After You (Because of You 2)

His eyes rake over my body lazily, a smile spreading across his handsome face. “God, you’re beautiful.”

My insides go soft and I sigh, pressing my body to his, winding my arms around his neck, and brushing my lips against his. “That’s much more likely to work.”

“Yeah?” he asks with interest.

“Maybe I’ll let you cash in on that bathroom quickie we never got around to at the last cook-out,” I suggest.

“Maybe we could never talk about that terrible day again,” he counters.

I smile, pecking him on the lips again. “Will Mallory be there today?”

“I don’t know. Probably. Are you still gonna be mean to me about it?”

I shake my head and hold up my left hand to show him my beautiful ring. “Nope. I’ve got this now; she’s the one who’s going to be mad.”

When we get to party, Cassidy immediately abandons us to go play with her friends. Her flag print dress goes flying as she runs, her long dark hair bounces, and her pom pom headband catches every glint of sun. I smile as Derek’s hand settles around my waist and he murmurs, “I maintain she looks like an alien.”

“The cutest alien ever,” I add.

All the same people from the pool party are at the 4th of July bash. I could still take or leave most of them, but Joanna is just as friendly now as she was the day I left Derek at the party. I don’t foresee close friendships developing with most of these women, but I can maybe see myself becoming friends with Joanna. I know Derek enjoys friends more than I do, so a life with him is going to mean more socializing than I’m accustomed to. Cassidy is the same way, so as the sole introvert in this family, I’m going to have to compromise.

She leads me to the food table so I can put down the giant bowl of watermelon wedges we brought. The cook-out is hosted by Simon and Sienna, like the pool party was, but today everyone brought a dish to share. There are sealed bags of chips, a clear plastic container of brownies, bowls of macaroni salad and pasta salad, and an especially pungent cake pan full of some kind of dip that turns my stomach.

Bracing a hand on the edge of the table, I close my eyes and will myself not to gag.

Joanna lightly touches my arm, her voice laced with concern. “Are you okay?”

“You didn’t bring that dip, did you?”

She glances at the dip. “That? No.”

“Good, it smells like garbage.”

Startled laughter slips out of her. “I thought it smelled pretty good.”

“It just smells… too much. I need to get away from this table.”

Tapping me on the arm, she says, “You know what’s funny?”

“Hm?”

Chuckling to herself, she says, “Mallory made the dip.”

---

After many hours of playing in sprinklers, running around with sparklers, eating grilled meat with summer sides, watching the men try to blow their hands off with fireworks they shouldn’t be handling while drinking beer, and socializing to the point of exhaustion, night has finally fallen. Now that it’s dark, Cassidy has made her way back to us. Derek put a blanket down on the lawn for us to sit on. I’m nestled between his legs with his arms secured around me. Cassidy plops down on the blanket in front of us, crossing her legs and putting her unicorn in her lap.

“Princess Purple is really excited for the fireworks,” she announces.

“Oh, is she?” Derek asks.

Cassidy nods, her pom poms bobbing on her headband. “She told me so.”

I smile as she starts talking to Princess Purple. Leaning my head back on Derek’s shoulder, I bend my head and pucker my lips for a kiss. He smiles and plants one on me.

“Kissing under the fireworks is pretty romantic,” I tell him.

“It is. I should’ve saved the proposal for tonight.”