Always There

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Seven

She snorts.

And then, to my complete shock, she pulls her sweatshirt over her head and presses my face against her chest again.

I nuzzle my face into her cleavage with a content sigh, and I can practically feel her rolling her eyes.

"Could you hear our conversation out there?" I whisper.

She nods and begins to rub her palm in gentle circles across my back.

"I'm sorry for snapping at them. I'm being a total asshole today. All I want is to keep you safe and happy, and it feels impossible today. Everything fucking sucks and I can't make it better," I say.

Blossom squeezes me gently, as though to say that it's all right, that she isn't mad at me.

"All I want is to make you happy. I want all your dreams to come true. I want—"

Blossom cuts me off when she takes my face between her hands, pulls my head up, and presses her mouth against mine.

"I think you should be a therapist. You're very good at calming people down. Just let men rub their faces in your ti—"

She cuts me off again with a kiss.

🌸🌸🌸

"Is Lexi ready yet?" Jordan asks as he steps out of his room and into the living area. He's wearing a navy blue dress shirt and a pair of jeans, an outfit similar to my own except for the fact that I'm dressed in black from head to toe.

Typical, I know.

"You freaked her out when you said we were going to a 'nice restaurant.' She packed a bag to go visit her dying father. You think she packed a fucking cocktail dress, Thompson?" I hiss.

Aidan lets out an audible sigh and burrows his face into Sawyer's shirt. "Oh, God. Not this again."

The door to Blossom's room opens suddenly, and all four of us turn to watch her simultaneously.

The air is forced out of my lungs.

Blossom stands in the doorway, long hair falling in soft curls around her shoulders and down her back. A knee-length, silk black dress with a high slit up one thigh hugs every curve of her body, and her tall, stiletto heels click against the wooden floor as she makes her way towards me.

Her steps are small and hurried until she pauses a foot away from me. Her eyes meet mine, wide and round, and I see that she's searching my face for approval.

I extend my hands towards her, and gently, she places her palms on top of mine.

"You look beautiful, habibti. Are you ready to head out?" I ask her softly.

She beams at me and nods, ducking her head down to hide her flushed cheeks, and I chuckle and smooth my thumb over the ring she still wears on her ring finger, the ring that says my name.

I look over my shoulder, first towards Jordan and then towards Sawyer and Aidan, still curled up together on the couch. "If the paps are outside, one of you is taking Lexi and getting her out of there. We really don't need her face plastered all over the cover of every gossip magazine next week."

Jordan snorts but takes a couple steps towards Blossom and I. He leans in to press a kiss to her cheek before smiling back at me.