The Corner

Kara

“There’s a look on your face.” Alex glared at me as we sat in Noonan’s.

“My face has looks. It’s a face. It’s supposed to have a look.” I rolled my eyes at my sister, reaching for another doughnut. “Don’t you have criminals to chase or detain?”

“Nah. I took the day off. I wanted to take Kelly to lunch and catch the first issue of your series fresh off the press. Winn is bringing me a copy after your big meeting.” Alex sipped her coffee. “You’re in a mood.”

I scowled at her. “I’m nervous. I haven’t done a series where I see the initial reaction. Most of the time it was months before I got feedback, and then I didn’t care. I was always three issues behind with reviews and criticism.”

“This series is going to be huge. You’re an amazing writer and this will be something that will catapult you into greatness. You’ll eventually be able to quit your job and sit in your loft, writing whatever you want, Kara.” Alex looked at me, her face softening. “Just think, you can quit your job and still sleep with the boss without the office gossip trailing behind you. How is Lena by the way?”

“She’s great. Nervous too. This morning she was pacing around, practicing her comments to the press. This is big for her to. Draoicht was just background noise, but with this series, it’ll move past the times and Newsweek. At least that’s the numbers marketing has projected.” I shoved the doughnut in my mouth. Never mind the ring on her finger that all eyes in any room will catch, feeding the gossip train. “Alex, can I tell you something?”

“Sure. You know you can tell me anything, as long as it’s not about Lena and you doing bedroom things. I can’t handle that, you’re still my little sister.” Alex smirked, sipping her coffee.

I rolled my eyes again. “I tell you once about making out with a girl in high school, and you kiss girls just as much.” I took a deep breath. “I did something last night. And I’m nervous how everyone will react when they see what I did.” I picked up at the edge of my cup, the nerves rising with every ticking second.

“I’m not packing up your underwear again, Kara. Once was enough.” Alex half smiled, gently pushing another cinnamon roll towards me. “You can tell me anything. I made you a promise years ago, I’d never judge you, hate you, or let you feel alone.” She laid her hand onto of mine.

I nodded. “I gave her the ring.” I squeezed the cup, feeling the paper bend under my grip. I swallowed hard, waiting for Alex to lose her mind. “I mean, I don’t know. I just went with it. Emotions were high, she needed me, and I felt like I could finally fix the pieces. I don’t know. Who knows if I made the right decision? I followed my heart. Shit, Alex. The last time I did that.” I let out a shaky breath, setting the mangled cup down.

Alex squeezed my hand, cutting off my rant. “Kara. Stop and stop holding your breath. Your face is turning purple.” She gave me a soft smile. “The last time you followed your heart, it was broken into a million pieces, and you were barely old enough think there was other options besides running.” She set her giant cinnamon roll on my plate, pushing it closer to me. “You followed your heart this time, right?” I nodded, tearing off a chunk of the roll from the middle. “She’s still here? Right? Or down the block, in her office. But she’s still here?”

I nodded, shoving the roll in my mouth. “I woke up and she was still there, hogging my pillow and all the blankets.” I swallowed down a grin. “But, yeah. She’s still here.” I looked at my sister, feeling the love swell through my body. “She’s still here.”

Alex grinned, chuckling. “If you think about it, she’s always been here, Kara.”

“I know.” I shoved another chunk in my mouth. “She said yes.” I paused as Alex’s grin grew to cover her entire face. I bit my bottom lip, fighting my own grin. “She said yes.”

“Thank fucking god.” Alex lightly punched me in the shoulder. “I’ve been hearing about for the last eleven years, rattling about how you were going to marry the pretty girl in the bookstore. Even on the drunkest nights of your life, you always said you were going to marry Lena in the same breath you cursed her existence.” She laughed when I gave her a dirty look, making her punch me again.

“I don’t think I could love anyone else, Alex. It’s always been her. The world finally makes sense.” I glanced at my coffee mug, my cheeks warming up. “The world is finally quiet.” I let out a slow breath, feeling the weight slip away.

