Weightless (43 page)

“Is Willow still coming to visit you this summer?”

I grinned. “Yeah, she flies in next week. She’s supposedly bringing her flavor of the semester with her, so this should be interesting.” Willow was the only friend I still kept in contact with from Poxton Beach. Mason had checked on me after everything happened, but once he left for college and I left for Savannah, we lost contact completely. In a way, I preferred it like that. Poxton Beach was in my past — just where I wanted it.

Mom and William laughed as the waiter refilled our glasses. Lifting hers high in the air, Mom cleared her throat. “A toast,” she said. We all lifted our glasses to join hers in unison. “To survival. And healing. And family.”

“Cheers,” we all sang together. I clinked my glass with Lana’s and Mom’s first before ending with William’s. He held my gaze for a moment, and his eyes spoke more words than any toast could. The love I felt from those two jade irises astounded me sometimes.

As we sipped from our glasses, I couldn’t help but think about all the amazing things that had come from such a horrific experience. Dale was finally paying for the pain he’d caused so many women to suffer, William had his sister back in his life, my mom had finally found something she was passionate about, and I was following a dream I’d had no confidence in before.

Maybe everything really does happen for a reason.

I thought about that more as we drove home, the radio playing softly as William ran his thumb along the bare skin on my knee. We were both quiet, reflective, and I realized that in a way, I kind of had Mason to thank for bringing me to him. If he hadn't been my first boyfriend, my first heartbreak, I may have never found the courage or the motivation to take that first step into the Poxton Beach Country Club. And I surely never would have known what waited for me behind its doors.

Or rather, who.

Zipper jumped on me as soon as William unlocked the door to our apartment. His large paws connected with my shoulders and I braced myself against the wall in the foyer, kicking off my heels as he licked at my face. This was our routine, and it always made me smile.

“Hey, Zip. Missed you too, bud.”

He dropped back down to the floor and sat, patiently waiting as William shrugged off his suit jacket and slung it over one of our dining room chairs before grabbing Zipper’s leash.

“I’m going to walk him real quick and I’ll be back,” he said, leaning in to kiss my cheek. He lingered there for just a moment, kissing up to my ear before whispering, “Don’t get too undressed before I get back.”

I shivered, biting my lip as he pulled back with a wink and led Zipper out the door.

Tossing my clutch on the kitchen table, I grabbed my heels off the floor and slowly walked back to our bedroom, stomach full and eyes heavy from the night. I trailed my fingers along the wall of photos that lined the hallway, each frame filled with a memory of William and I. The first photo we’d ever taken together was there, the one we’d snapped that evening after he took me for the first time. It sat in the middle, surrounded by new memories, everything from our lazy Sunday picnics in the park and sweaty after-gym selfies to dressed-up nights at the gallery and adventures with Zipper.

A smile tugged at my lips as I dropped my heels into the bottom of our closet and unfastened my earrings. I didn’t even get the second one out before I heard the front door open and close, followed by a stampede of paws as Zipper ran wild once again. I tossed his bone onto his bed near the foot of ours and he flopped down happily, gnawing away with his tail still wagging.

“Let me help with that,” William murmured, sliding up behind me before moving the hair off my neck. His hand found the zipper at the back of my dress and he slowly guided it down, planting small kisses on my neck as he trailed it lower. I slipped out of the fabric, letting it hit the floor before turning and hooking my arms around his neck.

William’s eyes raked over me slowly and he shook his head. “You’re so beautiful.”

I smiled. “Thank you.”

I didn’t have to fight hard to believe him anymore.

I half-expected him to take me right then and there, but he let me go long enough for each of us to dress in our pajamas before we crawled between our sheets. Only William’s bedside lamp illuminated the room as he propped himself on one elbow, eyes pensive.

“What are you thinking about over there?” I asked, quirking a brow. He ran his free hand through my hair with a lazy grin before swallowing hard.

“I got you something.”

He rolled, opening the small drawer on his bedside table before shutting it again softly. When he turned back to me, he held a box I recognized — the one my watch had come in when he gave it to me two years ago at the club.

“You know my watch still works, right?” I asked with a smile, propping myself up against the pillows. “I just ran the battery down. Again.”

William held the box out anyway and I took it, eying him curiously as I opened it. When I looked down again, it wasn’t a watch at all.

“Oh my God,” I breathed, eyes snapping to William. “What is this?”

It was a stupid question because I knew what it was. It was a ring — a beautiful ring, slender and gold with an eternity symbol that linked two tiny hearts together. My eyes flicked between it and William over and over.

“It’s a promise,” he finally said, reaching out to grab the box from my shaking hands. He removed the ring, setting the box to the side before his eyes found mine again. “That I’m here. That I’ll always
be
here, through your dark times and your light, shouldering whatever weight you can’t carry on your own. It’s a promise that I’ll always help you feel beautiful when you don’t on your own, that I’ll hold you when you need to cry and spin you in my arms when you need to celebrate.” We both laughed a little, tears brimming my eyes at the memory of him doing just that in the middle of the gym the day I hit my goal weight. “And one day, when we’re ready, I’ll replace it with a ring that promises forever, even though you don’t need it — not really. Because the truth is that you’ve had me since the day we met, and you already have my forever… if you want it.”

