Archive of Our Own

“Will you calm down?” Annie demanded as she plopped onto the stool in Beth’s kitchen. She had watched her sister attempt to tie ribbon around a mason jar three separate times before opening her mouth.

“What? I’m calm.” Beth replied, meeting her sister’s eyes. On the fourth try, she got the ribbon to sit exactly how she had intended. She eyed the dozens of ribbon-less mason jars that sat on the counter and wondered how she would get them all to match.

“You’re twitching.” 

Annie answered with an eye roll while wearily eyeing the crafts in front of her. She had attempted to help with the ribbon tying but in all honesty, crafting was better left to her older, wiser sister. She had told Beth the same thing earlier and gotten a glare that could kill.

“I’m not twitching, Annie. Give it a rest.” 

Annie could always tell when Beth was close to being completely done with her. Especially these days. While party planning and more recently, wedding planning, were right up Beth's alley, she seemed to constantly be on the edge of freaking the fuck out.

“I’m the one getting married; I should be the one twitching.” Annie replied as she popped a chip into her mouth. She knew, realistically, she should be helping but she felt she was better off eating the snacks laid out in front of her, leaving the detailed, creative work to the other half of the Mark's sister duo.

“If you don’t stop, I’ll give you something to twitch about.” 

And while Beth certainly wasn’t the same buttoned up, do-gooder she was say, a few years ago, she still didn’t scare Annie in the least bit.

Annie snorted. “Seriously sis you need to chill. If I’m not freaking out then you definitely don’t need to be freaking out. This is, like, the smallest wedding in history. Nothing can go wrong.”

“I promise you, a lot can go wrong. Right now, getting these ribbons to sit perfectly and hold a bow is what’s going wrong.”

“Do you know me at all?” Annie said flicking the ribbon in front of her with her hand. “I don’t give a shit about ribbons. Everyone attending this wedding loves you so if anything goes horribly wrong we will all forgive you.”

“Nick’s parents don’t love me.” Beth pointed out as she set aside the third completed mason jar. She was on a roll now.

“No, but they love me and they think you’re Mother Theresa so you’re fine.”

“Why in the world would they think that?” Beth asked indignantly. She was certainly no Mother Theresa and that was clearer than ever these days.

“Because you’re always so smiley and Stepford wifey around them.” Annie said like it was obvious.

Beth rolled her eyes but chose not to comment. She could argue with Annie about how that made her sound fake and disingenuous but did she really want to go there? She glanced up at her sister who was now scrolling through her phone lazily - clearly not helping the way Beth had anticipated when she’d invited her over. Although, who was Beth kidding? She’d known from the second Annie had shared the news of her engagement that the entire planning of the wedding would be left to Beth and that definitely included the table centerpieces currently being worked on.

Her mouth turned slightly upward as it usually did when she thought about the fact that her little sister was getting married. Not only that, she was marrying a nice, stable, employed man. They’d only met a short six months ago but as Annie had put it “when you know, you know.” Usually Beth would scoff at the thought and lecture her sister on moving too fast, and not thinking things through and not taking into consideration how this might affect Sadie. But, Beth had seen Sadie with Nick and most importantly, she had seen how Nick was with both Sadie and Annie. He was the perfect fit for the two of them and he sincerely, truly loved them both for exactly who they were, quirks and all. 

Months ago, after the chaos that ensued with Boomer being alive and the clusterfuck surrounding that whole nightmare, Beth had been grateful when her sister had met Nick only a few weeks later. They had desperately needed something good to happen. Shortly after, Beth and Dean had decided to officially go their separate ways – he had moved out and they had slowly (read: very slowly) started to figure out the whole co-parenting thing. Ruby and Annie had insisted they wanted nothing to do with a life of crime anymore. They were done and, at least so far, it seemed that nothing could convince them otherwise. Beth had agreed with them initially. Almost being arrested for murder has a way of freaking a person out. Add in that fact that her partnership had clearly experienced some roadblocks, she had been happy to take a step back and attempt to go back to normal life. She got a job at a bakery in town where they were even letting her test out some recipes of her own.  On the outside, all was well, on the inside Beth was getting restless.

Planning Annie’s wedding had distracted her but in a week that would be over and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could pretend that she wasn’t desperate for… something.

“There is something I need to talk to you about.” Annie said breaking through her thoughts, immediately sending her heart racing.

“Oh my God.” Beth said before she could stop herself. She stared directly at her sister attempting to read her mind. 

Annie’s lips parted and her eyes narrowed at the look on her sister’s face. “Dude, what?”

“I don’t know what! You tell me! Nothing good ever comes from you telling me we need to talk.”

“Wow, you really need a Xanax.” Annie mumbled with an eye roll and it took everything Beth had not to reach across the island and throttle her.

“Annie.” She said through gritted teeth.

“We just need to talk about the guest list.” Annie said nonchalantly as she continued to scroll through her phone.

Beth reached over and plucked the phone out of her sister’s hands. She placed it on the island and ignored the outrage directed at her. “What about it?” She ticking off the guests out loud. “It’s me and the kids, you, Nick and Sadie, the Hills, Nick’s best friend and his wife, Nick’s parents, sister, brother in law and nieces. That’s it. You said you wanted small. We’ve already given the restaurant the numbers.”

Annie nodded in agreement and clasped her hands together in front of her before continuing. “Right but I’ve been thinking and we haven’t discussed who you would be bringing.”

“Why would I bring anyone?” Beth asked in confusion, brows furrowing. She tied a perfect bow and gave herself an imaginary pat on the back for finishing another.

“You need a plus one.” Annie stated although this was the first Beth was hearing about it.

“I have plus four. Remember my children?” Her tone was sarcastic but her voice held an edge almost daring Annie to continue. Of course she didn’t take the hint.

“Yes, thanks, I remember them. But Dean is picking them up half way through and Sara and Henry are leaving after dinner and Sadie’s leaving early to go to Greg’s for the week while we’re on our honeymoon.”

“Okay.”

“And I thought we’d party into the night and get drunk.” Annie said as though this was all very obvious and this conversation very unnecessary. 

“And I can’t do that if I don’t have a date?” Beth asked wanting to make sure she was on the same page.

“Well, sure I guess technically you can but isn’t there anyone you want to bring?”

“No, Annie.” Beth said pushing aside the jar she was working on. How did her sister have the ability to get her so worked up in such a short amount of time? Why did Beth let her was probably the better question.

“No one? Not even the guy you’ve been secretly seeing for the last couple of months?” Annie said with what she thought was a cute, innocent smile and shrug but it made Beth want to strangle her.

“What? What are you talking about? I haven’t secretly been seeing anyone.” 

And Beth probably could have chosen to act a little cooler, her answer far too rushed to be the truth. She couldn’t quite meet her sister’s eyes. She had gotten better at lying but she still wasn’t a psychopath.

Annie smirked. “I don’t believe you. And for the record, neither does Ruby.”

“So you and Ruby have been what? Talking about my love life behind my back?”

Annie’s smirk turned into an evil smile. “Of course we have.”

“Annie. I am not seeing anyone.” Beth answer, her tone final and she hoped it was clear that this discussion was coming to an end. “And I’m certainly not bringing anyone to my sister’s wedding as a date.”

“But you’ve been hard to get a hold of a lot lately.” Annie interjected instead of accepting where Beth was attempting to take the conversation.

“I’m recently divorced, have four children and a new job. Sorry I’m not available to you at all hours of the day.”

“What about that night I came over without telling you and you didn’t answer the door?” Annie asked with a raised eyebrow and a huff.

“I was sleeping.” But yet, Beth couldn’t meet her sister’s eyes.

Annie continued to push. “There was a car in your driveway.”

“I told you. The neighbor asked if they could park it there.”

“Well, I’m telling you I – we – don’t believe you.”

“Annie?” Beth asked

“What?”

“Time to go home.”

“Wha-“ Annie started but was cut off when Beth walked around the counter, grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the kitchen. 

“I’m serious. Time to go.”

“You realize you’re only making yourself look guiltier.” Annie said, making a grab for her purse before her sister could pull her any further. 

“The only thing I’m guilty of is having murderous thoughts about my soon to be married sister.” Beth said trying to keep her cool. She yanked the front door open and stood so that her sister could pass her. 

And still Annie pushed. “Why would you want to murder me if I wasn’t on to something?”

“Because you’re a pain in my ass.”

“Maybe - but only because I’m right.”

“You literally have ten seconds to exit my house. After that I can’t be held responsible for my actions.”