I turned to look out the window, the sun bright, smiling with me.

Finally.

XXXX

Lena

“Ms. Luthor? We have twenty minutes until the press arrives. Did you need anything?” Eve poked her head through my office door, smiling.

I shook my head, twisting my fingers with nerves. “I’m fine, thank you. But can you check if the Draoitcht team is ready? I’d like them to get settled before I enter.” I glanced at the ring of my finger. Another wave of nervous excitement hit, making me fidget more. “Has, um, the team arrived?”

Eve nodded, grinning. “Ms. Danvers just walked in. I’ll make sure there’s tea for you after your speech.” She paused, her eyes falling to the ring. “I’d wish you luck, but it looks like you have plenty on your side.” She winked as I swallowed hard. “Ms. Danvers had me sign for the package from the jewelers.”

“Oh.” I covered the ring with my palm. “Do you think?”

“Anyone will notice? If they do, they won’t dare say a word. The Draoicht team is very loyal to you and Ms. Danvers.” Eve checked her watch. “Fifteen minutes.” She gave me a soft smile before leaving me to stew in my nerves.

Alone, I paced, running my thumb along the ring. I’d never been this nervous in my entire life. Even when a steel plant exploded around me, granted I was passed out for most of that experience. “Shit.” I blew out a breath, looking at the ring. Was I ready for the world to know? Was I ready to explain why Kara and I were engaged after only being in the same hemisphere for less than three months? I barely interacted with her at work. There was gossip, rumors, but most of it flitted away when the next office scandal dropped.

I chewed on my bottom lip. Was I ready to share her with the world just yet? The last time I did, I almost lost her.  I twirled the ring a few more times before slipping it off. I rushed to the small duffle bag i’d stuffed an extra set of clothes in this morning. I had a date with Claire after this meeting to test my arm to see if where its mobility stood. I dug until I found my cosmetic bag, pulling out the old necklace I carried with me for luck. A small Celtic love knot pendant hung off it. The simple sight of it made my heart skip. It was the first thing Kara ever gave me. She’d found it on the streets of New York in between classes and couldn’t resist. It was made from cheap pewter, and Kara always promised to buy me a new one when she could afford it. She was fascinated by everything Irish the moment I told her my true origin story.

I stopped wearing it when I left her, but kept it close. I was afraid to wear it, fearing I would taint the meaning of the knot. I’d broken the ties between us and felt I didn’t deserve to be reminded of the perfect love I was so lucky to have, but too young to appreciate.

Unclasping the chain, I slipped the engagement ring on it, letting it settle right next to the pendant. Putting the necklace back on, I chuckled when the ring gravitated to rest right about my heart, warming the metal as it if always belonged there. I pressed both against my skin, feeling the nerves drift away.

I smoothed out my shirt and skirt, pulling myself together before heading towards the conference room.

XXXX

Kara

I stared at the last drops of coffee in my cup. I was bored beyond belief as the marketing team went over numbers, graphs of numbers, charts of numbers, and forecasted numbers. I remembered why I avoided working in an office, and out in the field. In the field boring meetings meant sitting still for more than an hour without looking over your shoulder.

I glanced at Winn. He was very engrossed in the charts, numbers, and forecasts. Because he helped collect the data and made the presentation I was sitting through. I turned back to my coffee, wondering if I’d disturb anyone by sneaking to the back of the room for a refill.

Just as I went to make my move, Lena entered the room from the side door. She smiled at Sarah, and moved to the corner. Politely waiting her turn to address the team. My heart skipped with one look, and I fought a grin. I stared at Lena as the room fell away, leaving just her standing in the corner in her pencil skirt and deep red blouse. She kept her eyes on the charts, a soft smile on her face as marketing projected a record last quarter for Catco with Daroicht leading the charge.

