Luna lets me hold her free hand as she drives. Even better, she was the one to first slip our fingers together once we got on the road.
Pig sits in the back seat, panting with a happy dog grin on her face. And her innocent joy is all from riding in the car with us. She doesn’t yet realize we’re heading to her favorite place.
That’s right. This is a family trip to the dog park.
But on the corner ahead, I spot a familiar building demanding a brief detour.
“Hey. Pull in here. Wanna take a quick trip through the drive-through.”
“More caffeine?” She raises a slim brow and shoots me a smirk before pulling into the parking lot of the coffee shop. “Didn’t I see you drink a half a pot this morning?”
“You can never have too much coffee.” My thumb sneaks along the rough calluses adorning her knuckles.
“As a dietitian, I can tell you with great confidence that yes, in fact, you can. And this officially makes me an enabler.” The car rolls to a gentle stop behind a minivan taking its turn at the speaker. While we wait, I tug Luna’s hand up toward my mouth, pressing my lips against the thin skin of her wrist. One of the few delicate places on her.
“Charlie.” She says my name with censure but doesn’t try pulling away.
I trail kisses to her palm, then gently bite the meaty part at the base of her thumb.
“You’re impossible.” Luna lets me keep her hand as she drifts the car forward as the minivan moves. “Do you think you can hold off long enough to order what you want?”
No matter how much she tries to scold me, I can pick up the breathless note in her voice. Reluctantly, I pause tasting her in order to lean toward the driver’s side window.
“What can I get for you today?” the voice crackles out of a speaker.
“One small black coffee with cream, and one puppucino, please.”
“Puppucino?” Luna mutters, her hot breath brushing against my ear because of my position.
I tilt my chin to press a quick kiss to her mouth. She gasps in a breath, tempting me to sneak my tongue past her lips. But the worker asks for confirmation of my order. Finished, I settle back in my seat.
Luna glares at me, but there’s no heat in her eyes. At least, none from anger.
As Luna pulls the car toward the window, our pittie starts wiggling and whining in excitement.
“Check this out. Can’t drive down this stretch of road without getting Pig a puppucino.”
When the window opens, I spy a vaguely familiar face.
“It’s Pig!” the coffee shop employee crows. The girl peers through Luna’s window and spots me. “Charlie! Hey!”
“Hi!” I wave, remembering I saw her last time Pig and I came through here, which was only a couple of days ago.
We’re becoming regulars.
“Here’s your drinks!” The girl passes Luna a cardboard cup carrier holding a normal-sized coffee and a smaller cup filled to the brim with whipped cream.
“This is a puppucino.” To demonstrate, I pick up the smaller cup and hold it tight as Pig attempts to stuff her entire brick-shaped muzzle into the minuscule cup. Her wildly wagging tail practically shakes the car.
“Oh my god.” At Luna’s exclamation, I shoot her a grin, enjoying the baffled delight in her slack-jawed face. “How often do you get her one?”
I shrug. “Whenever we happen to be driving by.”
Which may or may not be multiple times a week.
Luna shakes her head as she pulls us back out onto the road, but I can see the wry curve of her lips. “You’re spoiling our dog. I think you treat her better than most people treat their children.”
My chest nearly explodes with happiness at the “our dog” comment. Does Luna see Pig that way? As belonging to both of us?
A guy can dream.
A few minutes later, we pull into the parking lot of the dog park. Pig has her head fully out the window, whimpering at the delay to her fun.
“Calm down, piggy puppy.” I try soothing our pup by reaching back to scratch her behind, but she only lets out an excited yelp.
“Yeah, yeah.” Luna parks the car, and we unload. The moment we’re in the fenced enclosure, Pig lumbers off toward a yellow lab, and the two quickly start up a race around the park. Our short-legged hound has no chance, but she tries her best.
“She’s going to pass out tonight.” Luna makes the observation as she scoops up my hand and pulls me toward a picnic table. And like Pig, I follow along joyfully, ready to be led wherever she wants to go. We sit side by side on the sun-stained wooden bench, and I relax, trying to ignore the eager thrumming in my veins encouraging me to tell Luna how deeply I feel about her.
What’s the rush? I reason. We haven’t even reached her birthday. I’ve got more than a year to work up to telling her I fell in love almost immediately.
What if she doesn’t want a husband in love with her? The worry resounds in my head like the painful note of an untuned guitar string. In that case, I should tell her how I feel so she can end things with me and find another man to marry before she turns thirty.
Could I survive the split?
