Bitter

“You told me not to ask you, but I’m asking anyway. If I was never Jake’s wife, then what? Then what would you say?” I hold my breath as Reed stares back at me trying to decide how to respond.

“You want to know what I’d say?” he asks angrily as he takes a step toward me. “You want to fucking know what I’d fucking say?” he yells as he walks right up to my face.

“Yes!” I shout back.

He grabs the back of my head at the same time his arm swoops around my back, and then he kisses me so hard that it takes my breath away. His kiss is desperate and passionate, allowing me to feel all of his emotions at once.

He pulls back barely with his lips still brushing against mine. “Then I’d fucking tell you that I love you. I’ve always loved you. That I should have told you how I felt that very first summer Jake brought you around and you fucking wrecked my whole world.”

I pull his face back to mine and thread my fingers into his hair. He kisses me back for a moment before he shoves me off of him. “No! Fuck! Wren! This doesn’t change anything!” he yells. “I can’t let you give everything up for me!”

This stubborn bastard. I let out an annoyed sigh. “Tell me, Reed. Tell me what I’m giving up. My family? It’s not like they’re proud of me now anyway. My friends? Oh, you mean Jake’s friends? My only real friend is Ellie, and she sure as hell doesn’t give a fuck. My catering clients? I’ll do high school graduations or budget weddings until I can build my reputation. I don’t care.”

I take a step back and look him up and down and smirk. “Why are you letting what some asshole did to me ruin this for me? And why the fuck are you still letting Jake dictate what you can and can’t do? I know I’m not.”

He stares at me like he’s trying to decide what to do still. My smile grows as I outstretch my hand to him and nod. “Fuck ‘em.”

He doesn’t move at first, but then his lips twitch with a smile, which then turns into a full blown smirk. “Fuck ‘em,” he exhales before yanking me to his body and kissing me like his life depends on it.

He leans down and picks me up. I wrap my legs around his waist, and he walks forward until my back hits a tree. I run my fingers through his hair, scraping them against his scalp. I moan as his lips travel down my neck.

“Uh...Reed. Your dad’s car is still in the driveway,” I point out.

“Oh, fuck.” He pulls back and sets me on my feet. He lets out a long sigh. “I’ll get rid of him.”

I reach out and grab his hand. “We’ll do it together,” I smile.

He smiles and leans forward and places one more soft kiss against my lips before pulling back slightly. “I love you,” he whispers.

I bite my lip to hide my ridiculous smile and giggle like I’m twelve. “This is fucking crazy, huh?”

“Yes.” He doesn’t hesitate. Then he weaves his fingers through mine as we walk back toward the house.

We find his dad sitting on the front steps waiting for us to come back. I stop when we are still far enough away that he can’t hear us. I lightly touch Reed’s arm. “Maybe let me talk to him alone.”

Reed wraps his arm around my back protectively. “No fucking way.”

I give him a reassuring smile. “Let me do this. Go hang out by the water for a minute.”

He sighs because he knows I’m not going to let him say no. “Fine. But I’ll be right there if you need me.”

I nod, and he walks away. His dad stands as I walk closer. “Wren,” he nods.

I honestly don’t have the energy for pleasantries, so I get straight to the point. “I know this might seem strange to you, but I love Reed and I’m not going to give him up, especially not for the sake of appearances.”

His mouth forms into a thin line. “Wren sweetie, I know Reed has been there for you through all of this, and I think you’re getting confused.”

I take a deep breath because I know he’s not going to let it go unless he knows the whole truth. “Jake and I were separated.”

He gives me a confused look. “What?”

I sigh. “He moved out a few months before he passed. He was having multiple affairs.”

He still seems confused. “I don’t understand.”

God, why can’t his parents seem to understand that he could actually eff up sometimes. “Jake cheated on me multiple times with multiple different women. He moved out. I’m sad he’s gone of course, but I didn’t love him the same way. I didn’t even know what love was before Reed. And you can approve of it or not, but like I said, I’m not giving him up.”

He doesn’t respond right away, and I’m actually getting pretty sick of his family treating him like shit, so I continue. “And honestly, if you guys don’t want to be a part of our lives anymore, I’m not going to fight you on that, but I think you’re making a huge fucking mistake. You still have a son here with you, and I’d hate to see you fuck that up while you still have the chance to make things right. Either way though, I have Reed’s back in whatever he wants to do because he’s my priority now.”

I’m not really sure if I got through to him or not, but he just nods. “Can you please not go public with this yet? I don’t want his mother blindsided with this.”

I nod because I’m not really sure what else to say, and then he gets in his car and pulls out of the driveway. I’m not sure if it’s because I finally told the truth about Jake or because I’ve finally let go of caring about what everyone thinks about Reed and I, but my heart feels like it’s about to burst with happiness.

I need to get to Reed.

I take off running to the back of the house. I spot Reed standing next to the water. His body is tense as he waits for me. I feel the full blown smile on my face as I sprint toward him.

He must hear me because he turns around, but I’m already jumping up into his arms before he can react. He tumbles backward, landing in the water with me on top of him. I don’t care. I slam my mouth and every other part of my body to his.

He kisses me for a moment and then pushes me back and laughs. “What the fuck, Wren!” He sits up with me in his lap.