I shifted in my seat, hoping to catch her attention when I noticed her hands. Clasped together in nerves, and no ring. I swallowed hard, feeling my heart drop ever so slightly. We’d discussed it this morning as I rushed around getting ready to meet Alex. I told Lena she didn’t have to wear the ring in public if it didn’t feel right. We both knew it would cause a media circus and she’d be hounded about who the lucky bachelor was. Never mind the fact our relationship was bland rumors ever since accounting cleaned house and everyone had to go through HR retraining. Then, never mind the fact I was National City’s most eligible bachelorette, Lena being my boss and nothing else.

We were nothing more than a ghostly rumor. I clenched my jaw, reaching up to rub my eyes. I was tired, happy, but tired. I wanted nothing more than to stand on top of the conference room table and shout to the rooftops Lena and I were engaged! Bound to marry each other after ten years of turbulent messes. God, did that part excited me as much as it scared me.

Lena had been my first love and only love, and yet, I wanted no one to know. I didn’t want to answer the inevitable questions to follow how I snagged the third richest woman in the world in a few months of settling in National City. I didn’t want to bring up the past, dig through the ashes of bad memories to get a happy ending for the supermarket magazine racks. I shook my head, picturing trashy paparazzi images of Lena and I rushing to a deli, heads down wearing obnoxiously large sunglasses.

I groaned softly, wishing I’d picked Alex’s brain about how to manage this part of my new life. The part where I had to share Lena with the world again, on top of the world also wanting a slice of me as I began telling my life story.

I tuned out the rest of the meeting, flipping through the pictures Alex sent me as she puppy sat Pepper. Maybe I could sneak out and hangout with them in the park. I wrote the last of my article this morning before the rest of the office came in. Too hyped up on over sugared coffee and excitement of Lena saying yes.

“And that is it for today. Thank you, team and Ms. Luthor. Draoicht is going to be a powerhouse of journalism by the end of the year. We couldn’t do it without this talented team and supportive leadership.” Sarah’s voice broke me from my daydreams of a big backyard for Pepper to run in. I sat up, straightening my shirt and blinking back the haze of boredom. I glanced at Lena speaking with the financial team, wishing to catch her attention.

“Kara? Want to go out for a celebratory lunch buffet? This is going to be a huge launch for us, might as well enjoy the bonuses financial is stuffing in our hands.” Winn stepped in front of me with a huge grin on his face.

I stared at Lena for a breath, before turning to my friend. “Sure. I’ll meet you at your lobby in fifteen. I want to submit my article so the editing team can have it back to me by dinner.” I smiled when he nudged my shoulder in excitement, rushing out of the room. I let the smile on my face drop, reaching for my notebook and empty coffee cup. I felt deflated, worn. Lena and I had agreed to keep the secret, but deep down, the sill twenty-five-year-old in me wanted to jump on the conference table and scream to the heavens. Lena was mine! Forever!”

But the world was different now. Ten years had changed it and me. Secrets were the norm now. The world shared too much too easily, and everything was scrutinized and picked apart. Worlds were built and torn apart with exposed secrets.

I hummed to myself, suddenly missing the ease of living off the grid. The freedom it provided was invigorating as much as it was frightening. I blew out a breath, hating I’d managed to depress myself, and left the room through the back doors. Leaving Lena and the rest of the team fawning over the upcoming blockbuster success knocking at our door.

I took a few deep breaths, doing my best to shake off the feeling before meeting Winn. The last thing I needed was him picking up on my mood and peeling apart until I spilled the beans.

XXXX

Lena

“Where is Ms. Danvers? She’s not in her office.” I smiled at Eve, leaning over her desk, tapping my fingers on the glass top. I wanted to take her to lunch, show her the treasure I unearthed, and then ask her if she was okay if I moved the ring to my finger. The necklace felt fitting in the moment of mild panic, but as I sat through the meeting, I wanted people to know. I wanted people to see the ring and ask questions. I wanted the office to know my one true love came back to me, asked me for a forever and I said yes. But I saw the way Kara sat in the corner of the room, her head down in boredom, burying herself deeper into the shadows. She never liked attention and as her name was brought up again and again, she seemed to burrow down like a turtle in a shell. Kara was still getting adjusted to normal life, let alone our relationship and the rocky past we survived.

