Streams and Schemes

by Rebecca Kinkade

Until today, I didn’t know she could smile like this—and I’m done for. Fucking done for.

On the flip side, she knows exactly how much money I’ve siphoned to her over the past year. Even I can admit it’s excessive, bordering on lunacy. I regret nothing.

If it takes a little scheming to get her, I’m down to scheme.

“I never tried to hide it. I want you. I’ll strategize, I’ll scheme—whatever it takes. I don’t care if I have to play dirty to get you, Valeria.”

and oh my motherfucking lord, the man is licking me like I’m a paleta.

“Because I want you,” he answers, closing some of the gap between us. “Desperately. Obsessively. Direly.

“I have no doubt in my mind that I’m going to fall madly in love with you.”

I place both hands on her cheeks and tilt her head up, orienting her line of sight so she has nowhere else to look but my handsome fucking face.

Best I can do is live beneath her skin—in her heart and on her mind. Maybe if I take up enough space there, I can block out some of the pain.

“Lander, we talked about this. Punching isn’t your strong suit. Please stick to nefarious, underhanded schemes.” “If you insist,” he responds, smiling.

It’s a first for me, but I’ll let her be my first anything.

I love how she respects a solid scheme—because that’s my shit.

The realest and most unwavering love I’ve ever experienced is from the people in this room. There’s not a drop of shared blood between us, but fuck if this isn’t a family.

I think my life so far has been building up to my relationship with Valeria. Every awful thing I endured, every hardship I weathered, was the universe’s way of telling me I’d be rewarded one day. Get the bad shit over with, Lander, because once you meet that girl, it’s going to be so fucking good.

How could anyone see us together and not understand how much I fucking love her?

For a long time, the thought of ever giving myself fully to a man felt destructive. Now, it feels like home.

All that matters is having a partner who can help you take on anything. No puedo vivir sin ti. No quiero vivir sin ti.”

Because that’s what everyone needs, right? Love. Careers, legacies, expectations: In the scheme of things, all of us will spend the last twenty minutes of our lives thinking about who we loved the most.