Snapshot

by Kay Cove

There was some joy in my life, though. In Melody. In her beautiful son, Dex. I wish you could’ve met him. He’s your spitting image.

Is this guy the real family

And I’m sorry, but you have to be more resilient than that. You can’t win every battle.

Its not a battle its about right and fucking wrong bei ng treated lik a perdson isnt hard

“If the invitation was open…” My eyes drop to her stained bra top. “Then I’d tell you to take that off. Your shorts, too. Then get in my shower while I watch.”

“I’m nice… I’m not a saint. You’re standing here in your bra. Kind of hard not to notice.” “It’s not a bra. It’s a bralette,” she mutters. “Like a crop top.” I flash her a devilish smile. “All the same once it’s on the floor.”

Thats hot

“Yeah, I’m trouble. Feel free to kick me out.” His laugh tapers off to a breathy chuckle. “No, Trouble, that’s okay. I think I’ll keep you. I’ll leave you to shower in peace.

I feel like I was pretty clear. I don’t like the ocean and I don’t want to get scuba certified. My top five worst fears go like this: One, getting eaten by a shark. Two, getting bitten by a shark and then bleeding to death in the ocean. Three, being pulled to the ocean floor by a giant octopus and being squeezed to death. Four, getting eaten by a shark again. Five, getting mistaken for a seal and an orca crushing my bones like I’m a doggie chew toy.

“You can’t let irrational fear keep you out of the ocean.” “Oh, I can. And I do.”

“Funny, you’d think she would’ve mentioned it to me,” Denny mutters.

Funny sbe didnt

“I’m glad you’re home. It’s time to take your throne, and I’ll be right here beside you. If no one else, you have me. You’re not alone. You can trust me.”

I dont trust this woman

Okay, this is actually a good first step to opening this conversation. I won’t tell him about the leather cuffs and anal beads I have in the back of my closet yet, but I can tell him I am a sucker for cutesy names.

Fucking dead!

“No college degree, has never kept a full-time job for more than a few months, hates numbers and metrics, and has the attention span of one of the little fish in your tanks…so, yeah, twenty bucks an hour is solid. But money isn’t the want I’m talking about anyway.”

“I want to love what I do each day. You know the way you feel about scuba diving? Aren’t we supposed to feel like that all the time? Or is that childish, head-in-the-clouds thinking?”

I agree

It’s not like I’m not torturously tempted to yank her long hair back, tear her eccentric little outfits off, and bend her naked body over whatever surface she’d let me. I’d show her what all these clowns she dates are lacking.

Fuck tell me you will

“I’d offer to pay for you, but Pocket Protectors probably wouldn’t appreciate that very much.”

I love this man

She roars in laughter. There it is. My favorite sound.

Of all the people in my life, I know Denny and Lennox wouldn’t mix.

Thats not concerning?

“Then use it, Dex. I really wish you’d run these things by me first.” I raise a brow. “Run it by you?” I ask, lowering my tone.

Yeah i dont like this hoe

I’m a little surprised Dex hasn’t just offered me a job.

Since you say that

“You said his name.” His words seem to come out in slow motion. “What?” I ask, lowering my phone. “The night I walked in on you on the bed. When you…you know…you said Dex’s name.”

Oh shit

His laugh is thick and grumbly. The best sound in the world. It immediately lifts my mood.

They both say that

“I do. But you love them.” I tell her how I feel about her the only way I can. I get as close to the line as possible without crossing it.

Fuck babe lets cross it

For fuck’s sake. Some random dude stole my girl with a piece of fruit.

I want to smack him when he acts like this. It’s frustrating when he doesn’t understand how reckless his touches are. This is why I’m accidentally mumbling the wrong man’s name when I’m using my vibrator.

“You’re not really a hugger.” He stares at me, eyes wide and pleading like I’m missing the obvious punch line of a joke. “I’m a hugger, Lennox. You just never offer. In fact, you usually treat me like I’m contagious. I always assumed it was out of respect for whoever you’re dating.” Incorrect. It’s actually because I see his face almost every time I come, so I’m trying hard not to blur even more lines by touching him too much.

“I’m sorry. The whole point of resisting you was to not make your life so messy. But shit, since I’m screwing everything up for you anyway, might as well dive in.”

a new realization comes over me. Wait… Did Dex just say he’s been “resisting me?” What the hell does that mean? Are all these touches reckless for him, too?