“Ms. Danvers left ten minutes ago. She mentioned lunch with Mr. Schott?” Eve flipped through the notebook in front of her. “I believe they went to the buffet on sixth. Mr. Schott keeps emailing me coupons to share with the office.” Eve grinned. “Should I get you a car?”

I shook my head. “No, thank you. I’ll be fine.” I didn’t want to disturb Kara. I knew her lunches with Winn was her time to decompress after a meeting. He was her port in the storm as she continued to grasp onto a normal life with a normal workday and having to be present in an office setting. I would be forever grateful for him taking that on after cursing me out the second week Kara started at Catco. Storming into my office, red faced and unafraid, threatening to dismantle LCorp from the server down if I continued to hurt her. I took it all, that day. The barrage of rage and empty threats, and when he was done, I politely asked him to remind me if I was pushing too far with her. I thanked him, promising to never hurt her again and hoped one day he could forgive me as well. From that moment on, Winn would stop by my office once a week silently handing me a coffee he bought on the way. He’d smile, nod his head and back out of my office without a word. Each week Kara and I reconnected, his smile grew in size, and my coffee would be accompanied by the almond croissant he remembered I loved from our college days. Silent reassurance I was doing the right thing.

“Are you sure? Their lunches are usually an hour to an hour and a half.” Eve glanced at her my arm. “You meet with Claire in forty minutes.”

I paused when an idea suddenly hit me. “I’m sure.” I spun on my heel, fishing my phone out, pressing Claire’s number.

“You’re boring, you know that? The headlines are bare of any massive announcement the richest female CEO has locked it down with National City’s most eligible bachelorette. Nothing, not a peep, a blip, or a blurb. When you sent me that picture of that incredible ring on your finger, I sat by the phone waiting. Waiting for the press to ring me up for all your dirty secrets and ask inappropriate questions of what it’s like to be inside Kara Danvers. Medically speaking of course, she and I did mingle in the headlines after Syria.” Claire rambled, making me chuckle. “I still have the cover of the Tattler, framed in my office bathroom. My thirty seconds of tawdry fame.”

I sighed, rolling my eyes. “It’s still a secret. We decided to keep it to ourselves for a little bit. But.” I paused, the rush of giddiness filling my veins. “What do you think about a quick flight over to Metropolis with me? We can use my labs there, but I need to do something.”

“Metropolis? Hmm. Your labs there are much nicer. I’d like to play with the bone regeneration program you hustled my way last year.” Claire paused. “Ah, yes. I see your game, Lena. You also have your central metal research and development labs in Metropolis. Could you, perhaps, be dusting off your metal working skills to forge a cylindrical device for a finger?”

I hated Claire could read between every line I threw her way. “I’ll be at your office in twenty.”

“Make fifteen. I’d like a solid excuse to get out of meeting the new resident candidates. I hate when they lie so hard about how much they adore my work. I’d rather drag them all into an operating room and see how the handle using a sledgehammer on a stubborn knee joint.” Claire huffed. “You better bring coffee.”

“Anything for you, Doctor.” I laughed, climbing into the back seat of my car, politely asking the driver to stop at The Last Drop before heading downtown.

XXXXX

Kara

Pepper nudged her nose under my elbow, snuffling for me to let her crawl onto my lap. I sat back, letting the little dog slip into my lap, do a few circles before plopping down to snuggle into my sweatshirt. She was asleep in two breaths. I ran my hand through her soft fur, staring out the window with my laptop glaring at me. The sun had long fallen, leaving the city lights to take it’s place. The day had been oddly long after lunch. Lena was out of the office and not answering her phone. I knew she had a follow up appointment with Claire, along with a few other meetings at LCorp. I knew it was a normal day in a normal life, but something in my gut picked at my insecurities. The growling what if? What if I had screwed everything up and rushed to setting a ring on Lena’s finger. What if?