“But I want to help with the ribbons.” Annie said with a grin as she walked out the door. She turned around with a salute and a wave. It was sick how much pleasure messing with Beth got her.

The door slammed in her face.

***

So the thing was, Annie had been on to something.

A few hours later after she had finished tying pretty, rustic looking bows around a dozen mason jars Beth made her way into the living room with an extra-large glass of red wine in her hand. The kids were with Dean for the rest of the weekend and the week following. Between her job and doing last minute wedding prepping it would be a hectic week so Dean had (almost graciously) agreed to take the kids for the entire week. It was summer and they were signed up for camps for a majority of the days but Beth was grateful to have the quiet time to get stuff done. On this Saturday night, however, her only plans were wine, Thai takeout and HGTV.

Not thirty seconds after she had plopped onto the couch and turned on the TV the doorbell rang. She sighed but stood. She hadn't expected her food delivery so soon but she couldn't say she was mad about it.

She scooped her wallet off of the entryway table and glanced at the bills she had all while opening the door.

"Hi, how much again?" Beth asked without looking up.

"You paying me for my services now?" Came the raspy, husky voice that could undo her in seconds.

She looked up quickly, narrowing her eyes at the tall, lean, unfairly good-looking man that stood on her front door step.

"Since when do you ring the doorbell?" She asked but her stomach was already fluttering with butterflies.

He didn’t exactly answer her question but held up the brown bag in his hand, a smirk on his face. “I have food.”

“I already ordered Thai food.”

He laughed and pushed past her into the house. “Yeah, actually this is yours. I got here the same time and hijacked it.”

She shut the door and followed him as he walked into the kitchen.

“Let me pay you back for it.”

“Later.” He mumbled, waving his hand at her and she wondered how exactly he’d have her pay him back.

He grabbed two plates from a cabinet followed by forks from one of her kitchen drawers - all as if he’d done it a million times. In reality, he had done it on occasion but it seemed new every.single.time. Her eyes followed him as he grabbed the bag and utensils and headed into her living room.

“I didn’t get enough for two.” She said weakly because she had to say something.

“You kidding? This is enough for your entire family.”

“What are you doing here?” She asked, hands on her hips as he sat down and quickly dug into her Pad Thai.

“I texted you.” He answered through a mouthful of food and it took everything she had not to tell him to not talk with his mouth full.

She looked around for any sign of her phone but came up empty. “I have no idea where my phone is.”

“Yeah you gotta be better with that, ma.” He said casually and she figured he was only half-serious but it was true. She was historically bad about keeping up with her phone.

She stood and wandered into her bedroom where she remembered seeing it last. There it sat on her nightstand. She clicked the home screen where his text sat, waiting.

Coming by. Be there in 30.

She rolled her eyes because, silly her, she had expected something more informative.

“You’re very demanding.” She said as she reentered the living room. 

“You complainin?” He asked not taking his eyes off the TV and, no, obviously she wasn’t.

She didn't respond but instead sat on the couch leaving a small bit of space between them. She filled her plate with food before he finished it all himself. She watched him pick up her wine glass and take a sip but held herself back from offering him a glass of his own. She liked sharing. She wasn’t mad he was here and they both knew it.

They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes. Rio sat forward as he ate his plate on the coffee table in front of him. His eyes were glued to the home makeover show on her television and she wondered if he was actually watching or thinking a mile a minute the same way she was. 

“Whatchu thinking about so hard over there?” He asked only glancing in her direction briefly. 

She shrugged because she didn’t have a good answer but she wasn’t even sure he noticed.

“You can change the channel.” She said, tipping her chin towards the remote on the coffee table.

“But I gotta see how the house turns out now.” He shot back with a smirk.

She gave a slight smile and stabbed a piece of broccoli with her fork. “Do you even watch TV?”

“Course I do. Who doesn’t watch TV?” 

She frowned because she knew she had to stop putting him in some weird box and actually think of him like a person who did normal, everyday things but she couldn’t. He was still some kind of unicorn to her. She wasn’t sure he’d ever not be.

“I can’t picture you binge watching something on Netflix.” And she had absolutely tried to before. 

“Yeah I ain’t really the binge watching type. Don’t have time for that shit.” He took another sip of her wine. 

“What do you watch then?” She asked leaning slightly back and tucking her legs up under her on the couch. She was much more interested in talking than eating.

He shrugged and finished off the last of the food on his plate. He licked his lips and obviously it wasn’t sexual but she couldn’t help the fact that her legs clenched together at the sight. 

“Documentaries. Sports.”

“What sports?” She knew she was peppering him with questions and she was almost waiting for him to make a comment about them playing 20 questions again but he didn’t.  When she got him talking and better then that - answering questions - she had to keep at it until he clammed up and realized how much information he was giving out. She had to take advantage of these moments until she couldn’t anymore.

“Lately, golf.” His voice was even but she narrowed her eyes for a moment to try to decide if he was serious or not.

“Golf?” She finally asked, incredulously. “Sorry I can’t picture you watching golf.”

He laughed and God she loved that sound. “Yeah not usually my thing but it’s Marcus’ new obsession. His mom’s fiancé is a professional at some country club and got him hooked.”

She perked up because this conversation could go in many directions - she had to choose her path wisely. Did she continue with the Marcus angle or did she try to weasel her way into getting some answers about Marcus’ mom? The fact that he even brought her up was huge. The information that she had a fiancé? Mind-blowing. 

“Do you like her fiancé?” She started slowly. She lowered her voice as if that would keep him from getting spooked.

“He’s fine.” His elbows balanced on his knees as he answered and she saw him eyeing the food trying to decide if he should have more.

“Except for the golf.” She deadpanned because throwing a joke in might help relieve any tension he was feeling.

And he did let out a small chuckle which egged her on but before she could speak he did.

“He treats Marcus good so that’s all I care about.”

She nodded because she got it. She bit her lip. She knew what she wanted to ask but...

“Ask.”

“What?” She asked innocently.

“I can see you tryin’ to decide something over there. I never answered a question I didn’t want to - you know that.”

So she did before she could stop herself.

“Were you and Marcus’ mom ever married?” She held her breath but he answered easily.

“Naw.” One word answers got her nowhere.

“So he was a surprise?”

“Yeah.” He answered the hint of a smile on his face. “Good one though.”

And then she was smiling. She leaned forward to grab her glass and take a sip of her wine. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him watch her mouth and where it wrapped around the glass at the same spot his just had leaving a hint of her lip gloss behind. 

She set the glass down and turned to him.

“So have you ever played golf?” She teased, her eyes bright and somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered how they’d gotten here.

He hesitated for a minute then grabbed his phone from his back pocket. She watched him swipe his thumb to open the screen and flip through a few pages before he found what he was looking for. He turned the phone towards her and she laughed at what she saw. A picture of Rio and Marcus on the golf course - Marcus hanging out the back of a golf cart. Rio looked good enough to eat in a maroon polo golf shirt and slim black pants and she wasn’t sure how it was possible that he could literally look like he fit in anywhere. 

“You’re a good dad.” She finally said, meeting his eyes as she handed his phone back to him.

The corner of his mouth turned up slightly. He locked the phone and lightly tossed it onto the coffee table in front him choosing not to respond with words. 

The conversation stilted after that and she gave herself a mental high five for getting lots of good information without digging too deep a hole. Baby steps were good and she was getting better at feeling him out. He leaned back on the couch, finished eating, at least for now, and she copied, her shoulder brushing his. He placed his hand on the middle of her thigh, gripping it tightly with his fingers. She loved his hands and the fact that it just seemed so natural for him to touch her.

She closed her eyes for a minute, remembering the time in his car seven months ago when he’d told her she was just work and how far they’d come since. 

She didn’t see him for months after that. There’d been the whole fiasco with Boomer being alive and Jeff’s body. She’d been really close to her entire life being ruined. She still couldn’t relive that moment of being walked into the police station and seeing Boomer sitting there without wanting to vomit. Being told that she could go home, being basically let off the hook, had been something she would never take for granted. Stan had taken the initiative of getting rid of Jeff's body. Ruby had been completely open with him at that point, no more lies, and he had come to Beth's house one night, dug it up and no words were ever spoken about it again. There was almost nobody in the world Beth trusted more than Stan and so she was okay leaving it at that. For now it seemed, Turner was off her back and she could breathe without looking over her shoulder every second.

