Off Chance (Off 5)

I watch Flynn as he tends to my feet with a mixture of affection and morbid wonder. He is so caring toward me... always has been, and I wonder if this is because our relationship is new, or if this is the way it will always be. I wonder if I'm a novelty or I'm a potential permanent fixture by his side.

It's true... we've only been lovers for a few days, but we've had each other's hearts long before then. Flynn speaks to me like no other person ever has. I want to wrap myself up inside of him, but there are moments where I just want to go back to the way we were. It was so safe and I had expectations that he never failed me on.

But now... this new relationship is odd and I'm having a hard time trusting the feelings that come with it. The intimacy we've shared... the sensual knowledge we have of each other... it overwhelms and confuses me. He's exposed me to feelings I never knew existed between two people. He makes my body want things that it's never even considered before.

He makes me want more, and yet, I'm afraid the further I taste, the hungrier I will get. I'm afraid I'll become dependent on him, like my body depends on water to survive. And the scariest thing of all--the thing I fret about all too much--is that if this doesn't work out, and I lose him, then I won't survive it.

Nix and Emily walk in, interrupting my thoughts, and everyone breaks out into applause. Several waiters move into action, popping open champagne and passing it around.

When everyone has a glass, Mr. Burnham steps to the center of the floor and raises his glass to the couple. "Nix... I couldn't have picked a better man to entrust my little girl to. She's your problem now." Everyone laughs and Nix kisses Emily on the temple. "Emily... you do an old man proud. You've exceeded all of my expectations and you're going to make a wonderful wife and a loving mother. To Emily and Nix."

Every one salutes with murmured affection and we all take a sip of the bubbly. Emily's mom ushers us all to the dining table and we take our seats to start the wedding feast.

Reggae music is being piped in from somewhere and we're all on our way to getting drunk. Nix and Emily made their exit a while ago, and all the parents just left, including Danny and Ryan so they could get Amelia nursed and to bed. The only ones left are us single kids.

Flynn sits next to me, with his arm around my shoulder and his thumb rubbing my skin. Even with the monumental buzz I have going on, his touch manages to inflame me.

Cillian reaches over and pops another bottle of champagne. We're on our umpteenth one.

When he fills everyone's glasses, he sits back down and kisses Renner on her neck. "I hope we don't get so drunk I don't know what I'm doing tonight."

Renner pats his cheek. "You always know what you're doing, baby."

"TMI," Flynn whispers under his breath but I hear him and giggle.

Cillian stands up and wobbles slightly before he rights himself. "Another toast to Emily and Nix. That was a helluva wedding."

We all yell, hear, hear, and knock our drinks back, which really isn't couth to be doing with champagne. I let out a tiny hiccup and Flynn grins at me.

"I expected nothing less," Linc muses. "It was a helluva proposal."

"Oh, it sure was," Ever chimes in. "So romantic... I about died."

The look on Linc's face is adorable as he looks at Ever with undeniable fear over whether he can pull the same thing off tomorrow night. "Yeah, I don't know if I could ever be that eloquent," he grumbles as he stares at his flute.

"Well, if it helps," Ever says and then takes a small sip of champagne, "I'll say yes no matter what."

Linc's eyes snap up to Ever's. "You'd say yes?"

"Well, duh... why wouldn't I say yes? I love you, you big dummy."

"I just thought..." Linc says but then trails off, eyes still bewildered. I can see the wheels spinning in his head, wondering if he had just made a mountain out of a molehill.

Ever scoots her chair back. "Here... let's take the pressure off you." She hikes her skirt up, which luckily is long and loose, and still covers everything, and bends down on one knee in front of Linc. She takes his hand in hers.

Linc looks around at all of us, a near state of panic gripping him. I put the back of my hand to my mouth to hide my laugh and look over at Flynn. He grins back at me.

"Linc," Ever begins. "I lost you once, but then I got you back. I'm never letting you go again. There's no place you can hide from me, so don't even bother trying. I'm attached to your hip so you might as well get used to me. So in essence... what I'm saying is--let's get hitched. What do you think?"