I shook my head when Alex’s voice rammed through, shouting we don’t deal in what ifs!

I hummed, glancing at the open document on my screen. A long-forgotten novel I started last year while in Norway, trapped in a cabin as a blizzard rocked the region I was in. It was the fictionized version of my life, with a dash of spy thriller. The reason I took writing classes in high school and college was to hopefully become the next great thriller novelist. I chuckled, leaning back in my chair, I definitely had the knowledge with my own experience navigating the darkness and lies the world held. Shit, each of my scars and how I got them could be stand alone novels

Truth was, I wanted to retire from the world and hide in a cottage in some small town, sit by a fireplace and write extravagant stories for a living. Making enough money that I didn’t have to worry about headlines, click bait, lawsuits from upset politicians and whoever else hated I exposed the snake beneath the suit.

“That’s the dream, Pepper.” I scooped the little dog up, closed my laptop as I shuffled over to the couch. It was time for takeout and trashy TV until I passed out. I’d taken the next day off to start a three-day weekend. Monday Draoicht’s issue with my first piece would be released and I wanted to mentally prepare for what was to come. This was the first time I was stationary when my story hit the newsstands. Each time before, I was lost in a different corner of the world, running, chasing, and hiding. Never hearing about the impact of my words until weeks later when I collapsed into civilized society.

Setting Pepper down on her pile of blankets, I reached for the stack of takeout menus that had accumulated in the short time I’d been in National City. I flicked through a few, fighting off the urge to grab my phone and call Lena. I had to give her space, especially if I pushed too hard. I’d done that when we first started dating and learned she would recoil at too much attention. I frowned, I’d forever blame the Luthor family for the edges Lena still carried.

“Tacos, or potstickers? Chinese or Thai?” I weighed my options, before deciding on Nachos. I bent over, digging my phone out of my bag, spotting the missed call from Lena less than five minutes ago.

Biting my bottom lip, I sucked it up and went to call her back when a delicate knock landed on my door. I breathed out slowly, knowing that hesitant, yet polite, knock. Lena’s years of etiquette training rearing its perfectly manner head. I glanced at Pepper popping her head up. “Here we go, Pepper. We might need cheesecake and whiskey if this conversation goes how I think it might.”

Pepper gave me a puppy squint, woofing at me as she hopped off her blankets and ran towards the door. Looking back at me as if to tell me get my ass up and over here.

I chuckled, wiping my hands on my jeans, stood up and walked towards the door. Sucking in deep breaths to steel my walls. I breathed out as I pulled the door open.

Lena stood there, nervous smile on her face as she clutched two very large brown bags of food. “Hi, I, um, thought I could bring you dinner? We could have dinner?” She shrugged lightly, swallowing down her own nerves. Pepper ran around her feet, woofing with excitement.

I nodded, stepping back to let her in. “Sure, of course.” I cleared my throat, taking notice Lena was dressed down. Gone was the power suit from this morning, replaced with my favorite pair of baggy jeans, an old, old, beyond vintage, Radiohead sweatshirt I vaguely remember buying for her in a thrift shop in SOHO. I bit back the smile at the sight of the worn down pair of high tops on her feet. God, I loved seeing her dressed down like this. It made her look soft, warm, and something I wanted to hold in my arms forever.

“I stopped by Freya’s table on the way back from the airport. Grabbed you a burger with sweet potatoes fries. I think Freya slipped some extra appetizers with my salad and half a mousse cake. I think there’s enough for six people here.” Lena set the bags on the island, pulling out container after container of fragrant food. “I guess since our last dinner there, and the news of your series coming out, everyone wants to eat where National City’s most eligible bachelorette dines.” Lena bent down, handing Pepper a little dog cookie, smiling as the puppy ran off to her bed to dine in private.

