THE REMAINDER OF Everett's birthday was thankfully spent with no more fighting or teasing about being his date to Izzy's wedding. Instead, we played a game of Cards Against Humanity and then sang happy birthday to Everett with a huge rectangular cake lit up with candles. His cheeks burned red the entirety of our horrible serenade, but when his eyes locked with mine over the flame of the candles, I could tell at that moment that something in him had shifted. He wasn't brooding anymore but...happy, and he gave his family not just smiles tonight but laughter. Genuine laughter.

I shut the front door quietly behind us, and as Everett sets his wallet and keys down on the counter, he says, "About what my family said... You know, being my date to the wedding and all..."

"It's fine," I reply. "I wasn't expecting to be invited, and we aren't..."

Everett sighs and blinks up at the ceiling. "Right. I know. I guess I just feel like I need to apologize for their behavior. They can be a lot."

"Are you kidding? I love them, Everett. They're amazing."

He arches a brow. "Really?"

I nod and take a step closer to him, pulling out a tiny square-wrapped box and setting it on the counter beside his keys. "I didn't want to give you this at dinner because..." Well, he was gifted a real diamond chain tonight by his parents, and also, I'm still not sure if he'll like it.

"You didn't have to buy me anything, Emery. You're trying to save up to move out."

"I know, but I...I didn't buy it. Just open it."

He continues to stare at the box, and the longer he stares at it, the more the tension seems to grow between us. He knows what it is, and he lifts his eyes to mine, disbelief laced in his expression. "Emery—" His voice falters, and when he clears his throat, I can't hold my tears back any longer.

"I mean, you got a real diamond necklace tonight, so..."

His shaking fingers strip the ribbon off the box, and when he lifts the lid, eyeing the homemade beaded bracelet, I hold my breath, waiting for his reaction.

This bracelet is more than just a bracelet. I only make them for people I'm certain will be in my life forever, and after my grandma passed, I didn't think I'd ever make a bracelet again. People always leave, but if Everett is trying to get to the brighter side, I'll make an effort, too. Starting with him and I. I'm in this, and if it ends terribly, then so be it.

At least I will have tried.

My heart is racing, drumming through the roof from the heat of his gaze. I have no idea what he's thinking, but those blue eyes of his have gone as deep as the bottom of the sea, glassy as he blinks away tears.

For a second, the only sound between us is the gentle humming of the refrigerator, but then a flicker of what seems like determination flashes across his face as he slowly sets the box down on the counter.

Then, decision made, he takes two long strides toward me to close the distance between us, his dress shoes clattering against the floor, and tugs me forcefully to his chest. One of his hands holds the back of my head, the other rising to gently clasp around my throat as he pulls me in for the best kiss of my life.

It's nothing like we've shared before. A physical and emotional connection thrums between us now, and Everett keeps this kiss slow, backing me up toward the staircase.

His thumb around my throat gently caresses the skin over my racing pulse, and the other on my neck moves to thread through my hair. He pours himself into this kiss, colliding his tongue with mine before he abruptly pulls back, panting and out of breath.

"I love the bracelet, Emery," he pants at the base of the staircase. "I love the bracelet more than I've ever loved anything else in my life. Do you understand me?"

He's not talking about the bracelet.

"And I want to take you upstairs to my bedroom and show you just how much I'm in love with that bracelet. Is that okay with you?"

"Y-Yes." My throat is dry as I try to hold back my tears, and without another word, Everett swoops me into his arms and carries me bridal style to his bedroom.

The energy is different. Every vein, every nerve in my body is on edge as it waits to see what he has planned for me. I've never felt such a pull to another human being before— like I'll never be complete until he fills me and our bodies move together in a song that only we can understand.

He unzips my dress and lets it pool around my ankles on the floor, leaving me in a cheetah print lingerie set I purposely changed into tonight in case this happened.

Everett scans me from my head all the way down to my toes, and I'm buzzing from the attention of his stare. "Look at me," he says, and when my eyes meet his, I've never seen him more serious than at this moment. "I will never get tired of looking at you, Emery. You are absolutely breathtaking."

