“Basically, but Mekena misses working with her, so she figured she would pitch in for the next two days, get some extra money. You know, she’s gotta support her scrub boyfriend.”

Avery laughed as Jace nodded. “You still haven’t gotten signed? Jeez, you suck.”

He shook his head as a blob of ice cream ran down his neck. Shivering, he said, “No, asshole, not everyone is amazing like you.”

“Already knew that,” Jace said, and Markus rolled his eyes.

“But I did get paid this month, and it wasn’t too shabby. I paid the bills for the month, and I still have money to spend. Hey-o!” Avery and Jace laughed as Markus grinned happily, using a napkin to wipe off the mess that Ashlyn had made. “Into the mouth, sugar. You’re getting it all over me.”

He was answered with sweet laughter from the little girl as Avery looked over at him. “So everything is good?”

He nodded. “Good. Real good. We finally forced Mr. Right on to a diet. He’s lost one pound since we’ve been gone, and he’s only tried to kill the babysitter three times.”

“That’s amazing,” Jace commented.

“I felt the same. I’m pushing for another pound next month when I’m home, but Mekena, man, she feeds into him. Literally.”

Jace laughed as Avery shot him a look. “I didn’t mean the cat, though. I meant how’s therapy going? Mekena says you go every week.”

Markus laughed as he nodded. “Oh, my bad, but yeah, I do. It’s great. Dr. Lemiere is awesome and listens great.”

“Good, so you feel good? You’re playing awesome,” Jace said and Markus smiled.

“So awesome I’m gonna kick your ass Friday. You won’t score on me, bro.”

Jace scoffed. “I will, and I’m not worried about Friday. I’m worried about you now.”

“Aw, you love me.”

“I do, you douche, so you better not be lying to me,” Jace shot back.

“I’m not.”

“You promise you’re good?”

“I am. Promise.”

Avery piped up. “You do seem it. And Mekena is just amazing. I’m so happy because she’s happy, though this shit with Skylar is ridiculous.”

He swallowed hard as he looked over at her, not knowing what she was talking about. He hadn’t heard anything since they had gone to dinner with her parents. Even then, it was just that she was fucking up left and right, which wasn’t something new. She had been on a downward spiral for a while, and getting busted was just the icing on the cake. He wasn’t surprised, but maybe there was more. “What do you mean?”

She held her hands up quickly, her eyes wild. “Oh! Nothing. I’m sure you know everything and probably more than I do. I just mean all of it. I wish Skylar would just get help and stop hurting everyone.”

“Yeah,” he agreed with a shrug, a weight falling off his shoulders. Not Ashlyn, she was still up there, dripping ice cream on him, but figuratively. It was getting easier talking about Skylar, and he knew that was good for Mekena. She needed to talk sometimes, especially when she would get off the phone with her mom. Mrs. Preston was a mess, and he hated that. They were good people. Really nice, and very inviting to him. They liked him, a lot, and he liked them, which made it easier on him and Mekena. “She’ll wake up one day. We hope, at least.”

“Have you talked to her?”

“Skylar? No,” Markus said, shaking his head. “Neither has Mekena. She sent this shitty text a while back about how I’m scum and shit, but we haven’t heard from her since. I think we like it that way. In a way, she doesn’t exist to us, but I know Mekena misses her. As much as she hurt her and everything, they were close and Mekena isn’t a grudge-holding kind of girl.”

“Maybe not before, but after all this, I think she is now. Though you’re right, I do think Mekena misses her, not that she would admit it,” Avery said with a deep sigh. “Skylar really did a number on everyone, and I’m glad that you and Mekena are okay and getting over it.”

Markus agreed as Jace said, “I’m just glad you’re good, not fucked up and all like Baylor was. But it’s different for guys, I guess. I don’t know. I just worry about you.”

“Thanks, and yeah, I’m glad I didn’t handle it like Baylor either. But like you said, it may be different for guys. I don’t know, but I’m good. Mekena is good, and we are doing great. We are really happy, and I feel like being together is helping both of us,” Markus said with a grin, and Avery smiled happily.

“I think so too. And can I just say, I love that it’s a we thing! It gives me goose bumps! Mekena was so in love with you for so long,” she gushed and Markus laughed.

“It feels great being a we,” he said, wiping away more ice cream from his neck. “I don’t ever want to be a me again, only a we. I love her. A lot, and I’m really blessed and lucky that things have worked out.”

“It was meant to be,” Avery sang, her eyes full of love as she leaned into Jace. He kissed her temple and Markus smiled. He loved how great they were together. They were young and everyone probably thought they wouldn’t have made it, but they did and they would continue to. When they were close, they were touching. And when they were apart, he knew they thought of each other constantly. He had loved watching them fall in love, get married, and then have Ashlyn. Avery had had a lot of mental issues, but Jace took care of her. No matter what, Jace had her back and loved her through the bad, the good, and the ugly. Markus felt like that for Mekena, ten times over, and he wanted what Jace and Avery had.

Everything.

“Do you think it’s too soon to ask her to marry me?”

He wasn’t sure what he was thinking when he said that. Maybe he had forgotten that Avery was there because it felt like it did when it was just him and Jace. As soon as he said it, he wished he had thought it through. Within seconds, Avery was waving her arms in the air, jumping up and down.

Ashlyn giggled loudly as Avery gushed, “You’re gonna ask her!”

Rolling his eyes, he laughed as Ashlyn continued to giggle at her crazy mommy. Stumbling on his words, his heart pounded in his chest as he shrugged. “I don’t know. I just…want to.”

“Eek! Yes!”

He shot her a look. “I’m not asking you, dork.”