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“I don’t want to push him. What if he doesn’t—”

“
Stop biting on your lip,” Nick interjected. “Only I can do that.” His lips went over mine to soothe them. “You carried his name for twenty-two years. He does. And if he doesn’t, so what? You’re not Heather Robbins anymore. You’re mine now.”

As if to claim his goods, his leg pinned mine and his body trapped me into the loveseat. And then he began to demonstrate the wicked gestures he was referring to when he’d said,
Only I can do that
.

“Stop, they’ll be here any minute.” I went to push him off but then he started whispering naughty ideas in my ear. My arms went around him and pulled him closer as if they had a brain of their own. He chuckled against my mouth and shifted me comfortably below him.

“Knock, knock,” Creed yelled from the entryway.

“That’s them,” I quietly yelled at Nick.

“It’s okay. They’re family,” he teased.

“Nick!” I wailed in a whisper, squirming under his arms and finally standing up. “You’re not funny,” I whispered while trying to hide my smile from him. I quickly fixed my shirt and righted my skirt as I walked toward the entry.

He laughed once and then lifted off the couch. “Maybe I’m a little funny.”

I took Creed’s hand and led him into the kitchen while Nick welcomed Liz with a hug and a kiss to the cheek.

We walked straight to the stovetop so he could taste my mom’s chicken tortilla soup recipe that I was still trying to perfect. I was so close.

“This is the closest you’ve ever been,” Creed said after a spoonful.

“I know; I’m almost there. Maybe cooking the chicken in a different type of oil, like sunflower or coconut.”

“Yeah, something to make it a little sweeter.”

“Yep,” I agreed.

“When is Max coming?” Creed asked with another spoonful.

“His flight gets in at eleven. So he’ll be here around midnight.”

Creed smiled. “I can’t wait to see him.”

“From our phone conversations, I can tell he’s excited to see you, too.”

The tradition was dinner, cards, and then a movie, always in that order.

Creed and I were permanent card partners since Creed and Nick never won together, and Nick and I creamed everyone we went up against.

After dinner, the card game was Rook, with Michael Jackson playing in the background. Inevitably, Creed was singing along in a high falsetto voice, very loudly and entirely off key. “
Billie Jean is now my fluffer…
”

“Now my fluffer?” Liz laughed.

But Creed kept singing, continuing to slaughter the lyrics. “
She’s just a girl who names that I love the sun. But the chain is not my nun
.”

Liz spewed out laughter.

Creed smiled knowingly. “Those are the words.”

“The
chain
is not my nun?” she chuckled out.

Creed explained the lyrics to her. “The chain is not a nun. Nuns don’t have chains.”

“Oh my-lanta!” she bellowed in amusement. “You’re so far off!”

“How does it go then?” he challenged.

Liz sang out the words, in a tone not much better than Creed’s. “
Billy Jean in not my lover. She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one. But the kid is not for fun
.”

We were all laughing now.

“That’s not what he says,” Creed disagreed. “Listen to it. You can’t tell me that word is
kid
. It’s
chain
.”

I failed to tell them they were both wrong. I was staying out of this one, too curious to see who would win an argument where neither was right. This would be fun.

We sat in silence, listening to the music, waiting for the chorus to come.

Billy Jean is not my lover.

She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one.

But the—

“I told you!” Liz wailed right over the music.

“Chain! Chain! Ohhhh!” Creed yelled at the same time. He leaned over and wrestled her to the ground, knocking the cards right out of her hand. They wrestled and laughed and Liz screamed in delight. After getting her in light pin-hold, Creed said, “That’s it, you’re getting the suck monster.”

“No!” Liz wailed back, cracking up to the silent point. “Not…the…suck…monst…”

The day Creed came to me when they had their first fight and he thought it was the end of the world, was the day I knew Creed discovered a different type of love than the one we shared. He and Liz’s was the type of love he’d been searching for, a love built not by habit or circumstance, but by choice and pure enjoyment; the type of love they both deserved. My prediction was that they’d have a happy life together, and the idea tickled me to no end.

They wrestled on the floor some more, they were in their own world, and they had completely forgotten about their audience. They were adorable together. Creed was such a loving guy, and Liz was all fun and sincerity.

Nick smiled over at me and winked. My laughter decreased to a smile. I loved his subtle expressions, his secret looks, the unspoken interplay between us. I reached for his hand and he pulled me into him. We snuggled, listening to the next song, “Human Nature” as it began playing through the speakers, while Creed and Liz rolled around our floor.

Happiness was so happy.

“What movie do you guys want to watch?” Creed asked a little while later.

Several suggestions were thrown out.

“Heather?” Nick asked, knowing the decision would be made quickly if it was mine.

“I don’t care,” I surprised him by saying. “Whatever. As long as there’s a happy ending.”

Nick turned to me, his blue eyes filled with promise. “With you, always.”

About the Author

JESSICA ROBERTS grew up in the San Francisco, California Bay Area where she spent most of her time playing sports alongside her six siblings. She was crowned Miss Teen California her senior year of high school, and went on to Brigham Young University where she graduated in Human Development. Her love of family, church, writing, athletics, and singing and dancing keeps her life busy and fulfilled. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and three children.