Thick as Thieves

XVI

CAITLIN

Is it cliche to want to sing "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood" while I drink my morning coffee and wave at my next door neighbor whom strangely just ran back into her house? They really need to get over those boxes.

Things have just seemed to be so much brighter lately. Happier. Perfect. The weekend wrapped up, and Maddie couldn't have been happier with the turn out. There were a few headaches and a black eye casualty, but other than that, major success.

We all spent the morning sipping on coffees and eating the breakfast Bea picked up, which was supper yummy. She knows exactly what donuts I like so, if nothing else, at least I enjoyed the spread. I can't say Deanna enjoyed her morning since she spent it giving Bea the death glare the entire time, and Bea didn't help the situation by grinning every time.

When everyone got sick of Deanna's constant growling, we decided to call it a wrap. Maddie hugged me big, thanking me for everything, even the extra stuff, and her and my brother were gone. Carly practically threw Deanna out and waved, telling me she would call me later. That left Bea and I, a whole uneaten box of donuts, and the entire day to ourselves.

"You know, you're gonna have to find a way to get along with my sister," I state taking a huge bite of my apple fritter.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that," she replies with an eye roll. She pops donut hole after donut hole into her mouth. That girl can eat anything and still look like a God. I don't get it.

I chuckle and finish my fritter. This thing is seriously worth the month in calories. I get up, grabbing my latte, and snuggle next to my girl. My girl. I love the sound of that. What I loved even more was our little banter about marriage. I know we were both drunk, but our eyes told a very sobering story. That we were very much in love. And this love, it's not something that ever plans on going away.

"What do you want to do today?" I ask, stealing a donut hole. Okay, so maybe a month and a half worth of calories. Bea wraps her arm around me, bringing me close to her chest. I love being able to hear the beating of her heart.

"The day is ours. Whatever you want." She places a kiss on top of my head and turns on the TV. "What do you want to watch?"

"Anything that doesn't turn either one of us on. I'm going to admit, I'm a bit sore today."

I feel Bea's chest vibrate. "Is this my girl throwing out the white flag? Giving up on her wild adventure throughout the sexual unknown?" The fact that there is still sooo much unknown tires me but then excites me all the same. One thing's for sure, Bea surely hasn't let me down when it comes to fulfilling my sexual curiosity. What she's done is help feed this new beast in me that, as of late, craves more. And more. And more.

"Definitely not throwing in the towel," I argue. "I have two full boxes of leather, chains, and something that resembles a taser that we need to test out."

Bea bellows with laughter as she hugs me tight. Another kiss to my head and she flips through the channels until some zombie flick fills the screen. "Here, dead people on the hunt to suck each other's brains. Nothing sexy about that." And she's right about that. Goo and smile dripping from eyeballs and dead zombie creatures chewing on human flesh. Yuck.

I would make Bea change it, but my mind drifts away from the show and more onto our last conversation about the whole past literally crashing into us. You need to trust me. I keep replaying those words in my head. Do I trust her? Yes. Without a doubt. And that's the thing. It's not about the trust. It's about how worried I am that she's in trouble and she's trying to hide it from me. She says she's protecting me. But from what? Who? No one would have to say that unless they were in trouble.