Above All, Honor

Chapter Twenty Three

After breakfast, they showered and dressed, Normani wearing clothes she borrowed from Megan. Her oversized, white button up shirt covered her body, but with so many buttons undone, she left little to the imagination.

"What happens next?" Normani asked, surprisingly uncertain.

Megan thought of a number of replies, but decided with a sigh that only the truth would do. She met Normani's questioning gaze squarely. "In a few days, I'll be back in Washington. You'll still be the daughter of the President of the United States. I'm not sure we have much to say about what happens next."

She held up a hand as Normani began to protest. "I want to see you again. God knows I do. But unless I'm assigned to your security detail, any relationship between us will be obvious and suspect."

"I don't want you on my detail," Normani said with finality.

Megan leaned back against the door jam, hands in her pockets, studying Normani calmly. "Yes, you made that quite clear. But it does provide good cover."

Normani's eyes blazed. "Cover!? So am I supposed to put your life in danger so that no one will know I'm a lesbian?"

Megan's brows arched in surprise. "Put my life in danger? That was a one-in-a-million occurrence!"

"Oh sure! Has it occurred to you that he's still out there? If not him, someone else?"

Megan shrugged. "You can't let something like that dictate your actions. You simply need to be cautious and have good people around you."

"Good people—yes. But not you. I have no intention of letting you protect me at the risk of your own safety."

"That's what I do, Normani," Megan insisted gently.

"Not for me," Normani said, pushing the memory of Megan's bloodied body lying on the sidewalk from her mind. In a softer tone, she repeated, "Not for me."

Megan didn't miss the pain flaring in Normani's eyes. She now knew that Normani had spent those first tenuous hours in the hospital waiting by her side. Megan went to her quickly and encircled Normani in her arms, pulling her smaller frame in close. "Hey, it's over baby... I'm fine."

Normani blushed at the pet-name, a new development, and kissed her firmly, a mixture of passion and relief. "And I prefer you stay that way."

Megan leaned back, a soft smile on her lips. "Then it appears we have a problem, Miss Hamilton. If I can't guard you, what excuse do I have to be with you?"

Normani took a deep breath and then took the biggest risk she had ever taken. "How about because you love me?"

Megan stood very still, her hands resting on Normani's waist. She thought of her career; she thought of Normani's reputation; she thought of the President's public image. She kissed Normani gently on the forehead and whispered, "Well, there is that."

Normani released the breath she had been holding and rested her cheek against Megan's shoulder. "Since the feeling is mutual, I'd say we have a plan, Commander."

Megan laughed, her heart soaring. "The fact that we agree is downright scary," she murmured.

Normani bit her just hard enough to make her jump. "I don't want you to get used to it."

Megan pulled Normani back toward the bed. "Oh, I might—in a century or so."

The End

...

Hi readers ☺️,

Well, we have officially come to the end of this story! It was my honor to share Above All, Honor with you all, and I look forward to getting to the sequel 🤍 Shoutout to the original author, Radclyffe, for their amazing work. It was so fun adding details and making the necessary changes to make sure this properly captured Megmani's essence. I have more inspiration for my next original works for sure! Now, onto your thoughts 💭

Thoughts on the dilemma Megan and Normani are facing? How will they truly be together with Normani still having to uphold her image as the President's daughter? Might it be easier for them to keep on hiding instead of 'coming out'? Will the President even allow it?

Thoughts on Normani's fears about Megan rejoining her security detail? Megan admitting that she loves her? How do y'all expect their coming out to go with Normani's stalker still on the loose?

Any other final thoughts or opinions about this story? The plot? The characters? The relationships? The cliffhangers? Let me know here!

Once again, thank you all so much for reading the first part of this trilogy, Above All, Honor. Your comments and reactions cracked me up the whole time, and I'm looking forward to reading all of them back from the beginning. Don't forget to check out the rest of my original stories, and my other conversion, Across the Years. I'll focus on those for bit before diving into what's next here. Have an amazing day/night wherever y'all are, and happy holidays! See y'all again soon for the next book 🤍