“Shep,” Abby said, “it’s between Thomas and Travis.”
I nodded. If he didn’t tell Abby, he wasn’t going to tell me. “Okay.” I play-punched Travis’s shoulder with the side of my fist. “You feel better? Abby’s cool with it.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Abby said. “But I’ll respect it. For now.”
A cautious smile spread on Travis’s face, and he held out his hand to his wife.
“Hey,” America said. “Everything good here?”
“We’re good,” Abby said, smiling at Travis.
Travis simply nodded.
America looked to me, the ocean breeze blowing thick strands of her long blonde hair in her face. “Can we talk?”
My eyebrows pulled in, and she winced.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she said.
Travis and Abby walked down the beach, leaving us alone.
“I saw you with your parents. Looked like an intense conversation.”
“It wasn’t pleasant. They knew why we’d asked to have brunch with them and your parents. They asked me not to bring it up.”
“You mean, moving in together?” I said, my entire body feeling tense.
“Yes.”
“But … they haven’t heard what we have to say. I have points.”
“I know. But they’re focused on my grades, and they don’t feel like I’ll be able to work and keep a three-point-oh.”
“Baby, I’ll help you.”
“I know. But … they’re right. If I don’t have time to study, it won’t matter how much you help me.”
We had picked out an apartment. I’d already paid the money to hold it.
I frowned. “Okay, then I’ll support us. I’ll take a break from school if I have to.”
“What? No! That’s a terrible idea.”
I gripped her tiny arms in both my hands. “Mare, we’re adults. We can move in together if we want.”
“My parents won’t support me if I live with you. They said that, Shep. They won’t help me with tuition or books and definitely not living expenses. They think it’s the wrong decision.”
“They’re wrong.”
“You’re talking about quitting school. I’m thinking they’re right.”
My heart began to race. This felt like the beginning of the end. If America wasn’t interested in moving in, maybe she was losing interest in me altogether.
“Marry me,” I blurted out.
Her nose wrinkled. “Pardon?”
“They can’t say anything if we’re married.”
“That won’t change the facts. I’ll still have to work, and my grades will suffer.”
“I told you. I’ll support us.”
“By dropping out of school? No. That’s stupid, Shep. Stop.”
“If Travis and Abby can do it—”
“We’re not Travis and Abby. We’re definitely not going to get married to solve a problem like they did.”
I felt my veins swell with anger, the pressure making the blood boil in my face and compress behind my eyes. I walked away from her, folding my hands on top of my head, willing the Maddox temper to wane. The waves were slapping on the shore, and I could hear Trenton and Camille talking from one direction, Travis and Abby from another.
Kids with their families along with young and old couples were beginning to filter down from their rooms. We were surrounded by people who had their shit together. America and I had been together for longer than Travis and Abby, and Trent and Camille. They were either married or engaged, and America and I couldn’t even make it to the next step.
From behind me, America slipped her arms beneath mine, interlocking her fingers at my middle, pressing her cheek and tits against my back. I tilted my head toward the sky. I fucking loved it when she did that.
“There’s no hurry, baby,” she whispered. “It’ll happen. We just need to be patient.”
“So … don’t bring it up at brunch.”
She wiggled, trying to shake her head against my back.
I exhaled a deep sigh. “Fuck.”
America
“Happy anniversary to you,” I sang, handing Abby a card and a small white box with a blue bow.