He wrapped his arms around me and I lay against his chest, glancing around at our soon-to-be home. I fingered the diamond ring that hung around my neck. It was no longer a symbol of all that I’d lost. Now it represented a part of a journey, one I was still embarking on. I’d been fortunate to fall in love not once, but twice.

And I was ready for whatever else life had in store.

Twenty-Nine

Three months later.

Stu

“Be honest. How do I look?”

Lee sat on the sofa finishing off a bacon sandwich when I came out of my bedroom. He paused mid-chew, looked me up and down, smirked, then swallowed.

Before he could answer Trevor cut in. “You look hot, bruv. A real sexy beast. Rawr.”

“Fuck off,” I said, scowling and returning my attention to Lee. Unlike Trev, I knew I could trust him to give me a straight answer. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Why does it matter? Isn’t everyone gonna be wearing the same getup?”

“Don’t they wear that shit in Harry Potter?” Liam piped in.

I shrugged. “Fuck if I know. Feels like a dress.”

“They’re called graduation robes,” said Trev, in a fake haughty voice as he produced the stupid hat I refused to put on. “And you need to wear this, too. It’s traditional.”

“Nope. Not happening. I draw the line at the dress.”

Trev sighed. “Again, it’s not a dress. And you need to get used to wearing it, because I expect you to have a doctorate by the time you’re forty. I wanna be able to go around bragging to everyone that my brother’s a doctor.”

“Unless it’s a medical doctor, it doesn’t count,” said Lee.

Trev’s phone rang, interrupting our conversation. He glanced at the screen, a little secretive smile on his mouth before he answered, “Hey ReyRey, how’s it hanging?”

I should’ve known. Trevor’s special little non-girlfriend best friend was the only one who could make him smile like that. Like the cat-that-got-the-cream-who-knew-your-darkest-secret-and-saw-you-naked-and-discovered-your-Internet-search-history all rolled up into one single expression of smug fuck.

“You love it.” A pause. “Quit complaining, we both know you love it.” A chuckle. “Okay fine.” Silence. “Yeah, the graduation’s at two. Then we’re all heading out for dinner. You coming?” Another pause. “Okay, great. See you then. Smooches!”

Liam screwed up his face while Trev slid his phone back in his pocket. “Smooches? Who are you, Paris Hilton?”

“I’m my own special flavour of exceptional,” Trev shot back. “Don’t be jealous.”

Liam gave him the finger.

“When are you ever gonna stop stringing that girl along?” I asked, frowning.

“Yeah,” Lee added, “because you’re not fooling none of us with the whole best buds story. I’ve seen you looking at her tits. A man doesn’t look at tits like that and think, now there’s a girl I want to be friends with.”

“Oh, you can all piss off, you big bunch of cynical arsebags,” Trev replied snootily. “I don’t have to explain our special friendship to anyone.” There was a pause and then a glint came into his eye. “But if you must know, that’s exactly what I think when I look at tits. I’d much rather be friends with someone with a fantastic rack than some smelly . . . penis-haver.”

“Penis-haver?” Lee chuckled. “Now I’ve heard it all.”

“It’s a word,” Trev went on. “All the cool kids are using it.”

I left them to their bickering and went back inside my room. Fuck, I was nervous. Today the college was holding a small graduation ceremony for a few of the adult education classes. I was gonna have to get up on a stage and collect a certificate and shake some posh bloke’s hand. It felt surreal to think that less than a year ago I was sitting in a prison cell, just trying to survive and get through one day at a time. I didn’t see a future for myself other than one that involved crime. Then I met Andrea and everything changed. She made me want things. Made me want to be a better person, achieve something real. Now I couldn’t imagine a world without her in it. How’d I get so fucking lucky?

“You almost ready to make a move?” Lee called from the living room. “We need to get going.”

“Yeah, be out in a sec.”

I took one final breath then headed out. Andrea was already at the college helping get the place ready. I was hoping to steal a minute alone with her before the ceremony started. She was my soft place, and today I was in serious need of the calm she gave me. All it took was one touch, a tender look.

When we arrived, Lee and the others went to find seats while I went to search for Andrea. On the way I bumped into a bunch of my classmates, and yeah, like Lee said, they were all wearing the same robes as me. At least we were in this together.

“Well, would you look who it is,” said Mary. “Old cranky drawers himself. You look like you’d rather be having an ingrown toenail removed.”

“Ugh, nice visual,” Susan complained.

“What? I’m pleased as fucking punch to be here,” I said with a grin. “I love dressing up like a twat and parading myself in front of everyone’s nearest and dearest.”

“It’s not about the dressing up,” Kian interjected. “It’s about celebrating our achievement, and I for one am proud of all of us. Fuck! We’ve passed our exams and we’re getting our diplomas, even if we do have to wear these weird dresses. Bullshit!”

I chuckled loudly and gave his hair a ruffle. What could I say? I liked the kid’s optimism, even if he did have a crush on my woman. I knew he was harmless. “I’m glad I’m not the only who feels like they’re in drag.”

He held his hands out. “Hey, it’s the name of the game.”

I told them all I’d see them later then continued down the corridor. With clipboard in hand as she went through a list, Andrea was in organisation mode. God, I loved her. She was beautiful without even trying. Her hair hung in long waves down her back, and I had a vision of weaving it around my fist, tugging her neck to the side so I could get a taste. She wore some kind of navy wrap dress and the little tie at the waist had me itching to pull it free. That shit was just too much of a temptation. She was so engrossed in her list that she didn’t notice me come up behind her. Letting out a small gasp when I folded my arms around her middle, she hitched a breath then sank into me.