At that point, Rio’s cash had been cooked and so that aspect of their professional relationship was done, especially with Boland Motors being no more. The feds had eventually handed back the keys and given her and Dean the all clear but they had both decided that maybe they were better off starting fresh. Dean had been able to sell the business, any remaining (legal) cars, and the building to a colleague who was looking to expand. They'd split the earnings right down the middle and Dean was currently working to get into real estate - something Beth actually thought was a smart move for him.

All of that to say, Beth really had no reason to reach out to Rio following their heated argument in his car that night and so she hadn’t. She’d had enough going on in her life that she almost didn’t think about him at all. Almost.

Three months ago though that all changed. 

It had been one of Dean's weekends with the kids and she, Annie and Ruby had been out for a girl's night - dinner followed by drinks at some new bar they'd been wanting to try. Thankfully, she'd declined Ruby's offer to drive her home at the end of the night, opting to take an Uber to save Ruby from going out of her way so late at night. 

On a scale of one to ten, Beth was probably somewhere in the middle of the drunk scale but she definitely had not noticed Rio sitting on her front steps until she practically ran into his legs. He hadn't moved when he'd seen her walking up, only sat there, knees bent to his chest, arms resting on his knees, that damn smirk covering his face. 

She remembered looking up from where she had been digging for her keys - she had been completely surprised by his presence. She had wondered if she would ever see him again and she may or may not have envisioned how it would go but she'd never let herself think about a scenario where he sought her out.

"Are you here to kill me?" Popped out of mouth before she could stop it and she had to clear her throat. Her mouth was dry, her voice raspy from yelling over bar music and one too many drinks.

He narrowed his eyes at her, seemingly caught off guard by her inane questioning. She was only half serious but she had wondered more than once if he might be wanting to "take care of her." After all, she knew a lot, probably too much, and maybe she was a loose end that would eventually need cleaning up. 

"Yeah, mind if we take it inside? I don't need no neighbors witnessing anything." He finally answered dryly and he seemed sort of pissed but Beth couldn't understand why he had any right to feel that way.

She scoffed and moved around him so that she could go inside. She opened the door after only two tries and she knew that her shaky hands had nothing to do with the alcohol, nothing to do with her actually thinking he was going to kill her and everything to do with the fact that she had no control over how he made her feel.

She felt, more than heard, him follow her and the door closing behind her was confirmation of the fact. She kicked off her heels and threw her purse and keys onto the entryway table before moving into the kitchen. She didn't turn on any lights, the glow of the moon through the windows and the small light over the stove the only brightness in the room.

Out of habit and a need to do something other than stand there she grabbed two glasses and a bottle of Bourbon from the cabinet above her head. She turned and it wasn't until she had filled two glasses and slid one across the island to where he stood that their eyes really met.

He grabbed the glass but didn't take a sip. She, however, was desperate to feel the burn. It was better than feeling the tightness in her throat, the butterflies in her belly.

"What do you want?" She finally asked because she had to know and clearly nothing had changed with Rio. He never gave her more than he had to even though he had been the one to show up on her doorstep.

"You don't seem happy to see me." He deadpanned, taking a sip from the glass in his hand. She couldn't help but follow his movements - his lips touching the glass, his tongue peaking out to catch the liquid, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. She bit her lip and forced herself to meet his eyes again.

"It's just unexpected." 

He nodded, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the island. 

"Glad to see you're not in jail."

She rolled her eyes and finished off the drink in her glass. "I assume you were aware of that fact already."

He didn't confirm or deny her suspicions.

"Whatchu been up to?" He asked as if they were old friends catching up. Her mouth gaped open in surprise because - really?

"Rio, come on." 

He pursed his lips and she could see his mind working, trying to decide if he should put her out of her misery or keep up with his games for just a little longer.

He pushed himself back up so he was standing straight and made his way around the island so that he was standing next to her. She turned so that they faced each other but she purposefully took a step back to put some distance between them. 

"I've been thinking I didn't like how we left things." He finally said and that for sure had been the last thing she had expected him to say but she kept her cool (sort of).

"Professionally, right? I was only ever work to you, after all." She'd been waiting months to get the dig in but it didn't feel as good as she thought it might especially because as much as she tried to convince herself he hadn't meant it she really wasn't all that sure.

"Can't let that go, huh?" 

She rolled her eyes because of course that would be his response. It was late and she was tired and quickly on her way to losing that happy buzz she'd felt only minutes ago.

"Either tell me why you're here or leave."

His jaw tightened but she couldn't figure out what his game was and she was not in the mood to figure it out.

"We were laying off the cash for a while but thinking about starting back up again." He started, pausing to give her a minute to let his words sink in. "Wondering if you wanted back in."

"No, thanks." She said quickly, too quickly. She couldn't give herself time to think about his offer or she might gladly accept.

He didn't exactly look surprised at her answer and she wondered if that was even the reason he'd come at all. "Busy with the PTA?"

She shrugged and played mindlessly with the glass on the counter in front of her.

"Busy being a single mom."

He nodded but didn't push. 

"You look good." He said after a moment of silence, his voice low. Before she could answer or even think about answering he was making his way towards the door.

"Rio." She called his name to stop him. She knew she couldn't let him leave again without any idea of when (or if) she might see him again.

He turned slowly and waited. 

"I - you..." She stumbled over the words because she really didn't know what to say. There were a millions things she wished she could say - a million things she could yell at him for, but she found she wasn't even mad at him anymore she was just relieved that after months of nothing he was finally standing here in front of her. For the first time she let herself realize that she'd missed him and she hated herself for it but there it was. 

"I mean, nothing for months and now you're just leaving again?"

He shoved his hands into his pockets before answering.

"Thought I'd give things time to die down."

She knew it made sense but she also had no idea if he felt even a fraction of what she did. She had a million more things she wanted to say but nothing she really could say so she just shrugged - lifted her shoulders up high and let them deflate dramatically so that he could see just how resigned she was. He eyed her for a minute before slowly walking back in her direction. He rounded the counter and took his place in front of her, where he'd been only minutes before.

He lifted his hand to push a piece of hair behind her ear like he'd done so many times before. She closed her eyes and wondered if he could hear her heartbeat. His hand dropped to his side and she opened her eyes, meeting his, both searching for something. 

"Don't worry ma, I kept tabs on you." He said with a grin.

She rolled her eyes not at all surprised and it should have pissed her off but of course it didn't. "I don't even want to know."

"So you ain't interested in washing cash at your new job?" And of course he knew she was working at the bakery but again, she didn't want to know. She glared but he only laughed and she felt the tension slowly leave her body.

"I'm back to being a normal, boring, lawful citizen. I am of no interest to you anymore." It was a joke but...

"You'll never be boring or normal." She'd anticipated that response.

She hadn't been prepared for the next part.

"And, unfortunately, you'll never not be of interest to me."

She had no idea what made her do it but before she could even stop herself she was pushing up on the tips of her toes so that her mouth could meet his. Her hands flew up, gripping his neck on either side and she felt his hands move to rest on her hips. She didn't open her mouth and he didn't open his, their lips just melded together for a minute and she felt relief at the connection that was still there - the spark. She'd only been with him twice but she'd known twice would never be enough.

She pulled away but didn't move her hands. Her eyes were everywhere except on his but she imagined they were dark and questioning. He squeezed her hips trying to push her to look at him but she wouldn't, couldn't.

"You miss me or something?" He joked but his voice caught in the middle, raspy and wrought with want or need or both.

"I don't even know how it's possible." She muttered because it was as honest as she was willing to get.

He laughed and she did finally meet his eyes when she heard it.

"I got a confession." He said, and she perked up at his words but waited for him to continue. "We been washing cash again for a month and I ain't really interested in bringing you back into the business."

She narrowed her eyes at him and slid her hands down so they rested on his chest - hard just like she remembered.

"What if I would have said yes to your proposition?"

He shrugged, pulling her a fraction of an inch closer. "I woulda let you make your case."

"So then you didn't come over here to talk about work." She let the news sink in slowly. "Does that mean you came over here for...personal reasons?"

"I been thinking about this." He said, sliding his hands down to grab her ass and she yelped in surprise but didn't pull away.

"Rio."

"I missed that too." He mumbled, his eyes on her lips and she had a feeling their conversation was coming to an end and in the back of her mind she realized she was letting him off the hook way too easily.

"What?" She asked quietly.

"Hearing you say my name."

She sighed and this time he was the one that leaned in for the kiss, hands still glued to her ass. This time she did open her mouth and he did open his and the shocking heat of his tongue, demanding for more, urging for her to open wider undid her.

