Surrender The Booty by Carmie L'Rae

squeezed his eyes shut harder and let the warmth of her hand spread over his back. He was afraid to turn around and lose this connection, this brief moment of hope. She had offered him an olive branch when she should have hung him from one. She couldn’t beat him up any harder than he’d beaten himself over the years.
    “There’s more to that day than anyone else knows.” His jaw tightened. He knew he would regret telling her, but there was no way around it. She needed to know the truth, the whole truth, and then maybe, just maybe, she could understand how he could have been stupid enough to let J.P. end up the way he was.
    He turned around slowly and met her gaze. Her hand fell to her side, but he lifted it again and held it between his palms.
    He led her over to one of the smooth stones, wide enough for both of them to sit. After she sat down, he eased down next to her, holding her hand like a life preserver. This is where he would sink or swim.
    The words he chose would make all the difference, but ultimately the decision would be hers.
    The scent of the candles wafted toward them. He reached for one and swirled the melted wax around the wick. Dipping one fingertip into the hot liquid, he let it harden on his skin and then brought it to her chest. He pressed his finger above her heart. The steady rhythm of her heartbeat pounded between them and the heat of their connection warmed the wax. When he lifted his hand, the print of his finger remained on her skin, like an apricot-colored birthmark.

    Surrender the Booty
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    “That means …” He swallowed hard and started again. “These candles are sacred. In my family there are rituals that go back generations. Recipes and traditions that we will never lose or discredit. There are only two times we burn these candles.” He stopped, not sure how she would respond when he told her what he’d just done.
    “When do you use them?”
    “When someone is about to die, and …” Again he faltered.
    “Am I about to die?”
    He shook his head and brushed a stray hair from her cheek. “No. I marked you. It means no matter what happens, whether you forgive me or not, I’ve given you a part of me. I’m a part of you. Forever.”
    She glanced down at the mark on her chest and then at the candle he held. She dipped her fingertip in the melted wax and watched it harden as it cooled on her skin. Then she pushed his shirt open and placed her finger over his heart. As the wax melted between them, she looked him in the eye.
    “I don’t want to be forgotten either.”
    He pulled her face toward his and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
    He’d been in love before. He knew the signs, but he also knew his love didn’t mean anything if she couldn’t return it.
    “I’ll tell you everything that happened. I’ll be completely honest and I’ll take every bit of the blame,” he said. “I’ve always known I ruined J.P.’s life, but I never knew what I’d done to yours.”
    She flinched. “My life is fine.”
    “You shouldn’t have such a burden.”
    “J.P.’s not a burden.”
    He knew better than to argue. Now wasn’t the time.
    “There’s only one thing I want to know about that day. Tell me it was an accident, Jose. Tell me you didn’t mean to hurt him.”
    “Not a day has passed I didn’t wish I’d told him no. I could’ve refused to fly over the canyon. I could’ve stopped him from diving.”

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    Carmie L’Rae
    Bella choked on a laugh. “Nobody could ever stop J.P. from doing anything he wanted to do.” She stared hard at him. “He strapped the parachute on. He dove out of the plane. I can’t blame you for that, Jose. But you didn’t have to abandon him afterward.”
    “Your father told me to stay away. Told all of J.P.’s friends to stay away. He said it was too hard for your mother and for you to relive what he could’ve been. To see his friends carrying on without him.”
    Jose reached for her hand. “I didn’t know your parents died. I didn’t