Next Time (21 page)

“Definitely.” Payton punctuated her promise with a kiss.

“Will you give me a sponge bath?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

Ryann’s eyes slipped closed. “You turned me on so much when you started yelling at everyone.”

Payton smiled as Ryann sank back into the cushions and started to snore.

Chapter 26

“Aw,” Olivia said and pressed her hands to her chest. “That’s the most bizarre, yet romantic story I’ve been told yet.”

“I think your recorder ran out of juice a long time ago,” Ryann said and pointed to it.

“I won’t forget anything y’all have told me. So what happened with Leigh?” Olivia turned another page in her notebook.

“The night of the accident, she was arrested for DUI. I think that and what she did to me was a real eye-opener for her.” Ryann smiled at Payton. “We made a deal that if I saw Leigh so much as drive past the house or the school that I’d file for a restraining order, but Leigh kept her word and left us alone.”

“I struggled with that for a while. I was the one that applied the antibiotic ointment to cuts all over her body.” Payton winced. “She was so bruised and beat up, and there were times I really wanted to find Leigh and kick the crap out of her. My anger was something we had to work through for a while.”

Olivia made a notation on her pad. “What about Ryann’s family? How did that work out?”

Payton and Ryann laughed. “It’s a work in progress,” Payton said. “I’m really close with Shelly. Joan and Paula have grown friendlier over the years, and I think Carol has accepted that I’m not anything like Leigh. Whether she wants to admit it or not, she knows I love Ryann with all my heart.”

Ryann took Payton’s hand. “My brothers and my dad love her. At family gatherings, she’ll disappear, and I know they have her out in my dad’s shop where she sings the dirty versions of her songs. They think she’s hilarious.”

“And, Payton, what about your family?” Olivia asked.

“They accepted Ryann right away. She and Gwen bonded the minute they met. I knew Trent and Gwen loved me, but I always had such a hard time communicating with them. I guess I still felt like it was a betrayal to my parents to see them as replacements. Ryann became kind of the intermediary between us. I became too emotional when I tried to explain how I felt, so she did it for me. Now I talk pretty freely with my aunt and uncle, and we’re closer than we’ve ever been.”

Olivia smiled. “You both understand each other really well, don’t you?”

“We do,” Ryann said with a warm glance at Payton. “She really is my soul mate. We have a connection, but we also feel really safe expressing what we feel and think. I won’t say that kind of honesty doesn’t result in an argument every now and then, but when tempers cool, we talk it out.”

“What part of your relationship do you feel is the most daunting to work on?” Olivia asked as she jotted another note.

Payton and Ryann thought for a moment or two. “We both have habits that irritate the hell out of each other.” Payton pointed at Ryann. “She gets up around three in the morning and eats a bowl of cereal, but what drives me insane is she comes to bed with it. The crunching is so loud.”

“The milk makes me cold, so I want to be in the warm bed,” Ryann explained. “In my defense, I did start eating it on the couch with a blanket, but she asked me not to.”

Payton sighed with a winsome smile. “She went away to some continuing education class for a week. You would think I slept like a baby since she wasn’t chomping in the middle of the night, but I missed it. The noise still grates my nerves, but it’s also a comfort to me because I know she’s right there.”

“She starts singing right in the middle of conversations or when we’re watching something on TV,” Ryann said. “Then she jumps up and runs into her studio, and I don’t see her again for a while. She doesn’t keep normal hours, and that’s something that after our years together I’m still trying to adjust to. I remind myself that inspiration comes when it does, and she has to go with it. But she makes up for it in other ways. Sometimes when I come home on a Friday afternoon, she has the car packed, and we just take off with no destination in mind. Those weekends are magical because I’m with my best friend and my partner.”

“Do y’all have any plans to get married?” Olivia asked as she closed her notebook.

“We are married,” Payton said resolutely. “You can find us again in twenty years, we’ll be old, and we’ll still be together. I am completely devoted to her, and I know without a doubt that she is devoted to me. I’m not gonna say if, but when it’s legal for us to marry in Louisiana, we’ll do it proudly in our home state.”

Olivia nodded and smiled as she gathered her things. “I want to thank you both for giving me your whole day and your story. I hope to find what you have one day.”

“Thank you for giving us that opportunity, especially today, because it’s our anniversary, and I think this was a great way to celebrate it,” Ryann said. “We need to get dressed now because we’re headed to the bar.”

“The one where you met?” Olivia asked.

Payton nodded. “We’ll see Jana and Melanie there, too.”

“Oh, that’s so great that they’re still together, too,” Olivia said as she stood.

“Yep, because Jana’s things are still in the garage.” Payton laughed. “She has been allowed one chair, but Melanie keeps it covered with a throw.”

Olivia laughed. “Thank you both again for your time.”

Ryann and Payton saw her out. They waved as Olivia climbed into her car, and Ryann closed the door and looked at Payton. “So we’re getting married?”

“Yes.”

“You better propose then with a ring.”

Payton threw up her hands. “You should propose to me.”

“Well, you’re the one saying we’re going to get married. You should do it.”

Payton looked at the ceiling and started to hum a tune.

“Oh, no, you don’t. Not tonight, Payton. If you go into that studio, I’m gonna lock your ass in it.”

“And miss our next time?” Payton pulled Ryann close and kissed her. “Never.”

About the Author

Robin Alexander is the author of the Goldie Award-winning
Gloria’s Secret
and many other novels for Intaglio Publications, including
Gloria’s Inn
,
Gift of Time
,
The Taking of Eden, Love’s Someday, Pitifully Ugly, Undeniable, A Devil in Disguise, Half to Death, Gloria’s Legacy, A Kiss Doesn’t Lie, The Secret of St. Claire, Magnetic, The Lure of White Oak Lake, The Summer of Our Discontent, Just Jorie, Scaredy Cat, The Magic of White Oak Lake, Always Alex, The Fall,
and
Ticket 1207
.

She was also a 2013 winner of the Alice B Readers Appreciation Award, which she considers a true feather in her cap.

Robin spends her days working with the staff of Intaglio and her nights with her own writings. She still manages to find time to spend with her partner, Becky, and their three dogs and four cats.

You can reach her at
[email protected]
. You can visit her website at
www.robinalexanderbooks.com
and find her on Facebook.