Undersold(56)

We clinked glasses, and drank.

Things had been good since we came back. I moved in with Shane as soon as possible, and stayed with him all week. We went back to work, and tried to keep our relationship as professional as possible, but there was one afternoon where Shane’s office door remained shut and locked.

Janice was a joy, as usual. She congratulated me on our relationship, and said I was one lucky girl. I still couldn’t believe that they had been old friends, but Janice nodded when I asked her about it, and told me all kinds of interesting stories from Shane’s younger days. Apparently, he hadn’t always been so secretive and dominant, although I wasn’t sure I believed it.

The paparazzi doubled their efforts to get pictures, and although we continued leaving from the back door, we didn’t stress about it so much. They were going to get pictures no matter what we did, and Shane said he was done hiding me.

Things were good in the office. The stress of our relationship behind us, we focused on my app all week. It felt like it was picking up momentum, and I had a really good feeling that it would make a real difference in some kids’ lives. Shane agreed, and he decided to increase my funding, with the approval of some of his senior managers. We had big plans for my app, and we both wanted it to succeed for the sake of all the kids that didn’t have the opportunities we now had.

We chatted idly as we ate our meals, and things were easy between us. It was easy in a way I hadn’t expected it ever would be. Although I was still a mess of longing for him, and every second we spent with our clothes on sometimes felt like a wasted second, I still cherished every move he made, how he took care of everything around him, and dominated a room with his easy charm and confidence.

Eventually we finished, and he paid the bill. We walked together, arm in arm.

Toward the door of the restaurant, Shane paused.

“Ready for this?” he asked me. There were paparazzi leaning up against cars, smoking cigarettes outside.

“I’ve never been so ready,” I said to him. I looked up at his set, chiseled jaw, but noticed a lightness in his eyes I hadn’t seen before.

“Let’s go then,” he said. We pushed through the doors and went out onto the street.

Immediately, the paparazzi started yelling and taking pictures. Just a few weeks ago, Shane would have yelled back, and hustled me into the car, but this time he paused.

I was shocked when he took me into his arms. He looked me in the eye, his body tense and his eyes smoldering, and kissed me as deeply as he could. The camera flashes went off around us like bursting stars. I thought about how he was breaking his own rules, but I knew that they didn’t apply anymore. There were new rules to learn, and more coming in the future. My world was filled with light and him, his strong arms and body pressed up against mine, his mouth and lips, his warmth and smell filling every part of my senses, and the camera shutters flickering away, and I knew everything was going to be all right. I knew I was his, and I always would be.