Her fingers dug into hard, lean muscle and her knees weakened. He turned them so that he could press her against the counter for leverage. He kissed her deeper and nipped at her lower lip soothing it with his tongue after the fact. She let him take charge, fully content to just be along for the ride. Her hands moved back up to his neck wishing, not for the first time, that his hair was a little longer so that she could bury her fingers into it and pull.

She drowned in the primitive need that he unleashed into her mouth. He was just as hungry for her, caught up in months of wanting but not being able to have. A whimper caught in her throat as his hands moved under her shirt just barely grazing her skin. He bit and licked and thrust his tongue into her mouth and without even being able to stop herself she arched her hips, pushing impossibly closer to him.

He pulled back with a groan and a "fuck" as she hooked one leg around his hip and tilted her head back to give him access to her neck so that she could catch her breath. His hands moved further up her shirt as he bit and kissed and licked at the slope of her neck, cupping her breasts, fingers dragging over her tight nipples. She moaned and bit hard on her lip to try to control the whimpering. His mouth was back on hers in an instant and the kiss turned impossibly more needy. 

The buzz of his phone in his pocket cut through the fuzziness in her head and he must have heard it too because he ripped his mouth from hers - lips red and swollen and so, very tempting. He cursed but stepped back, and the sudden loss had her cold and whining.

He smirked but pulled his phone from his pocket to take the call. He moved out of the kitchen and into the entryway but she couldn't move - felt lost in a daydream. Eyes wide, lips swollen, hair a mess - she must have been a site to see.

His call couldn't have taken more than a minute but it gave her time to compose herself and it most certainly put a damper on the mood. Her mind was suddenly swirling with thoughts, her emotions running the gamut. She turned when she heard him return and watched as he made no move to round the counter and pick up where they left off.

"I gotta go." He said and she'd expected it but couldn't help but feel disappointed.

She didn't answer but gnawed on her lip where he had just been doing the same. She was still no clearer on why he'd shown up tonight than she had been when he'd arrived - if anything she was more confused and she refused to be the one to say anything.

"I'll see you." He said, matter-of-factly, breaking the silence that filled the room. 

"Will you?" She asked because now she was annoyed - turned on and annoyed - but annoyed nonetheless.

He nodded as if he was convincing himself of the fact too. Then he was gone and it was her having to convince herself that he had actually been there at all.

But she did see him again. 

The next night actually and she wondered how he knew that she was kid-free for the weekend or if he just didn't care. But he kept coming back and she kept letting him and slowly it became almost normal. She had no clue what they were doing - he would either show up without any warning or text to let her know he'd be by later on and she had never turned him away.

There had been a few nights, when the kids weren't home, that they had eaten dinner together like tonight but for the most part their relationship was kept strictly within the confines of her bedroom - sometimes the couch and a few times the kitchen but it seemed, to her at least, that sex was the basis of this relationship and that was it. He stayed the night and occasionally she found him still there when she woke up but those times were few and far between.

That was why tonight, eating take out and watching TV on the couch seemed out of place. That was why she refused to inform Ruby and Annie of Rio's reappearance into her life and that was why she most certainly had no plans to ask him to be her date to her sister's wedding. 

The home makeover show ended and Beth stood to clear the food and dirty plates from the table. Rio reached over to grab the remote off the table and it took everything in her not to ask him what the actual fuck was going on. Why wasn't he pouncing on her, pulling her into the bedroom, or following her into the kitchen only to pull down her pants and fuck her against the refrigerator?

She put the leftovers in the fridge and placed the dirty dishes in the sink - too off kilter to focus on cleaning them now. She distractedly pulled down a second wine glass from her cabinet and grabbed the bottle of red on the counter before making her way back into the living room. 

Rio sat almost too comfortably on her couch and had kicked his shoes off in her absence. One foot sat perched on his knee and he sunk into the couch so snugly that she had to double check that he was still awake.

She sat next to him and filled up her glass before holding up the empty one to ask if he wanted it. He nodded but didn't move to reach for it when she placed it in front of him. She sat back, waiting for the awkwardness to take over but it didn't. She was curious but comfortable.

They were quiet for a minute - he had changed the channel to some documentary on the drug cartel in Mexico and she wondered if he meant to be ironic. It wasn't until he lifted his arm to rest on the couch behind her and started absentmindedly playing with her hair that she felt the overwhelming need to say...anything.

"What's going on?" She asked and she had tried to hide the confusion but based on the look that crossed Rio's face she hadn't succeeded.

"Whatchu mean?"

"I mean -" She lifted her hand, waving it in the air at the TV and the wine and the lounging. He continued to look at her as if he was confused and she swore she could strangle him.

"Why aren't you like... trying to get in my pants?" She finally said and it sounded ridiculous but it got her point across.

He chuckled and removed his arm from behind her, rubbing his face with his hands as she continued to stare at him.

"I'm wiped."

Her mouth gaped open and she waited for him to elaborate.

Of course, he did not.

"You're wiped." She repeated his words more as a question than anything.

"I had a long day. Worked til late last night than Marcus had three soccer games early this morning. Then I had other shit to do and I don't know I'm just fucking exhausted."

And he actually looked it now that she was clued in to the fact. Obviously he could not sleep for days and still look like perfection but yeah, his eyes seemed heavy and his body was just weary and she almost felt bad for pushing but -

"So why are you here then?" 

He stared at her and he looked just about done with her questions. 

"Sorry sweetheart didn't know I had to be ready to perform to be allowed in the door." 

And he was pissed and frustrated and most of it probably came from the fact that he was tired but she felt guilt take over at the way she had worded it. He moved like he was going to get up but she put a hand out to stop him, gripping at his bicep, holding it so that he couldn't get further. He paused but didn't turn to look at her just rubbed his hands over his face again before dropping them into his lap.

"No, stop. You know I didn't mean it that way." She said softly so as not to make him any angrier. "I just - I mean, you didn't have to come over you could have just stayed home and gone to sleep."

She wasn't sure continuing the conversation would get her anywhere but she had to get him to at least try to understand where she was coming from. 

He fell back into the couch and closed his eyes. "Wanted to sleep with you." Maybe it was because he was so tired but he sounded so vulnerable and she just wanted to hug him.

She bit her lip and sat on her hands to keep herself from tackling him in a bear hug. 

"Was hungry too and figured you'd have something to feed me with." He said after a minute of silence because, of course, he couldn't just leave it at that.

His eyes were still closed but he had a smirk on his face and even though he couldn't see her she rolled her eyes. 

She stood up and he opened his eyes when he felt the weight of her leave the couch. She reached her hand out to him and he took it, standing to follow her down the hall into her bedroom. She'd left the wine glasses on the table and dirty dishes in the sink but right now all she could think about was making him feel better. She closed the door of the bedroom behind them and turned to look at him. She moved to stand in front of him and lifted his t-shirt at the bottom, pulling it over his head. She dropped the shirt to the floor and then moved to work on his belt and jeans. His eyes bore into her but she ignored him, leaving him in just his boxers. She pushed him towards the bed pulling the covers down just before he fell into it. She undressed herself (and he watched the entire time) and at the last minute pulled on the t-shirt of his she had just thrown to the floor.

She rounded the bed and got in on the other side, burying herself under the covers before sliding closer to him. 

"I can probably find it somewhere in me to fuck you before I pass out." He said quietly but his voice was rough. While it sounded tempting she refused and he was out cold before she could turn off the light.

***

She woke up to darkness but a shuffling under the covers that had her on edge momentarily. It took her vision a minute to adjust to the dark and her head a minute to remember where she was, who she was with and what had occurred hours earlier. The sun hadn't come up yet so it had to be the middle of the night but based on Rio's current whereabouts and the direction that his hands were moving it seemed as though he wasn't so tired anymore.

She felt him as he pushed his t-shirt up her stomach and slipped his fingers under the seam of her underwear. He curled them around the fabric and she felt his knuckles press against her sensitive skin. She moved to tug on his head to pull him up to her but he refused and she hated that she couldn't see him. She pushed the blankets to the side so that they weren't covering him anymore but it was still too dark to really make out much of anything. She could see him between her legs but she couldn't see him. Beth's hips rolled instinctively as Rio pushed her panties to the side and grazed her clit with his thumb. His touch was feather light but it had her seeing stars and she knew (and he probably did too) it wouldn't take long to get her screaming his name.

He moved one hand up to palm a breast but the other stayed down below. He worshiped her with his tongue, licked and sucked and teased until she was desperate and needy and she hated it and loved it equally. He made her come with his fingers and his mouth and before she even had time to recover, he had pushed off his boxers and pushed inside of her.

