Read Online Save Me by Eliza Freed - Free Book Online Page A

sisters are already stalking us, but before we go back out there, I want to tell you something.”
    I raise my eyebrows at Noble. “Is this when you’re choosing to tell me you’re gay?”
    “Charlotte.” Noble shakes his head. “You’re beautiful.” He looks me over again and I get a chill.
    “Thank you,” I say, humbled by his admiration.
    “I am the luckiest man alive and I will never take you for granted.”
    I think I might cry. Even before he loved me, Noble never took me for granted.
    “Do you know that?”
    I nod, sensing he’s not done.
    He takes my face in his hands and caresses my cheeks with his thumbs. “And, Charlotte, I don’t know what the future holds, but I know we are always going to be together. You’ll never be without me.”
    “I know, Noble,” I say, and kiss him. “You are my home.”
    With that, Jackie bangs on the door and threatens to barge in if we don’t open it immediately. She’s screaming what she’ll do to Noble if he messes me up “in that dress” before our pictures are taken.
    *  *  *
    The thunder and lightning die down, but the rain persists. We still have no power, but we have the sound of the rain on the roof, and the road, and the ocean. It’s a constant murmur as it cleanses our pasts and prepares us for the future.
    We eat the food and drink the wine. Most is either cold when it should be hot or vice versa, but no one seems to notice. The sixty people here make up the perfect gathering. I wallow in the love and support of each of them as lots of flash photos are taken, and I let myself forget those who are gone forever. Noble is never more than a few feet from me and if our backs are to each other, he is pinching my ass. It is the perfect celebration of us.
    *  *  *
    I go back to the bedroom upstairs and enter it slowly, carrying my candle, focusing on every corner. I’m not willing to admit what I’m searching for. Just get changed, Charlotte. I take off my dress and veil and put them on the hanger over the closet door. I leave my shoes under it and slip on my flip-flops and sundress. I glance once more out the window, but there’s only darkness, only the rain.
    I grab my phone and step into the hall to find Noble waiting for me, leaning against the wall. He’s wearing shorts, a long-sleeve shirt, and a rain jacket, which seems smart considering the short walk next door is going to soak us.
    “Why didn’t you come in?” I ask, and Noble spins me around and pins me against the wall. I lean into him as the heat spreads through me. I put a hand on each side of his waist and look up naughtily at him.
    “I was afraid I would attack you,” he says, slightly breathless, and I know it’s time to go. I kiss him, a tiny, gentle kiss. Being careful with my giant.
    Noble takes my hand and we descend the stairs. I say good-bye to every loved one I have left and pause at the door as BJ cries at my feet. I rub behind his ears. He wants to come with us. I look up at Noble and he leans down and scoops BJ up into his arms, covering him with his rain jacket. I take a picture of my two favorite guys and stow my phone away in the folds of my dress.
    It doesn’t get better than this.

Wedlock
    I t’s strange to have a wedding without music,” I say as I put my phone on the table next to the bed. “Don’t you think?” I look up at Noble, who’s staring out the window, watching the storm conquer the ocean, for now.
    “No first dance,” he says as he turns to me. I tilt my head and take him in. Noble comes to me and pulls my dress over my head. He kisses me, hungry from our day apart. A day of watching each other, confined by an audience. Noble stops and takes the hairpins from the back of my head and lets my hair fall to my bare shoulders.
    I pull Noble’s shirt off and caress his biceps. I shiver and he pulls me close to him, warming me from the inside out. His wavy hair is wet from the rain. Noble carried BJ and held the umbrella for the two of us,