Ok so we did hear it

If we’ve been feeling the same way for three years… What the hell, man? And then why is he telling me all of this now? Is it possible he’s been holding back his feelings, too?

He pulls out a faded folded bill from behind his ID, resting in the dedicated plastic compartment.

The money she gave him

“Wait,” I say with a chuckle. “You’re not giving it back? I could use ten dollars. You clearly don’t need it.” He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “No. Sorry. You can have literally any bill in my bank account except that one. It means way too much to me.”

All you have to do is figure out what you want from your life.” “That’s sort of the problem.”

“Yes. I’ll take the heat. And anyway, there’s the matter of your dowry we need to discuss. I’m not greedy. I don’t want their money. Just a few cows, an ox, and some grain will do.” She rolls her eyes. “You ass.”

I love him

Lennox should be mine. She’s actually moments away from being mine. Those lips belong to me. I lean in a little closer as I decide consequences be damned…I have to taste them⁠—

“Do you want this to be meaningful? You want me to tell you how I really feel about you? Because once I do, there’s no going back.”

Yes

“Trouble…my heart stops every time you walk into a room. I am fucking obsessed with you. I have been from the very first moment you showed up at my bedroom door and gave me that ten-dollar bill.” He reaches out to cup my cheek, running his thumb along my bottom lip. “But how do we make sense? My destiny is everything you despise. I didn’t know how else to keep you close except with…lies.”

I need a dex

“I didn’t know what you wanted.” I grab his shirt and tighten my fist, pulling him closer. “You. For three fucking years, Dex. You.”

Dex Six inches? Not even close. You’re going to pay for that, wife. Me I meant it as a compliment. Dex It was not. Now, you’re in trouble. Me My punishment?

Swoon

Dex I’m not waiting one more night for your sweet pussy, Lennox. You’re my wife. All mine. I’ll have you when I want, where I want. Clear?

Me Well Mr. Hyde, will Dr. Jekyll be joining us again? Or am I stuck with your dark side for the evening? Dex Depends. Are you interested in my dark side?

Yes

“Bite it.” Two little words I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.

You and me both sir

“I have every intention of being your last.” Wedging my hand between her thighs, I cup her sex. “This is for me and only me moving forward. I want you bare.”

“Does that feel like six inches to you?” “Maybe a little more,” she moans. “Maybe a lot more.” Bucking my hips, I give her my full length, enjoying the sound

“Here, sweetheart.” Hm, I like that. Sweetheart. Trouble. Baby. Len.

Need the nicknames

Grandma sets her wine glass down. “You love her.” It’s a statement, not a question.

“She’s a ferocious little thing. She’s so honest and earnest. Heart wide open all the time. She’s a philosophical genius and doesn’t even know it. Unlike the rest of us, it doesn’t seem like she’s alive to accomplish or acquire anything. She just exists to get to know the best version of herself. She’s brave because she’s completely unashamed to admit when she’s scared. Her honesty is addicting. I don’t know how to explain it…she’s changing my mind about everything. Maybe changing my heart.”

Love, love, love. Fight for it. Obsess over it.

“Ah, here,” I say, finding the image that’s paperclipped to a folded-up piece of paper. I carefully detach the flimsy half-picture of a woman sitting on a dock. Her back is turned, so all you can see is her feminine silhouette and long, dark hair hanging in a thick braid down her back. “Be careful, it’s delicate,” I say, handing the photo to Dottie. “My cousin Finn has access to the photo lab at UNLV, and he said he could restore it. But it'd be so much better if we had the other half.”

Its dottie

“No, I’ve looked. I think it’s with her. Daisy.” “What did you say?” Dottie asks in an urgent whisper. “Who?”

She wished she picked the daisys

I let you go in this life. But you’re mine in the next. I promise.

love is an innate force beyond our will and comprehension. It’s how the universe humbles the stubborn human race, hellbent on forging destructive new paths. Love is how the universe stays in control of our fates. Some people can see that and accept it. Others ignore it and let it slip right by, living half-lives.

Fucking lottery, Lennox. Good girl. You fell for a guy with eyes like a mermaid’s tail, a rock-hard body you can climb like a tree, and he knows his way around the kitchen? That does it. I’m convinced. There’s a God after all.

Obsessed