I clenched my jaw at the title I’d been saddled with and hated. “Lena, I.” I took a few steps when it hit me. “Coming back from the airport? What do you mean? I left you walking down the hall with the marketing department.”

“You did. Then I ditched them and took a flight over to Metropolis.” Lena fidgeted with the black plastic container stuffed with a giant burger. “Claire and I had to run some tests, and I had to go get something.” She kept her eyes on the container, picking at the edge.

I hummed. “Look, I know we agreed to keep it a secret. Keep the media out of our business and maybe, maybe it was too fast.” I waved my hands around, fear creeping up my spine. “Maybe we need to rethink where we are, settle into normal life. Well, I need to settle into a normal life and understand everything isn’t based off quick life or death decisions. Things can take time, I can take time, and I can settle and wait. Wait as long as you need to. Ten years was long, but I’ll wait. I can wait ten more, if I have to.” I felt my stomach twist into steel knots when Lena looked up at me with watery green eyes. “I’m sorry, Lena.” I closed my eyes, hating this feeling. The feeling that hovered over me for ten years. The feeling of fucking everything up.

“I’m not, Kara.” Lena’s voice wavered, closer to me. I opened my eyes to her standing a few inches away from me. “I’m not sorry. Oddly enough, I’m not sorry for any of it. I can’t be, why would I be? Even thought it hurt, and it felt like it was never going to be okay, I’m not sorry.” She reached under her sweatshirt, tugging out a chain where the ring I gave her sat with the cheesy Celtic pendant I bought her. “I put the ring on this morning, the way it felt on my finger, erased all the doubts I had about us. It healed the remaining cracks in my soul, ones I would let myself heal. I wanted the world to ask, wonder, inquire, and peel apart the secret of who put it there. I wore it to the office, ready to take on the world. Then I stopped and realized, it wasn’t fair.”

I gave Lena a strange look. “It wasn’t fair?” I was confused, if anything, I wasn’t fair to her. To us as I ran further and further instead of running towards her.

Lena nodded, walking over to her bag, pulling out a small blue silk bag. “Do you remember when you had that horrific incident in South Africa?”

“I blew up a blood diamond factory.” I closed my eyes remembering the incident and my anger at the atrocities I witnessed. I took action, stole some explosives from the security detail escorting my team. I could feel the heat and the pressure change. “I was forced by Gibbs to write the story up as a mystery attack. He didn’t condemn me for my actions, just wanted me to escape the hellfire raining around us. It was the only time I ever lied in a story.” It also helped I didn’t fully remember the story due to the concussion and broken arm I walked away with. Doctors told me I was lucky. Gibbs told me I must be a goddam superhero to walk away from something that should’ve killed any other mortal. I always chalked it up to stupidity and fate. It wasn’t my time, or something like that. Again, I barely remember anything after I lit the fuse and turned away.

Lena nodded, blinking back tears. “I wasn’t there that time. I wasn’t hovering in the shadows to save you, help you, help any of you. I was trapped at Lillian’s final trial, giving my testimony that sent her into another life sentence.” Lena walked over to me, her fingers running over the silk bag. “I panicked. I freaked out. And after I knew you were okay, stable. I let the panic and fear run wild. I was determined to break out of the shadows and find you. Reveal I’d been your silent guardian for the last few years, and plead for you to come back.” She tipped the bag over, a ring tumbling out into her palm. “When I want to fix things, I make things.” She rolled the ring with her thumb. It was a simple silver band, but the entire band was lined with varying stones of shape, color, and brightness. “I had this insane idea if I proposed to you, you’d stop. You’d slow down and come back to me. Never mind we hadn’t spoken in eight years by then, and I knew you hated me with every breath you took. I just thought.” She held the ring up. “And then the thoughts became reality. You left the hospital before I got there, slipping away to England, disappearing into the fog. I couldn’t find you until Syria eight months later. By then…” She paused. “But this morning, another thought struck me, and I wasn’t about to let it go.”