He settled between her thighs as she wrapped her legs around his waist and her body squeezed him tight. He took a ragged breath and now that he was closer to her, she could see into his eyes and his desire matched hers identically.

"So fucking good." He rasped against her lips almost inaudibly as he moved inside of her. She rocked her hips and he groaned pressing his forehead to hers before he took her mouth in a deep, drugging kiss. He moved faster before he slammed inside of her eliciting a gasp that Beth could not control. She pleaded and he moved a bit faster each time she said his name under her breath. He found the angle that hit that spot, his dick scraping against her clit getting them both closer until -

His name ripped from her lips and she threw her head back and let her second release in minutes take over her body. He grasped her hips, bucked upward and let his own take over seconds later.

Her muscles shut down and he collapsed on top of her. They laid there for what seemed like an eternity before Rio moved off her into his spot on the bed. It had been over three months and she was still surprised every single time at how good they were together. It had never been like this for her. Ever. She hadn't even known it could be this good.

"Feeling less wiped?" She asked still breathless. He laughed and turned onto his side, his head propped in his hand as he looked at her in the dark. Her head moved to face him but she didn't have the energy to move her body. He always recovered quicker than she did. She refused to believe it had anything to do with the fact that he was a few years younger and everything to do with the fact that he literally wrecked her every.single.time.

"I was." He said with a small yawn and she smiled before they both closed their eyes to fall back into sleep.

***

Beth wasn't sure what woke her because she still felt bone tired but the sun was shining through the curtains and the clock at her bedside said it was just past seven in the morning. She always tried to sleep in on Sundays but her internal clock rarely allowed it. The spot next to her was empty and she assumed that meant Rio had left already but the sounds of movement in the kitchen had her thinking otherwise. 

She hopped out of bed and made her way into the bathroom to clean herself up from the middle of the night activities before throwing on a pair of sweatpants. She made her way out to the kitchen and smiled when her eyes caught Rio standing in her kitchen, back to her, as he messed with the coffee pot on the counter.

She stood there for a minute, staring at his backside. He was shirtless - probably because she had hijacked his t-shirt - but his jeans sat low on his hips. He tinkered with the pot and she heard him curse as he attempted to make himself a cup of coffee.

"Need help?" She asked as she walked to him. He turned around at the sound of her voice and the look on his face answered her question immediately.

"This thing is ancient." He said and she knew he was about to rant about how she needed to buy a new coffee pot. It seemed to be a running conversation between the two of them lately and she half expected him to show up with a new one any day now. 

"I told you, it's vintage." She answered, coming around to stand next to him. She pushed a few buttons giving some of them a healthy shove and smiled in victory when she heard the pot come to life. The coffee started brewing and she smiled in his direction raising her eyebrows with a smug look on her face.

"It's a piece of shit is what it is." He mumbled. He leaned against the counter as he waited for the coffee to finish. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her for a minute before changing the subject.

"I'm gonna need my shirt."

She nodded but made no move to take it off. "After coffee."

His mouth curled upwards but he didn't push only watched as she sat down at the stool across from him at the island. 

"Sleep well?" He asked with a smug look across his face.

"Almost as well as you, probably." She teased and how they got here, to this point where they bickered and teased and joked with each other in the early morning of a Sunday, she'd never understand.

"What's all that?" He asked, nodding his head in the direction of the dozens of mason jars that lined the crafting table behind her. She sighed because she'd let herself forget about all the work she still needed to do to get ready for Annie's wedding only six days away.

"Annie's wedding." She answered as if that clarified the ribbon and jars. She was sure she had mentioned that Annie was getting married at some point during one of the conversations they‘d had between sex. A large percentage of their relationship involved being naked but there were times (usually also naked) that they discussed their lives and their children and in this case, her sister. 

He nodded and moved to fill his cup and hers with the now brewed coffee. He drank his black, the same way he preferred his tea, but filled hers with the perfect amount of cream and sugar and the fact that he knew how she took her coffee. That had taken a while to get used to.

He didn't move to sit next to her but stood across from her so that they could look at each other. They each sipped their respective coffees for a moment, enjoying the quiet of a kid-free Sunday morning.

"When is it?" He finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Saturday." She answered. She couldn't help but let her mind wander to the conversation she'd had with Annie in this exact same spot only the day before. 

"I'm trying to picture the poor schmuck who's marrying her but I can't do it." He said almost in bewilderment as if he truly could not understand who would willingly put up with her sister for a lifetime.

"Be nice." She reprimanded with a grin. 

"She sure he ain’t undercover?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

She rolled her eyes but shook her head. "Firefighter."

He laughed, actually belly laughed, and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "Probably smart - I imagine she don't change the batteries in her smoke alarms too often."

"Funny." She answered sarcastically but in all honesty, he was probably right. If anyone was changing batteries prior to Nick, it was Sadie. 

"You her maid of honor?" He asked and she was surprised he even knew what a maid of honor was.

She nodded, sipping her coffee. "Yep. Maid of honor, party planner, wedding coordinator. I'm wearing several hats."

"You're too nice, ma." He said with a shake of his head. He downed the last of his coffee and went to refill for a second. She watched as he moved around her kitchen effortlessly and she couldn't help how much she liked it. She'd never let herself believe this could be more than sex but last night had changed something for her and she worried that she was about to go down a path that would not end well for her.

"She's my little sister." She said with a shrug as an afterthought - lost in her thoughts.

She could see him eyeing her, looking her over, and she wondered not for the first time what he was thinking. Was he thinking about how he liked waking up with her in the morning? How he liked talking to her? How he liked just being with her?

She held his gaze for a minute and attempted to read his mind but he was a blank slate. She never could read him; she didn't know why she continued to try. 

She wasn't sure what made her do it but she decided at that moment to throw all caution to the wind. She couldn't read him per say but she did know that something had been different last night and she chose now to be the confident, Boss Bitch he seemed to believe she was.

"She's bugging me to bring a date."

He nodded as if that were normal but she saw a slight clench of his jaw.

They had obviously never talked about whether or not they were seeing other people. She knew that he at least owed her that discussion but she had always been too scared to rock the boat. She liked to believe he wasn't sleeping with anyone else, he seemed to spend most of his free nights with her but she really had no idea how he spent the rest of his time. She obviously hadn't been with anyone else. In fact, she had been asked out last week at the bakery by a regular customer who, in retrospect, she probably should have said yes to. He was a nice, successful, handsome man who had shown interest in her for quite a while. She deserved someone who wanted to take her out on dates and get to know her but, alas; she was completely and utterly blinded by the tattooed, criminal in front of her.

"Are you with anyone else?" She asked and she wished she had sounded more firm, more confident. She wished her voice hadn't wavered as she'd asked. It was more finding out the answer than being worried that he wouldn't answer.

His eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched tighter and she could almost see the wheels turning in his head. He always thought before he spoke - was never rash or quick to answer. It was all calculated, never spontaneous. He could never just be straight with her.

"Be more specific." He said finally, slowly, and it actually enraged her.

"Are you having sleepovers and waking anyone else up in the middle of the night to fuck them?" 

Her cheeks heated and she felt the flush move up her chest. How could she feel so content with him one minute and so downright pissed the next?

He smirked the same way he always did when she got aggravated with him and she knew he got a serious kick out of her when she used the "f" word. She sometimes wondered if he stuck around because he was amused by her and whether or not the novelty would wear off eventually.

"Want to know what I'm doing when I'm not here?" He asked and um, yeah, she really did.

She raised her eyebrows as if to tell him to go on.

"I work or I'm with my kid. Occasionally I got to go to my mom's or my sister's for a meal or they give me shit. When the fuck would I have time for anyone but you?" He asked incredulously as if he really wanted to know how she could believe he would, or could, be with anyone else.

"It's not like I have any idea how you spend your time." She responded because wow, she was getting more out of him than ever and she briefly wondered if that were her own fault. Maybe all she had to do was ask.

"Well now you know." He said but his jaw was still clenched and he looked ready to snap.

She thought better of asking him how long it had been since he'd slept with someone else but for now she was happy with his answer. He still looked mad and in this case it was as if he wanted to ask something but wasn't sure how to.

"Anything you want to ask me?" She asked innocently, her eyes staring intently at her cup of now lukewarm coffee.

"You ain't fucking anyone else." He said so knowingly that she glared.

"I'll have you know that I got asked out just last week by a guy named David that comes into the bakery. He's very interested."

He scoffed and turned to pour the last of his coffee down the drain. He rinsed the cup out quickly and placed it in the sink before turning to her. 

