Wild Card

by Elsie Silver

If you were a house, I would sage you.”

“Oh, tonight? Tonight is just our meet-cute. It’s the night we’ll tell our kids about one day. Remember?”

To the outside observer, it would appear that I’m staring at the guy I showed up here with. But they would be wrong. I’m staring at his dad.

I’m a bit stunned by him storming out, but Clyde doesn’t seem affected at all. Instead, he shouts after him, “Go look at something purple! It’ll help support your crown chakra!”

I scoff. “You know what, maybe I should just let you die.” “At least then I wouldn’t have to spend all my free time with a guy who cries as he masturbates while thinking about his son’s ex-girlfriend.”

“Gwen, I just want you to know that if I were you, I’d fuck my ex-boyfriend’s dad, and I wouldn’t even feel bad about it because that other guy sounds like a fucking loser.”

“Or what? You might man up and take something for yourself for once?” I snap. I take something for myself for once. My hands dart out and grip Gwen’s waist. “You know what?” I snarl, yanking her toward me, staring at her plush mouth as her lips softly part—no doubt to say something infuriating. But I don’t let her get a word in edgewise. “Fuck it,” I mutter. Then I kiss her.

“That he was a fool to let you get away. But that it was just as well because I could fuck you better.”

“It’s about fucking time, Rousseau,”

I don’t think he realizes how good he makes me feel in all the most simple ways. The way he mends my wounds without even trying.

“Gwen, baby, I need you to be quiet. You can scream for me later. But right now, I need you to shut your mouth and take this cock like the good girl I know you can be.”

It was only one night, but in an endless sea of nights that were only ever numb, she made me feel something. And that feeling has never left me. I’ve clung to it almost desperately. A beacon of light that has kept me swimming through rough waters.

It kills me that he’s had to learn that people give up on him, that they walk away or use him as a stepping stone to the next best thing. What’s worse is that he can’t see that he is the best thing for me. The one and only.

“You’re a fucking wild card. Unpredictable and never what I expect. You scare the hell out of me every damn day. But today more than any of them. Because I thought I lost you.” His voice cracks. So does my heart. “And I love you, and I hadn’t even gotten the chance to tell you.”

Always. I need you too. That’s why I’m never waiting on you. I’m living with you.”

“You’re my limes, Bash. I’m the tequila. You and me? We’re gonna spend the rest of our lives making margaritas, okay?”

I breathe him in. I breathe my anxiety out. I breathe him in. I breathe my doubt out. I breathe him in. I breathe my fears out. Because with Bash at my side, nothing feels as terrifying. “I’m never going to run again, okay?” I say, hoping he understands what I mean. I feel his head nod against the tops of my thighs. “Good, because I’m never letting you go.”

“I love it here,” she finally whispers. “It’s beautiful,” I reply simply. “No. I mean here. With you. This life. I love it all.”