

  “Not this time,” Breck said.

  He walked away.

  The fear on Jeff’s face was good enough for now.

  I took them into the basement of the church.

  They took a seat.

  It was a full house. Which was a good thing but a fucking sad thing at the same time. Not a single seat left, not even for me.

  But that was okay.

  I wasn’t there to sit and listen. I’d taken over where Big Mike left off.

  Yeah, it was my group now. My job to look after these people and help them fend off the demon that sniffed at our heels twenty-four-seven.

  I stood at the podium and looked down at a picture of Big Mike. Next to that was a picture of Felix. He was going to be ten. Straight As in school. A soccer star, traveling with an advanced team. He won a prize in science for some project that involved electricity that I still didn’t understand but was cool as hell. He looked like Alice and saw his father on the weekends. The relationship wasn’t perfect but it was something. For me? I saw Felix every day of his life. And the kid amazed me more each day. Next to that picture was me and Lily. From when we were teenagers. That first and wild love.

  I looked up at all those eyes staring at me.

  The eyes of those who needed me.

  I nodded and started my speech for the night.

  The hours just flew by.

  Sometimes it wasn't enough, but it had to be good enough.

  As I stood at the back table, stirring my coffee, feeling dead fucking tired, I stretch
ed my neck and hoped something got to someone. Whatever it took to keep someone strong enough to fight the demon.

  “Daddy!”

  That one word and that one voice changed my night and demeanor.

  I turned, leaving the coffee behind, and dropped to my knees.

  I looked at a beautiful boy, a perfect mix of me and Lily - her face, my nose, her eyes, my hair - as he came running at me.

  There was chocolate at the corners of his mouth and his smile was a mile wide.

  I caught Seth in my arms and felt a warmth go through me that was impossible to describe. He was going to be four this year. Amazing how quickly time flew by.

  I stood up, still hugging him, and watched as Lily waddled her way toward me.

  She had a hand on her swollen belly.

  “How are you?” I asked.

  “Tired.”

  “You’re crazy for still working,” I said. “You can cut down to part-time hours, Lily. You own the bakery. You don’t need to work like this. Not when you’re seven months pregnant.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she said. “Are you going to kiss me or criticize me?”

  I grabbed her and kissed her.

  Seth smacked our cheeks. “Gross!”

  “Gross?” I asked.

  I kissed his cheek. He giggled. Lily kissed his other cheek. He laughed harder.

  I saw people looking at us, smiling.

  There was something about innocence that we all wanted back. To not know, to maybe never need to know, to live in the simple world of a toy that made no noise, had no personality, and you were the one who created the world that toy lived in.

  Time forced us all forward, but we could decide which path to get on and enjoy the ride.

  “Are you almost done here?” Lily asked.

  “All done,” I said. “Who wants pizza for dinner?”

  “I do!” Seth yelled and threw his hand up.

  I put my hand to Lily’s belly. “How about my other son?”

  “Oh, trust me, he’s always hungry,” she said.

  I hugged Lily. I hugged Seth. I was hugging my unborn son. In the basement of a church where I’d found myself so many times, but never truly appreciated it.