He held the ring out, eyes on mine, waiting. But I didn’t hesitate. I extended my hand, fingers spread wide, and he slipped it over the knuckle of the ring finger on my right hand with a sigh.

“Do you even have to ask?” I slid my hand into his, index finger pressing against the small tattooed circle on the inside of his wrist. He did the same, finding the matching circle on my wrist as I whispered what we both knew all along. “I want all of you, William.”

He answered me with a kiss, his hands finding my hair as he rolled over, my thighs framing his strong middle as he pressed me into the sheets. Sometimes he still kissed me like it hurt him, like he was afraid he’d hurt
me
, and this was one of those times. But eventually, the crease between his brows faded, each new touch and kiss erasing it slowly. He kissed me until I felt beautiful and I kissed him until he felt worthy, and we never cared how long it took to get us there.

I’ve always hated weight.

Before I met William, I hated the weight that crowded my body, making me feel inadequate in every aspect of my life. Then, when I first started training with him, he pushed me harder than anyone ever had. Whenever I thought I was finally rising to meet his standards, he would add more weight to my set, making me work harder, forcing me to find the motivation to push through.

And maybe that’s the thing about weight — though it hurts when we feel its added pressure on our lives, it only makes us stronger in the end. Looking at William now, I couldn’t imagine him without the weight that had shaped him. His past made him into the man I loved — no matter how scarred. He was the man who fixed me, who changed me, and who helped me carry my own weight when it grew too heavy to handle on my own.

I was beginning to realize that weight really wasn’t a bad thing, after all.

This is always the hardest part, because the truth is there are too many people in my life to thank for getting me to where I am today in my writing journey. I’d love nothing more than to just gather all of you around a fire with a cooler full of beer and tell you how much I love you, but for now, a few sentences will have to do.

Ryan — AKA Hubs — AKA hot bearded man who keeps me going when it feels impossible to do. Thank you for being my William, my never-ending stream of support, the trainer in my ear telling me I can do it. Thanks for the late night dinners and foiled weekend plans when writing deadlines snuck up on me. This book is the most difficult book I’ve written thus far, and I couldn’t have done it without you. I love you.

This book would have been dead and buried in an RIP file on my hard drive if it weren’t for Staci Brillhart, who has become one of my very best friends in the short year we’ve known each other. You will forever be the Hype Man to my Polly Pocket, and I can never truly thank you enough for helping me elevate this book to the next level. #JuiceBoxHero

Becca Hensley Mysoor, you helped me build Weightless up from a little tiny outline. You saved the ending, but more than that you saved me from my crippling self-doubt. Thank you for your love and your friendship — both which are invaluable and cherished more than you know.

To my lifelong best friend Sasha Whittington, thank you once again for reading my work in every stage along the way and helping me make it better. I’ve written you into every acknowledgement I’ve had and I know you’ll be in every single one until the day I stop writing because you’re not just my best friend, but my biggest fan, too. Now, prepare yourself — we’ve got a big job ahead of us with this next one. ;) #ALLTW

A big shout out goes out to the Circle of Trust — Erin Spencer, Cassie Graham, Ashlei Davison and Jess Vogel for beta reading, helping me choose teasers, saving me on the late nights when I felt like quitting and always knowing how to make me laugh. I love you all so much it hurts and I can’t imagine doing this without you.

Momma, thank you for letting me stay up past my bedtime to read Harry Potter and for not judging me when I majored in Creative Writing. You will forever be my biggest inspiration and the wind beneath my wings.

Brittainy C. Cherry, thank you for breathing confidence back into me with every message you sent as you read Weightless. Thank you for believing in me, for sharing my work, for loving my words and for being literally the best human being I know. Period. My life wouldn't be as bright without you.

A HUGE, special shout out goes to Angie Doyle McKeon for being the best damn Bumble Bee to ever buzz around in the land of lifeless flowers. You bring life and color to everything and everyone you touch and I appreciate your support and love more than you know.

To the rest of the beta readers — Kellee, Sahar, Novo, Monique, Trish (Queen Mintness), Maegan, and Tina, thank you for petting my hair and helping me whip this thing into submission. You’re the best ride or die team and I’m so thankful for each and every one of you.

Kash Monay and Elaine Hudson York — thanks for editing and formatting Weightless to perfection. Now it’s pretty inside and out, and it’s all thanks to you two.

Two the two groups who keep me going — Tribe and
Kandiland
— thank you for the daily posts and messages, the support, the love, the giggles, the whiskey, and everything in-between. I’m convinced that I’m the luckiest writer because I have y’all, and I hope the day never comes where I learn what it is to do this without you in my corner.

To you — the reader — for loving my characters and stories as much as I do and for reading all the way through the acknowledgments (Like seriously, who are you?! You rock.). Thanks for choosing indie. I hope I didn’t let you down.

Lastly, as always, I have to thank God. Without His blessings and love, I wouldn’t be able to chase my dreams the way I do. I only pray he gives me the strength and the courage to never stop.