The Wicked

I feel on top of the world as I flip my three-year sober chip over in my hand – three fucking years sober. It doesn’t feel real, it doesn’t feel like it should belong to me.

Me and a couple of the other members share a cup of bad coffee at the back of the conference room in the church and exchange contact information, then I send a picture of me with my chip to my sponsor in California and Logan.

A few of the guys at the meeting ask me for advice, and I do my best to give them my wisest answers, even though I feel like I’m still brand new at this. I think maybe it’ll always feel like that for me, like I’ll always be a beginner at sobriety.

When everyone breaks apart, I say thank you to the meeting leader, then walk outside to head back to the hotel. I’m thinking about going to the pool to do laps when I get to my rental car and notice Penelope standing against it.

I stop walking about ten feet away. “What are you doing here?”

Her green eyes find mine, and she brushes aside the hair that’s fallen into her face because of the wind. “Logan sent me.”

“What? You talked to Logan?”

“Yeah.” She chuckles. “Well, she talked. I didn’t say much.”

I take a step toward her. “And she told you to come here? What else did she say?”

Penelope shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter, but I need you to know that I heard her, and I’m here.”

My hands shake so I stuff them into my pockets as I move closer. “I don’t know what that means. Were you in that meeting?”

“Yeah.” She sniffles, tears filling her eyes. “And I heard you, too, H.”

A chill runs down my spine. “Please stop talking in riddles.”

She takes a breath, then stands up straight and crosses the small distance between us so she can put her hands on my face. “You’re my soulmate, too.”

“What?” I whisper in disbelief, my voice cracking with emotion.

She doesn’t say anything else, just leans forward and captures my lips with hers, kissing me hard enough that I almost lose my balance. Pulling my hands from my pockets, I wrap them around her waist and hold her against me, molding our bodies together while we kiss.

The wind blows her hair into my face, so I slide my hands through it and tangle the dark strands in my fingers. She moans against my tongue, and my blood speeds through my veins. Pulling back, I kiss her lips once more, then sigh in pleasure.

Her gaze finds mine, and I’m in awe. “I’m ready to take the leap, Hayden. It’s worth the risk.”

“You’ll come to California with me?” I ask, knowing I’m pushing my luck, but wanting to know the answer.

“Give me a month,” she says, biting her lip. “If we can make this work, I’ll move to California.”

“I have to go back next week, P. I can’t stay in Luxington that long.” I swallow roughly, scared that I’m going to say the wrong thing and chase her away.

She smiles at me. “So we’ll date long distance for a few weeks. If we can get through that, then we know we can do this.”

Pulling her body against mine again, I curl myself around her, dropping my face into her hair to breathe her in. This feels like home – this, right here – in her arms, my senses filled with her, this is my home. “I love you, Penelope.”

She nuzzles her face into my neck, breathing deeply. “I love you, too.”