Lena reached up to her neck, unclasped her necklace and let it pool in her other hand. She slipped the ring off and slipped it back on her left finger. “I thought, it wasn’t fair. You gave me a ring, a promise of forever with a ring you carried around the world in a bent tea tin. The ring you always wanted to give me.” She sighed, blinking back tears, opening her palm, picking up the simple band. “The first ring I bought you, was silly. Diamonds and white gold, perfect for a billionaire’s daughter to give. I didn’t think twice when it was stolen. It meant nothing to me, unlike you, Kara.” She met my eyes. “You mean everything to me, and so much more. And when that reality hit me when you were hurt, and I almost lost you.” She held the ring up to the light, pointing at the stones. “This is a stone from the deserts of Syria. This is a ruby from Siberia. An emerald from Ireland, a piece of granite from the Natural History Museum in New York City, an Opal from New Orleans when we went our first year together.” She tilted the ring to a shiny, multicolored stone. “And this, a piece of tile from City Hall Station. Where I told you for the first time, I loved you.” Lena reached for my left hand. “I eventually ran out of room on the band, always adding stones to the places where I fell a little deeper in love with you, Kara. I wasn’t hiding the ring from the world this morning, I just realized it wasn’t fair you weren’t sharing it with me.” She took a deep breath. “Kara Danvers, I love you more and more with each breath I take. I don’t think I could love anyone or anything more than I do you. You’ve changed me in ways I can’t ever explain, or thank you enough for. I know, now, I will never face a morning without you next to me. I will never end a day without saying goodnight, and I love you. The last pieces of emptiness I thought I’d always have hanging in my soul, is gone, chased away by the warmth of your love. I love you, Kara. Will you marry me?” The last few words shuddered out of her. Her hand trembling as she looked at me with tears running down her face.

I wiped away my own with the back of my hand. “Before I say yes, which I’m going to, I want you to know something.” I covered her left hand with mine, feeling her ring bite into my palm. “You saved me. You’ve always saved me, from the first hello to the soft smile you give me when our eyes meet from across the room. You’ve saved me. So, yes. Always yes, I will marry you, Lena Luthor.” I let her take my hand, sliding the ring on my finger, before kissing her with confirmation. This was home, she was home, and I could stop. Take a full stop and live. I whispered how much I loved her against her lips as she kissed me again, almost bruising our lips with how hard it was. Sealing our love with the proverbial kiss.

Lena rest her forehead against mine. “The band is made out of a special metal I created. You won’t scratch it, dent it, it won’t rust and it will flex with your body. Automatically adjusting the size so it never slips off.” She looked in my eyes. “I meant it when I said forever, Kara.”

I grinned laughing, kissing the corner of her mouth. “Forever it shall be.” I pulled her into my arms, loving the way her hands pulled me deeper into her warmth. I looked over at the food just as my stomach rumbled with fierce intensity, causing Lena to laugh in my arms before leaning back.

“Let’s eat, tame your wild beast before it eats itself.” She gently patted my stomach. “I will forever be in competition with your appetite.”

I shrugged, grabbing her hand as she walked away. “That’s because you always treat it so well.” I laughed as Lena tugged me towards the table. I waved a hand over the buffet. “See! How can anyone compete with this spread! You spoil me!” I reached for handful of fries, shoving them in my mouth.

Lena kissed my cheek. “I guess I’ll just have to make you hungry for something else, namely me.” She winked at me, raising her eyebrow in the way I knew, I knew, I was in for an incredible night.

I half choked on the fries, feeling my face turn a bright red as Lena continued laughing with a smirk.

I grinned with excitement. This was my forever, and I wouldn’t take it any other way.