This Is Love (This is, #3)

by Natasha Madison

“I’m going to make that woman mine,” I say to the universe and to whoever else is willing to listen to me. “She just doesn’t know it yet.”

“I think I caught something from the kids. I’m going to check my temperature right now,” I say as I go into the bathroom and get the thermometer. “Maybe I caught the bug.” “Yeah, the love bug,” she says, laughing, and I roll my eyes. “Can you be serious for a minute? I might be dying. Maybe I have a tumor,” I say. “You don’t have a tumor nor are you sick. You felt like that because you like him,” she points out. “I felt the same thing with Matthew.” “Karrie. Please, can we focus for one minute? I have to google what sicknesses are going around New York. Maybe it’s an epidemic.”

“Lady town? Is that what we’re calling it?” I turn and walk back inside with her following me. “Well, Disneyland is taken, so lady town it is.”

“Vivienne, one of these days, you are going to fall in love,” she says softly, and it’s my turn to gasp. “That is the most hateful thing you have ever said to me, and now you’ve put that into the universe.” I put my hands up, shaking. “It’s like bad mojo.”

“Are you crazy?” she shrieks, and all I can do is look at her. “You sent me a pet.” “It’s a fish. I don’t think it qualifies as a pet,”

“It’s Sunday. It’s a holy day.” “Holy day,” he repeats. “This from the woman who thought the church would burn down if she walked into it when we baptized the kids.” “I was just being cautious,”

you would be walking funny, too, if you got fucked by a baseball bat,”

“You’re wearing something, right?” he asks, glaring at me. “Like there is a barrier covering lady town.” Now it’s my turn to throw my head back and laugh. “Lady town is fully covered.”

“You are still running.” She looks down and then looks up. “He’s going to run with you; as long as you run, he’ll be there waiting for you. You can run from love, and you can run from him, but he runs faster.”

I want someone who is going to grow with me, someone I can turn to when I have a bad day. I want someone to share my future with.” I look down. “I thought that was where we were going.” She shakes her head, looking at me. “But I guess I was the only one in this,”

“You’re just going to let her go?” he asks me. “Just like that? So you don’t really love her.” “I do,” I tell him, running my hands through my hair. “More than I thought was possible.” “Then you fight,” he tells me. “You make her see what it is to love. You make her believe in love. You make her know that whatever she says, you just aren’t going to go away.”

“If you love her the way you say you do, you don’t just walk away from that. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing, Markos. If this is the woman who you want to do all that with, you don’t just let her walk away.”

“Love isn’t easy, but it’s so worth it. To stand there with your woman by your side,” he says, slapping me on the shoulder and squeezing. “It’s everything.”

“Vivienne Paradis,” I say to the universe, “I hope you’re ready because nothing is going to stop me from making you mine.” I say the words out loud, and I’m smiling now. “Let the games begin.”

“Mom,” he says. “I have many, which is why you will meet none.” “You know, your dick can fall off,” my mother tells him, and now my father groans. “If you use it too much, it can fall off. The skin is very thin.” “Can someone please stop her?” Chris looks at my father, then back at my mother “My dick is not going to fall off.”

“I will pay you money if you never say unlubricated sex again for the rest of my life,” Chris says to her and then looks at my father. “Do something, please.”

“What in the fuck is happening right now?” “He broke it,” I say, sobbing so hard that snot is running out of my nose. “Who broke what?” she asks, afraid to even come into the room. “My vagina,” I say, pointing at it. “My vagina is broken.” She looks at me shocked. “I can’t orgasm,”

“I love you,” she says. “Like love, love you. Like my world would shatter without you.”

“I knew you loved me. You were just scared.” She nods her head. “You can’t just walk away from me, Vivienne, because I’d follow you,” I tell her. “I’d follow you wherever you go. As long as I’m with you, everything is okay.” I smile. “I was ending it tonight, too.” Her mouth opens. “I was done giving you space. I was done with the games and showing you I loved you. I was done not waking up with you or going to bed with you. I was done with not telling you.”

“You haven’t been paying attention,” I tell her, and she looks at me. “I’ve been making love to you this whole time. Every single time I slid into you, I was making love to you.”

“I’m so, so happy for you,” she tells me and then looks at me. “You are glowing.” “Oh, that’s because we had sex before we came here,” I tell her. “Not because of the baby.” Matthew now groans out. “Matthew, how do you think we got the baby in there?”

You are going to go and get snipped.” I cringe at her. “Don’t talk like that. God gave me the gift. I can’t just give it back.” “God also gave you two hands. Do you want to only use those to get pleasure?”