I gulp down the sob threatening to escape. This man has made me cry more than I have in years, and in some strange way, we bring the emotions out of each other. We both lack what each other needs and I can't help but think that maybe he's been my person for all these years. We were both in denial or too blind to see it, but now... the timing feels right—like we were both meant to be here at this exact moment.

He begins to unbutton his shirt one by one, never breaking eye contact, and when his chest is fully exposed, my palms are itching to touch him. But I can't take my eyes off of him as he takes hold of his belt, slowly moving it through the notches until it comes undone and clatters to the floor. My blood is roaring in my ears, drowning out any silence, and when he takes one final step toward me, finally putting his hands on my waist, a pent-up moan escapes my throat.

He groans in response and places feather kisses down my neck, peppering them along my chest as he unhooks my bra with skill in seconds and lets it fall to the floor, sinking to his knees in front of me.

With his hands splayed on my stomach, he kisses across it, and any doubts... Any insecurities I've ever had vanish completely. Everett is worshipping my body, and my legs don't feel stable enough to stand on any longer. I collapse onto my back on his bed, watching him rise to strip himself of his briefs, and then he's gloriously naked in front of me like some sort of Greek god.

I shake my head, giggling in disbelief.

"Should I be concerned that you're laughing at me when I'm naked, Emery?"

"No, you're just... Ugh." I throw my head back against the comforter. "You're not real. There's no way someone can look that good."

"I could say the same about you, baby. Lift up." He taps my hips to slide my panties off, discarding them with the rest of our clothes before crawling on top of me. "There were a lot of things I wanted to do to you tonight, but right now, all I want is to be inside you."

"I couldn't agree more."

He kisses me at that, and he keeps it slow. Hungry. Passionate. I'm a moaning, writhing mess beneath him, my fingers tugging at his curls when he slips inside me, and I break away from the kiss to gasp from the feeling.

Everett takes the opportunity to bite my bottom lip as he starts to move, and this time, when he releases my lip, he doesn't stop staring at me. We're completely locked in as he thrusts. With every tilt of his hips, he's scanning my face, watching me unravel beneath him, and as he continues to fill me, I'm no longer staring into his mind but into his soul, too, right into the core of his heart.

"The bracelet is everything to me," he whispers. "Everything, Em."

The sentence is on my lips, right on the tip of my tongue, but I can't make this final leap with Everett until I talk to Liam first. Not after he's been so good to me. I've already hurt him enough.

So I kiss Everett instead, hoping he can feel the sentence desperately clinging to my heart.

I've never felt something as real as this. Our connection is so strong it's almost like a livable and breathable thing I can reach out and grab hold of, and judging by the look of pure awe on Everett's face, he feels the same.

I'm not going to be able to last long, and neither is he. That's why, after only a few minutes, he coaxes my orgasm from me with a final thrust, and he comes only seconds after, the both of us collapsing into a sweaty heap together on his comforter.

This is the part where I'd get up and go back to my room. We'd part ways and see each other in the morning, but not tonight.

Not anymore.

Still, I have to go to the bathroom to clean myself up, and when I make to pull away, Everett grasps my wrist. "Stay," he pleads. "Don't go."

I kiss him deeply, and it takes another five minutes to come up for air again. "I have to wash up," I say breathlessly, my cheeks red. "You know, after you..."

He nods. "Right. Sorry."

I can feel his gaze on my back as I step into the hallway. When I glance over my shoulder, my heart breaks at the sight. Doubt is written all over his face. I didn't say it back, but it's not because I didn't want to.

Everett is a man who has always doubted if he's good enough, and I can't be someone to add to that doubt. My heart won't allow it.

Holding onto the door's archway, I say, "I love the bracelet, too, Ev. I'm in love with it, actually."

He blinks a few times to ensure he heard me correctly, and then he smiles, his teeth shining brighter than the sun, and it melts away any ounce of fear I've been holding onto about how terribly this could end between us.

It seems as if being a mere foot away from me is unbearable for him. He sits on the bed like a lost puppy, so I stick a thumb over my shoulder to the bathroom. "Care to shower with me?"

Almost instantly, he's on his feet, and his hands are on my hips. "You had me at shower."

Author's Note: 

I'M NOT OKAY. 

HOW IS EVERYONE?

I know the suspense for Liam's *arrival* is unreal.

It will be happening soon!

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