With his mouth halfway open in amazement, Linc just stares at Ever. She watches him and when he doesn't say anything, she snaps her fingers in front of his eyes a few times. "Yo... Linc... want to get married?"

It is the most hilarious proposal I've ever heard of, made even funnier by the look on Linc's face.

Finally, a smile a mile long breaks out across his face. For someone with a gallon of champagne in him, he moves with amazing dexterity. He lunges out of the chair and picks Ever up around the waist, hoisting her high and spinning around. Her arms go around his neck to hang on.

She throws her head back and laughs. "Is that a yes?"

"Fucking yes," he yells out to the night sky.

We all get out of our chairs and hug the newly engaged couple. Linc gives me a resounding kiss on my mouth, for which Flynn pops him in the back of the head. We all have another glass of champagne and as we make small talk, Flynn leans over and rubs his nose along my ear. "All this romantic shit is making me horny as hell. You about ready to get out of here?"

I grip his jaw with my hand and push him back a few inches so I can kiss him. When I pull away, I say, "Oh yeah... I'm ready."

The day after the wedding has been fucking perfect and I don't want to go back tomorrow. I want to stay in this tropical paradise with Rowan forever. We spent the day lounging on the beach with frequent breaks back in the bedroom, where I made love to her over and over again. There wasn't a position we haven't tried yet but my brain is constantly working to figure out something new. I guess we'll have to just re-try all of those positions in new locations.

Rowan has taken the jump off the ledge and while I still see some uncertainty in her eyes, I'm going to continue to push her forward with me.

She's the one for me. I know it the way I know that fire is hot and ice is cold. While I wasn't necessarily a fan of her early proclamation that we should just be friends, it turns out that building the solid base of friendship was exactly what makes this so right.

"So where are we going?" Rowan asks me as I lead her down the lit path to the main resort building.

"Patience, o little one," I reply and squeeze her hand.

I lead Rowan off the path, through a small garden, and then we step out onto the beach. The moon is hanging low and throws a strip of white, sparkling reflection onto the water. The small dinner table is set to perfection with glowing candles, and just as Linc said, there's a bamboo tent erected over it draped in some white, frothy shit. I couldn't have dialed God up and asked for a more perfect setting.

Rowan stops and turns to look at me. "What's this?"

"Well, turns out Linc and Ever have decided to order in room service and 'discuss' their wedding plans. Plus, Linc wants to officially pop the question with the ring, but he figured a bed close by was a better setting. They offered this up to us and I hated to see it go to waste."

She releases my hand and walks forward to the tent. "It's beautiful."

Coming up behind her, I wrap my arms around her waist and lay my chin on her head. We just stare at the setup for a few moments, reveling in the magic of dinner on a secluded beach.

I release Rowan and pull a chair out for her. She sits down and I help her scoot the chair forward, which isn't easy in the thick, white sand. I take the seat opposite of her and pour us each a glass of white wine that has been uncorked and chilled for us.

Holding my glass up, I say, "To our last night in paradise."

She clinks her glass against mine and we take a sip, smiling at each other.

Rowan glances out over the water and then back to me. "This is sort of surreal."

"I know. Linc is a true romantic."

She laughs... and it's a sound that I need to hear for the rest of my laugh. "I meant this setting... not Linc's romantic prowess for dreaming this up. I mean... look at the moon, and how still the water is. We have candlelight and chilled wine. Who lives like this?"

"We do. Tonight... we do."

A waiter appears and offers us a menu. We chat about the wedding, and last night's surprise proposal by Ever. We place our orders... grilled prawns and saffron risotto for Rowan and steamed, Mediterranean sea bass covered in olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and artichokes for me.

The food is wonderful and by my second glass of wine, I'm feeling more confident in the things I want to say to Rowan tonight.

After she takes her last bite of food, she wipes her mouth and looks at me. "Thank you, Flynn. For insisting I come. I don't have much in life, and really could never afford to do something like this. I'll treasure the memory of this trip the rest of my life."

"It was my pleasure. I'm glad you decided to take the plunge."