"There's no shot in hell a guy named David is making you come twice in a matter of minutes."

And yes, she was actually pretty sure that was accurate but screw him. "You're so cocky."

He just smiled.

"Maybe I want more than multiple orgasms in one night." 

She was surprised that she was able to say it with a straight face because, yes, a deeper relationship would be nice but she wasn't looking to give up those orgasms anytime soon either.

He stared at her for a beat as if he was really thinking about what she'd said so she tried her best to keep eye contact and not waver under his gaze. This conversation had veered off into dangerous territory - she had no idea how they had gotten here but she wasn't sure they could go back after this.

"You should take David to your sister's wedding." He suggested as if it was a novel idea. His voice was low and he almost sneered when he said the name David and if he didn't look so serious she would have laughed. 

"Stop." She said because she was done with this conversation. It had not gone as planned.

"No, for real." He said. "Bet he can give you that ‘more’ you're looking for. Bet he'll dance with you and impress your friends and be a real good step-dad to your kids."

He was already out of the kitchen and heading towards her bedroom before she could respond. Her mouth hung open and she was just - - speechless.

She jumped off her stool to follow him and entered her bedroom to find him seated on the edge of the bed, slipping into his shoes

“Gonna need my shirt.” He said without looking at her. He gathered his wallet and keys from where they had fallen onto the floor the night before and shoved them in his pockets. When he was out of things to keep his hands busy, he looked up at her. She stood, hands on her hips just watching.

“Rio.”

“I’ll take it off you myself if I gotta.” He said ignoring her pleading. His voice lacked any sign of humor and she could tell he was not in the mood for her to argue with him. She lifted the shirt off leaving her only in a bra and sweatpants. She felt a slight sense of relief when she watched his eyes linger a second too long on her top half but sighed when he grabbed the shirt from her outstretched hand and pulled it over his head.

“You’re really going to leave all pissed off like this?” She asked quietly as she walked to her dresser and pulled on the first shirt she put her hands on.

He shook his head but met her gaze. “I ain’t pissed.”

“I don’t want to go on a date with anyone else.” She let him know because all she wanted was to go back to how things had been when she walked into the kitchen.

He shrugged and walked past her, out of the bedroom. She followed behind a little pathetically and caught up with him at the front door. She noticed, as she passed through the living room, the wine glasses still sitting on the coffee table from the night before and wondered how’d they gone from that to this. 

He reached out to grab the doorknob and she touched a hand to his arm before he could turn it.

“I’m not into playin’ games.” He said whipping around to face her. “I assumed you knew that.” 

“I’m not playing games. I’m just trying to figure out what this is between us.” She probably sounded a little desperate especially for a grown woman but that was what he did to her.

“So you thought throwing out that your sister wants you to take a date to her wedding or bringing up how you got asked out or asking me if I’m sleeping with anyone else was a good way to do that.”

She threw her hands up in the air because when he listed her transgressions out like that it all sounded ridiculous. She slowly realized that by trying so hard not to scare him away she was actually doing an awesome job of exactly that. “You threw me off last night.”

He sighed like maybe he understood a little bit. “No rules here, ma. Just doing what feels right.”

“Hypothetically speaking - if I would have asked you to go to Annie’s wedding with me – would you have said yes?”

He winked and smiled as he pulled the front door open. “No fucking chance.” 

And then he was gone.

***

Two days passed and she didn’t hear from him. It wasn't entirely unusual - when he had Marcus she typically didn't hear from him - but the way they'd left things Sunday morning left her feeling unsettled. The good thing was she had plenty to keep her busy. If she wasn’t working at the bakery she was finalizing and confirming last minute details for the wedding.

By Tuesday she felt confident that everything was in place and she really didn’t have much left to do. 

The centerpieces were completed, all she had to do was pick up the flowers on Friday and fill the jars. To cut back on costs Annie had suggested they just use flowers from the local grocery store and Beth had agreed. Sadie was in charge of the playlist and Ruby would pick up and deliver the cake to the venue Saturday morning (Beth’s place of employment had generously offered to make it).

They had hired a local photography student to take pictures and the justice of the peace performing the ceremony knew where to show up and when. The restaurant where they would be exchanging vows and having cocktails, dinner and dessert had finalized the menu with Beth over the phone and assured her that they’d handled many weddings and to leave the details to them. The restaurant was situated on Lake Detroit and if the weather cooperated the ceremony and reception following would be outside on a patio overlooking the water. The guest list was small and intimate but Beth wanted the day to run smoothly - Annie deserved it. 

Because of how hectic the week had been, Beth didn’t have much time to dwell on her relationship issues. Her days were packed and at night, she fell into bed exhausted. 

Wednesday evening found Annie and Ruby at Beth's house. Take-out containers and wine glasses filled the dining room table and the girls laughed about some work horror story Ruby had shared with them. Whenever life got crazy or overwhelming, Beth was grateful that she had the two of them to count on. The distraction helped but she was still well aware of the fact that she hadn't heard from Rio in days and had no idea where they stood. 

"I'm getting married in three days!" Annie yelled before taking a sip of her wine. She sounded as though she still couldn’t quite believe it and Beth hoped that Annie knew she deserved the fairy tale.

"Cheers!" Ruby said and the girls clinked glasses not for the first time that night.

"Do you think he's going to change his mind?" Annie asked but she didn't seem all that worried.

"No, Annie! The guy is crazy about you." Beth encouraged with an eye roll.

"That's true." Annie responded knowingly.

The girls chatted and laughed some more and it wasn't until an hour later that the topic Beth had been hoping to avoid came up.

"Did you find a date yet?" Annie asked with a mischievous grin and Beth knew that the two women had strategically planned to bring this up after she'd already had a few drinks.

Beth nodded and met her sister's questioning gaze. "I'm bringing David - he's a customer at the bakery and he asked me out the other day. I figure - what's a better first date than a family event?"

Annie's jaw dropped and Ruby's eyes widened. They both quickly glanced at the other because clearly they had not anticipated Beth's response. Beth watched the two and it wasn't until a minute later that her straight face cracked and she laughed in their faces.

"I'm kidding!" She exclaimed, crumbling up the napkin in front of her to throw in their direction. Her grin hurt her face and she laughed again when they realized she hadn't been truthful.

"You slut!" Annie yelled, throwing up her arms.

Ruby cackled and wiped a tear from her eye. "I can't picture you with someone named David."

And that made Beth's smile waver a bit because it sounded eerily similar to Rio's reaction albeit not as crass.

Her phone buzzed on the table where it sat next to her and she grabbed it but not before Annie saw an incoming text from 'R.'

"Who's that?" Annie pounced, leaning over the table to attempt to grab the phone out of Beth's hands.

"Oh my God, psycho." Beth said, holding the phone out of her sister's reach. "Have some boundaries."

Annie rolled her eyes and turned to Ruby. "Make her tell us who that is."

"She's right you are a psycho." Ruby mumbled but she turned her attention back to Beth quickly.

"Who's that?" she asked innocently.

Beth wasn't sure how she'd get out of this one so she mumbled "a friend" as she unlocked her phone to read the text she'd been waiting on for days now.

On my way over be there in a few.

She panicked because even though he'd done this multiple times over the last several months Annie and Ruby had never been over when he'd appeared with no (or little) warning.

She jumped up, clicking the phone icon next to his name so that she could call him and ideally stop him before he arrived.

"Need to make a call real quick." She said over her shoulder as she rushed out of the dining room to make a beeline for her bedroom. She shut the door behind her at the same time that he answered.

"Yeah?"

"You can't come over." The words came rushing out of her mouth in a hushed whisper because she was sure Annie and Ruby had their ears to her door, eavesdropping.

"Why?" He asked lazily but he didn't seem overly concerned. 

"Annie and Ruby are here." She answered as she paced back and forth across her bedroom. She nibbled on her lower lip because this was the first time she had spoken to him in days and she was just happy to hear the sound of his voice in any capacity.

He was quiet for a minute and she had to pull the phone back from her ear to make sure the call was still connected. She brought it back in time to hear him respond.

"So what?" It was so matter-of-fact that it took her by surprise.

"I mean -" She stuttered because whenever she thought she knew how he would react to something or whenever she thought she knew what he would do or say in a certain situation he inevitably did the exact opposite. 

"I've met them before." He said before she could continue and she could tell he was smirking. 

"I know that but -”

"I'll be there in five." He said cutting her off and then he hung up and the phone beeped to let her know the call had ended. She stared at the screen because she was rendered speechless and -

She looked up when she heard whispering outside of her bedroom. She moved to pull the door open and found her sister and friend hunched over, attempting to listen in through the wall. Their heads snapped up, eyes wide as Beth stared at them, hands on her hips.