A vulnerability scrapes through me, and I snake my arm around Luna’s waist, pulling her into my side so I can bury my face in her short hair and smell the mandarin shampoo scent I’ll forever associate with happiness.
“I don’t know who’s more affectionate. You or Pig.” Luna laughs through her words, unaware of the worry plaguing my mind.
“Mmm.” I lean back enough to meet her hooded eyes. “What’s going on at work? Have you only been meeting with Violet?”
Luna drags her short nails up and down my forearm, the light scratch teasing my nerve endings. “No, I have multiple clients. Right now, I’m working with ten different people. Some I meet weekly. Some multiple times a week. Some just every couple of weeks. Depends what type of training they need.” Luna’s gaze drifts away from mine, her head turning until she finds Pig wrestling with a husky across the way. The fight is playful, so neither of us moves to act as referee. “I also teach a class at Treyvon’s gym the last Wednesday and Saturday of every month. Open to anyone.”
My fingers press into her side, feeling the hard muscles of her abdomen. My wife is a beast.
“Could I go to one of those classes?”
Luna raises a single sharp eyebrow at me. “You could. But you know we live together, right? Meaning you get my expertise for free.”
“Very true. What would you teach me?”
Luna leans back just a touch farther, running her eyes over me in an assessment. My pride wants me to flex the few muscles I have, but I don’t bother. Sounds like she runs in a crowd that could tie me in a pretzel.
“I’d approach training you differently than most of my clients. Most people who come to me are smaller women. They need to know how to grapple. Get their way out of a hold of someone larger. But you’ve got reach.” To demonstrate, Luna circles my wrist with her fingers and extends my arm, which goes a good number of inches past the tips of her fingers. “I’m thinking more evasion. But with you being so tall, we also need to lower your center of gravity. An attacker will try to push you over.” Luna pokes a playful finger against my stomach, and I puff out a burst of air as if she socked me in the gut.
“But…” I drag the word out, inching closer despite the nonexistent space between us. “What if I want to learn grappling? Maybe roll around on the floor? Get tangled up?”
Luna huffs a laugh as her eyes flare with heat. “We might be able to go over some moves. Tonight. In bed.”
Yes. I don’t say the word because I’m too busy kissing her, which is prematurely interrupted by a sharp bark. When I break away, breath heavy with desire, I glance over to find our dog staring at us, panting from her own exertions.
“I think she feels ignored,” Luna observes in a dry tone.
“We’re bad parents,” I agree, reluctantly unwrapping myself from Luna’s tempting figure. Tonight, she said. We’ll be together again tonight.
We both leave the table, taking turns finding toys to throw for Pig until she doesn’t want to run anymore.
“Thirsty girl?” I reach for my backpack and pull out a bowl and water bottle I filled this morning. Pig eagerly waits as I struggle to open the screw-on top I twisted on too tight. Just as I’m considering asking Luna to assist with her superior strength, the lid comes loose. In fact, the bottle opens too fast, jerking in my hold, uncovered and slopping a wave of water over the side.
Directly onto Luna.
The two of us stand in shock. Me clutching the half-empty bottle, her staring down at her drenched white shirt.
“Damn it. Luna, I’m sorry.” I quickly dump the remaining water into Pig’s bowl, then turn back to my wife, wondering if there are towels in her car.
Luna gives me a wry smile. “This is my fault. I knew what I was getting into when I married you.”
I try not to cringe at the memories of all the other embarrassing incidents I can’t help stumbling into whenever I’m around her. Then my mind blanks when her strong arms wrap around my torso, pressing the damp fabric of her shirt between us until I’m soaked through too.
When I tilt my chin to meet her eyes, there’s a mischievous sparkle in her dark stare. “I kind of love how klutzy you are, Charlie Keller.”
The word love hangs in the air between us, lingering there. Waiting for me to grab the four letters and let them spill from my mouth.
I love you, Luna Lamont.
Maybe the declaration plays on my face before making its way to my tongue, because in the next second Luna lets go, stepping away and looking at anything but me.
“I think Pig is done for the day.” She pats the panting dog before clipping her leash on. All the playfulness has disappeared. This is business Luna.
“Yeah,” I agree, managing not to choke on the simple word.
For a brief time, everything was right in the world. Now I follow a few steps behind the little family I’ll have to give up in a year.
Because I will give them up. If that’s what Luna wants. She asked to change some of our marriage rules but not the expiration date.
Funny to know the exact day in the future when my heart will break.