The Vow (North Woods University 4)

“Well, um, we were just leaving…” I force my mouth up into a smile. Clark nods, and Emerson gives me a shy smile, her eyes not quite meeting mine. Tightening my grip on Lily’s hand, I pull her around Clark and Emerson, and toward the door. Rem questions me with a raised brow but thankfully doesn’t ask anything.

Rem and Jules say their goodbyes and promise to meet up sometime soon. Once out of earshot Lily whispers, “Do you think they remember me?”

All I can do is nod my head. I can’t lie to her. It’s not like we were doing something wrong, not really. Once outside, it feels like I can finally breathe, and I suck all the air I can into my lungs. I’ve just exhaled the breath when Rem comes walking up to me.

“What the hell was that? Why were you acting so weird with Clark and Emerson?”

Knowing damn well that I can’t lie to Rem, at least not successfully, I say, “They saw us… together, on campus.”

Rem’s mouth pops open, and his eyes narrow. He’s going to say something smart-assed, and then I’m going to punch him.

“You know Clark isn’t going to say anything, he is like family now. You can trust him.”

Okay, so I don’t have to punch him. At least not yet. I’m about to tell him that we’ll talk about this later, that I don’t want to talk about this in front of the girls. I don’t want Lily thinking crappy about herself or…

“They caught us having sex in Seb’s office.” Lily blurts out like it’s no big deal. Like a fish out of water, my mouth opens and closes, and then opens again. Did she… seriously?

Rem and Jules just stare at us wide-eyed for about three seconds before they break out into the loudest fit of laughter I’ve ever heard. Jules holds her stomach like she is trying to hold it together, and Remington wipes tears from his eyes.

“You should’ve seen your face. You looked like a dead fish.” Remington mocks, making a sad attempt at mimicking my facial expression from a moment ago.

“It’s not funny, asshole.” I slug him in the arm before averting my gaze to Lily to see if she’s okay. She looks, well, a little less worried and less like she’s carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.

“It kinda is.” Rem snorts.

“No, it’s not. What if someone else had found us that night?” I question annoyingly.

All he does is shrug, “They didn’t. It was just Clark and Emerson. No need to get your panties in a bunch.”

Shaking my head, I swallow down all my anger. I don’t have the patience for this right now. Rem doesn’t understand what’s at risk for Lily and me. He doesn’t know the danger that being together brings, and yet still here we are standing outside a restaurant together like two lovers. I want this with her, and only her. In that moment, all I can think is, if it’s worth it, I’ll find a way to make it work. I’m not giving Lily up. Not ever.

We part ways from Rem and Jules, and as I’m walking around the car to climb into the driver’s seat, my phone goes off. Without looking at it, I reach into my pocket and turn it off. I’m pretty sure I know who that is, and I can’t talk to the lady at the gallery right now, not with Lily here. I want to make sure I got her the gallery spot first before I tell her about it. Nothing like getting her hopes up just for them to be crushed later.

Climbing into the car, I wait until Lily is buckled up before pulling out of the parking spot. While driving home, I realize how happy tonight has made me. It wasn’t anything crazy, just a simple dinner with family, but somehow it was so much more.

Seeing the carefree smile on Lily’s face after we got all the awkwardness out of the way, how she enjoyed herself, felt good, and sharing her with the world, being able to kiss her and show everybody that she is mine, it felt better than I ever could’ve imagined.

“I’m gonna hop in the shower, and then we can crawl into bed,” Lily yawns as we enter the foyer giving away just how tired she is.

Once she disappears into the bathroom, I fish my phone out of my pocket and turn it back on. Excitement bubbles to the surface. I can call the gallery back now and surprise her later.

My excitement fizzles to disappointment as soon as I look at the screen and realize that it’s not a message from the art curator like I had thought, but a text message from an unknown number. Opening the message, my heart sinks into my stomach, bile rising up my throat. There are two pictures in that message, both of them are of Lily and me; one of us kissing, and the other is of us entering the house together.