"Hear anything good?" She asked but in the back of her mind, she was freaking the fuck out.

Ruby played it off as if she didn't know what Beth was talking about but Annie glared and stomped her foot like a petulant child.

"I'm the bride! Tell me who that was!" 

Beth ignored her and pushed past the women into the kitchen. She attempted to take a deep breath but wished she had her wine glass, or something stronger, close by. She heard Annie and Ruby come into the room behind her and turned to face them. Annie's arms crossed over her chest and she tapped her foot impatiently. Ruby looked like she always did in these situations – highly amused. 

"You'll know in a minute." Beth finally answered but couldn't hide her annoyance. "How old are you again, Annie?"

Annie groaned and stuck her tongue out at her sister. "Apparently old enough to get married but not old enough to know who her sister is secretly conversing with!"

Beth laughed in exasperation. Before she could answer, the front door opening and closing sounded and three sets of eyes moved in the direction of the entry way. Beth briefly saw Rio enter and turn to face them but her eyes darted quickly to Annie and Ruby to garner their reactions.

If she hadn't been a complete basket case she may have laughed at their response to seeing him. They were both clearly caught off guard. Ruby's eyes moved back and forth between Rio and Beth and Annie's face went from a frown to an extra-large smile in a matter of seconds.

"Oh my GOD!" Annie exclaimed loudly and Beth could see amusement dancing in Rio's eyes.

Beth forced herself to focus on Annie but really all she wanted to do was pull Rio into her room and kiss him and hug him and tell him that she had missed him and that she was sorry. Sorry for trying to get something out of him while being so vague and insecure. 

"Anything to say?" Ruby asked quietly and Beth knew that she would need to talk to Ruby one-on-one after this. They could never quite have a serious conversation when Annie's enthusiasm took over.

Beth shrugged and looked back to Rio for help. He stood in the foyer, hands shoved deep in his pockets. He was clearly waiting on her to say - or do - something. Without being able to help it her eyes trailed down the length of him. He looked good enough to eat as always and when her eyes moved back up to his face, her blush was immediate because he had caught her perusal. He looked back at her with identical appreciation.

"You're working for him again?" Ruby asked almost hopeful and it should not have surprised Beth that their assumption went straight to business rather than personal.

She shook her head and felt her cheeks heating up.

"More like boning again!" Annie practically cheered. She twirled around and went to stand in front of Rio. "It was your car in the driveway that night! You guys let me stand outside for ten minutes while you were getting it on with my sister!"

He held his hands up in defense and Beth almost laughed as she watched her sister point a finger in his face. 

"Annie." She warned and Beth could feel all eyes on her.

The four of them stood quietly for a minute and Beth hated the lack of control she felt. She didn't understand why he had insisted on coming over - he had to have known it would be an all-out ball bust the second he walked in the door and he had to have known that it would put Beth in an awkward situation.

He finally moved and nodded his head in the direction of her bedroom. "I'll be in there."

He went to walk off but stopped and turned before he could get far. "Congrats on the wedding." He said in Annie's direction and it was the worst thing he could have done.

Annie smiled wide, the same smile Beth saw every time the wedding was brought up. "Thanks! Will you be there?"

Beth's eyes widened - so did Ruby's - but Rio only smirked and shook his head with a laugh. "Not really my thing."

Annie reeled back a look of disbelief on her face. "What's not your thing? Open bar? Free food? Cake?"

"More like wedding vows, dancing and small talk." Rio countered dryly but he didn't seem entirely put off by the conversation.

"What about seeing Beth in a really pretty bridesmaid dress where her boobs look phenomenal?" Annie asked as if she might actually be able to convince him to come.

The blush on Beth's face heated once more and she wondered how she had made it this far in life without killing her sister. She turned to Ruby for help but her oldest friend looked to be enjoying the show if not a little concerned about the fact that Beth was back in bed (literally) with a known criminal.

"I'll ask her to try it on for me later." Rio answered smoothly but his voice dipped and she knew he was picturing taking the dress off of her.

The conversation stilted again and Annie looked disappointed that Beth still seemed not to have a date to her wedding. 

Rio lifted his hand in a small wave and moved toward the bedroom. The girls heard the soft click of the door closing behind him and the second it shut, they attacked. 

Beth held up her hands and attempted to take a deep breath. 

"We've been seeing each other for a couple of months. It's just sex. I think. It's confusing. I'm not working for him again. Not yet at least. And that's all I'm saying."

Ruby shook her head and Beth knew what was coming. "This is stupid."

Annie didn't seem to agree but she was also Annie.

"I don't expect you to understand." Beth said with a shrug. "I don't totally understand but - "

And she paused because if she couldn't explain it to herself how could she explain it to them?

"The sex is good?" Annie asked, hopeful for answers to the juicy stuff.

Beth laughed and looked down before answering. "Really good."

Annie punched her fist up into the air but Ruby groaned and stared at her friend forcing her to be honest.

"So it's just sex? No feelings?"

"It started out that way, yes."

"But not anymore?"

"Not anymore."

They left it at that - for now at least. Beth knew that there would be more conversation to follow but she hoped at least that she could straighten things out with Rio before she was forced to give her friends the answers they wanted.

They hugged and even though she didn't ask, they left. Sometimes you didn't have to ask when you were with the people that knew you better than anyone.

***

Rio half sat, half-laid on Beth's bed, his legs stretched out in front of him, his feet crossed at the ankles. He held his phone in his hands and scrolled aimlessly but looked up when he heard Beth enter the room.

She stood at the edge of the bed and looked down at him. After a second, he swung his legs around and spread them so that Beth stood between his thighs. His hands landed right below her waist and her body tingled at his touch.

"Hi." She greeted breaking the silence first.

"Hey." He mumbled, his eyes dark as they met hers.

She bit her lower lip and he lifted his hand to pull it out from between her teeth with his thumb. Her tongue brushed the pad of his finger and he let out a breath she hadn't realized he'd been holding. He dropped his hand back to her hips and squeezed.

"I missed you." She finally said because even though she felt naked and vulnerable she wanted – needed - him to know.

He nodded but didn't return the sentiment - not that she had expected him to. 

"Had Marcus for a few days."

She wasn't sure how to proceed - wished he would initiate the conversation for once so she waited and finally, he did.

"They give you a hard time out there?" He asked, nodding his head at the door.

The corners of her mouth lifted and she shrugged as she placed her hands to rest on his shoulders. 

"Sort of. Mostly asked questions I didn't have the answers to."

He let out a thoughtful "hm" but that was all.

"Sorry about Annie." She said but she wasn't that sorry.

He chuckled all the while his fingers played at the hem of her shirt softly grazing her skin. He smirked when goosebumps appeared and she cursed her body for reacting to him the way that it did.

"Your sister's a trip, ma." His voice was husky and laced with humor and she tried to imagine a time where maybe she and her sister and Rio and Nick spent time together just hanging out. What would that look like? She could picture Annie and Rio ribbing each other good-naturedly and she could actually see Rio getting along with Nick. 

"I know you don't want to come to the wedding - but I -" She stopped and attempted to collect her thoughts. He waited, didn't push or interrupt and she was grateful.

"Maybe after the wedding is over we could -" And she trailed off again because she knew what she wanted but she didn't know how to ask for it. Didn't know how to phrase it in a way that would make him more likely to agree. 

"Why you so nervous to talk to me all of a sudden?" He asked quietly and she had to laugh because did he really think this was a new thing?

"I just don't know what you're thinking. Ever." She said to try to get him to understand.

"Right now I'm thinking that I want to get you out of these clothes." He moved to lift her shirt higher and his hands went to unhook the clasp of her bra. She wiggled a little to get out of his grip so that he couldn't finish the task. She backed up and stood far enough away so that they were no longer touching. He didn't stand up to follow her but held her gaze. She couldn't tell if he was attempting to change the subject and if he was, well, it was certainly tempting but also, she was done being so unsure of...everything. If this was just sex she needed to know and if it wasn't she needed to know that too. 

"So this is just sex then?"

He sighed and let out a frustrated groan. He rubbed his hands down the front of his jeans and let them rest on his knees. "I told you I'm not following any rules."

"Just doing what feels right." She finished, repeating his words from the other night but it still left her clueless and it seemed an easy way out for him.

"I feel like you... know me pretty well." She started hesitantly and when he nodded in agreement, she continued. "So you probably know I do better with some rules."

"Maybe you gotta loosen up a little." He mumbled in annoyance.

She rolled her eyes. "Rio, I let you show up with no warning and screw my brains out on a regular basis even after I don't hear from you for days. That is me loosening up but you need to give me something."

He clenched his jaw, she could see him bite on the inside of his cheek, and she knew he was trying to get his emotions in check before he responded. A memory popped into her mind - of the night Jane had gone missing and he had yelled at her and called her a drug dealer. She'd hated seeing his anger directed at her but later, after Jane had been found safe, she had laid in her bed and replayed the conversation with him over in her head and she remembered loving the fact that he had showed some kind of emotion other than the typical cool, calm and collected Rio.

"Why don't you tell me what you want?" He said finally, his voice level.

"I don't want to feel like your dirty, little secret." She said and she was surprised at the words that came out of her mouth because until she had actually said them she hadn't even realized she'd felt that way.

He laughed in surprise. "That's rich, ma. How quick did you call me to tell me not to come over tonight so your girls didn't find out?"

And he had a point but she choose to ignore him.

"I want to hear from you when I won't be seeing you for a few days." He opened his mouth to argue but she rolled on. "And I want to maybe see you outside of these walls on occasion - like for instance at your place. And eventually I'd like to spend time with each other's kids."

He looked surprised at her sudden desire to outline exactly what she wanted but he didn't look entirely put off by her suggestions. He wiped a hand across his mouth and stoked his chin in thought and she tried not to hold her breath in anticipation of his response.

"Let me guess. You want me to go to the wedding with you too?" He said sarcastically and she had considered it but in all honesty - 

"No, actually, I don't want that at all."

And they both laughed because how could two people have a conversation that seemed to go exactly nowhere.

"You know, Elizabeth, if you haven't heard from me and you're missin' me the phone works both ways." He commented, pushing up off the bed to close the space between them. He's touching her again and she knows this is his way of putting an end to a conversation he doesn't want to have.

"I'll letchu come over but I ain't cooking you dinner." He continued and gripped her hips to pull her close enough to feel every inch of him. "Let's see how all that goes before we bring kids into it."

And it’s enough for her for now.

She wrapped her arms around his middle and tipped her head to look up at him. "I'd also like to, at some point, possibly talk about me getting back into work with you. On a slightly smaller scale. For now."

He narrowed his eyes at her and she could tell that she had caught him off guard. He hadn't been expecting that request and, honestly, neither had she. She'd been restless lately and thinking about it and maybe she didn't have to be his partner this time around. Maybe she could just have some small role, she didn't know how it looked quite yet but she missed the excitement and the connection they'd shared when they'd had business in common so she'd thrown it out there to see if it might stick.

"You're greedy tonight." He mumbled. He reached around to gather her hair into a ponytail in his hand and pulled. The act sent heat straight to her core and she swallowed her throat suddenly thick. He tugged again so that she was forced to meet his eyes and she knew that he would consider her request.

"Can I screw your brains out now?" He asked, referencing her earlier comment.

And yeah, of course he could.

***

The wedding ceremony went off without a hitch. On a bright, warm Saturday in late June, Annie and Nick exchanged vows in front of their closest family and friends.

Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres followed the late afternoon ceremony on a patio overlooking Lake Detroit. Dinner followed and between bites the kids danced on the small dance floor. Sadie’s playlist was filled with cheesy wedding songs but the kids had a blast and everyone laughed at the fun they were having. You could feel the happiness in the air and it was contagious.

After dinner, Dean picked up the kids and even seeing him couldn’t ruin Beth’s good mood. She kissed the rambunctious little ones goodbye and breathed a sign of relief once they were gone. She loved those four but they were a handful. Sara and Henry’s grandparents picked them up so that Ruby and Stan could stay late. Greg cake for Sadie but chose not to come inside – she hugged her mom and new step-dad wishing them well on their honeymoon (and made them promise to return with gifts). 

It was late into the night, after dinner and cake and lots and lots of champagne. Beth couldn’t remember the last night she enjoyed as much as this one.

She gazed around the table first at Ruby and Stan who were having a quiet conversation at the other end of the table with Nick’s sister and brother-in-law. Nick’s sister was a sweet, blonde who currently held a sleeping toddler in her arms. Her eyes moved to Nick’s best friend and wife who were laughing with Annie and Nick; his parents were chasing down the manager of the restaurant attempting to close up the tab for the night.

Beth couldn’t help but let her mind wander to what Rio was doing. Couldn’t help but try to imagine him at this table with the people closest to her. She hadn’t seen him since Thursday morning. She had woken up to him slipping on his clothes in the early morning hours. He had been just about to wake her, he said, and she chose to believe him. She hadn’t seen him since but he had texted late last night to wish her well today and she’d replied with a photo of her dress hanging on her closet door. She did look good in it, just as Annie had said she would and her boobs did look phenomenal. She glanced at her watch – it was close to midnight and she was exhausted. She felt a buzz in her purse and went to reach for it.

Need a ride home?

She read the text once than twice before the second one came in - an image of the outside of the restaurant she was currently sitting in. He was here. 

She bit her lip in an attempt to hide her growing smile. She looked up and met Annie’s eyes. Her sister winked and tilted her head towards the door, giving her the okay to leave if that’s what she wanted to do. 

Beth stood because she had done her job and was officially relieving herself of maid of honor/wedding planner duties. She said her goodbyes giving Ruby an extra long hug and the promise of a long conversation in the next couple of days. She kissed Nick on his cheek and squeezed his arm with a smile. She’d already teared up multiple times today and refused to do so again. She squashed Annie as tight as she could into a hug and whispered into her ear how much she loved her, how happy she was for her and how proud she was to be her big sister.

She grabbed her things and moved inside to walk through the restaurant towards the front door. She waved goodbye to the restaurant staff that lingered. She hadn’t acknowledged Rio’s text so she hoped he had stuck around to wait. 

She pushed open the exit and rubbed at her arms as the cool, night breeze hit her skin.

Her eyes fell on him almost immediately. He was parked in the front row, leaning against the hood of his car. His arms were crossed over his chest, his legs crossed in front of him. One side of his mouth curled up into a lopsided grin when he saw her. His eyes started at her face and slowly moved down, lingering on her phenomenal looking breasts. The dress she wore was long and flowy on the bottom and hugged her curves in all the right places.

She approached him slowly. She’d changed into flats from her heels earlier and he towered over her even leaning against the car. He didn’t make a move to stand up right away. Just watched her and she tried her hardest not to blush under his gaze. He always looked at her as if he were memorizing her and she adored it.

“Come here often?” She joked when she was standing in front of him.

He pushed himself up off the car and closed the space between them. 

“I can’t wait to take this dress off of you.” He said as if he was telling her the weather and she couldn’t stop the blush now. She clutched her bag in one hand, her heels in the other and attempted to keep her cool.

“You can’t rip it off. It’s a rental.” She responded seriously but her eyes gleamed.

He didn’t answer just took her face between his hands and kissed her. Her hands filled with stuff grabbed onto him as best as she could. His lips were hot on hers and she moaned because God she would never get tired of this. He wasn’t slow or forgiving - he kissed her hard and dirty, all tongue and teeth - a promise for what was to come. He pulled back with a final nip to her lip but didn’t let go of the hold he had on her face.

“You wanna come stay at my place?” He asked, dark eyes bore into hers. and the only sign that the kiss had effected him the same way it had her was the slight rasp in his voice. 

She nodded and she almost felt like crying because this day had been emotional as fuck and she wasn’t sure how much more good she could handle. 

He pulled back and grabbed the stuff from her hands with a gruff “let’s go.” They both got into his car, the coolness from the AC that had been running causing her to shiver. He noticed because he turned the vents away from her and lowered the air.

He started the car and backed out of the parking lot, heading in the direction of where he lived. She was anxious and excited at the thought of seeing his space again - it felt different being invited as opposed to breaking and entering. 

“So he went through with it, huh?” Rio asked, breaking the silence and effectively pulling Beth from her thoughts. 

“Who?” Beth asked, confused.

“The guy marrying your nutty sister.” And she laughed because yeah - that was an apt description. 

“Yes. And it was the perfect day.” She said with a smile. She leaned her head back and because she was drunk on love and booze and him, Beth leaned over and grabbed Rio’s hand with hers, lacing their fingers together in her lap.

She didn’t look at him and didn’t tighten her hold. She gave him the opportunity to pull away but he didn’t and it was then that she decided this day would go down as one of the best days.