Chapter 292 Aslan
Chapter 292 Aslan
Aslan
I followed Garrett out of the club and into the stairwell without having the slightest idea where he was taking me.
The music faded a little with every floor we climbed, although the bass still pulsed through the walls beneath us. When we reached the final landing, Garrett pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked a door marked STAFF ONLY.
“Should I be concerned that you have keys to Molly’s now?”
“I have money and very few moral objections to bribery.”
“That doesn’t reassure me.”
“It wasn’t technically a bribe. I asked Molly, paid for everything, and promised we wouldn’t fall off the roof.”
“Suddenly, falling off the roof is something I’m worried about.”
He laughed, took my hand, and led me outside.
The rooftop had been closed since summer, so most of the tables and chairs had already been stored away. At first, all I could see was the moon above us and the dark outline of the city surrounding the building. The October air was cold enough to make me move closer to him, and the music from downstairs reached us as a distant, happy beat.
Then Garrett flipped a switch beside the door, and hundreds of tiny lights came alive.
They stretched across the rooftop in glowing lines, wrapped around the railing, and hung from posts above us like a roof made of stars. Near the center, two enormous beanbags had been pushed together beside a low table and an electric heater plugged into one of the outlets. An ice bucket held a bottle of champagne, and next to it sat glasses, chocolates, and several blankets.
I turned slowly, trying to take it all in. “What the hell...?”
Garrett watched me with his hands buried in the pockets of his coat, suddenly looking far less confident than he had downstairs.
“Do you like it?”
“Like it?” I stared at him. “Babe, what is all this?”
He came closer and slipped his arms around my waist. “A replacement memory.”
My smile faded slightly.
“The last time we celebrated with champagne and chocolates...” His eyes moved toward the table. “Didn't end particularly well, and I totally love chocolates. I can't risk them triggering our PTSD...”
“Garrett, babe—”
“I know we can’t erase it. I’m not trying to.” He looked back at me. “But we can stop letting it be the last time. We can give the bad memories some fucking competition.”
God, I loved him.
I placed my hands on either side of his face and kissed him. “Then let’s make this one impossible to beat.”
“That’s the plan.”
Garrett opened the champagne, and the cork flew so far across the rooftop that neither of us had any intention of searching for it. He filled both glasses before we settled into the beanbags beneath one of the blankets.
I lay against him with my head on his chest, his arm around me and the city glowing beyond the railing. The faint music from downstairs mixed with his heartbeat beneath my ear.
We drank champagne, fed each other chocolates, and talked about absolutely nothing important.
It was so perfect...
After a while, Garrett placed his glass on the table and shifted beneath me. “Sit up for a second.”
I pushed myself upright. “Why?”
“Because I have something else.”
“You already rented a rooftop and filled it with lights, champagne, and chocolate. What else could you possibly have?”
He reached beneath the collar of his shirt and pulled out the thin chain he always wore hidden against his chest.
I had felt it beneath my fingers countless times, but I had never asked about it.
"I don't have the traditional letterman jacket or the class ring guys used to give..." Garrett unclasped the necklace and held it between us. A small gold cross hung from the chain, worn smooth around its edges from years of being touched.
"But my grandfather gave me this before he died,” he said. “He was the only person in my family I ever really connected with. The only one who listened to me without trying to turn me into somebody else.”
I looked down at the cross resting in his palm.
“He told me to wear it whenever I felt alone. That it would remind me someone loved me exactly as I was.” Garrett swallowed. “I’ve worn it ever since.”
“Baby...”
“I want you to have it.”
My eyes immediately filled. “Garrett, no. That’s yours.”
“I know.” He took my hand and placed the cross in my palm. “That’s why I want you to have it. Grandpa said it would protect me and remind me I wasn’t alone. But you’re the reason I finally know what that feels like.”
I couldn't speak.
“I want it to protect you now,” he continued. “And whenever I’m not standing right beside you, I want you to remember that I’m still with you.”
“I don’t need anything to remember you.”
“I know, cub. Take it anyway.”
A tear escaped before I could stop it. “You’re sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
I turned around, and Garrett fastened the chain behind my neck. The cross settled against my chest, still warm from his skin.
When I faced him again, he brushed the tear from my cheek.
“There,” he whispered. “It looks better on you.”
“You’re so full of shit.”
“Probably.”
I leaned forward until our foreheads touched, but before I could kiss him, Garrett caught both my hands.
“There's one more reason I brought you up here.”
I waited.
“A year ago tonight, I looked you in the eyes and told you I hated you.”
“Baby, you don’t have to—”
He stopped me with a kiss.
“I know why I said it,” he continued when he pulled away. “I know who I was then and how many voices were living inside my head. They were all so loud that I couldn’t hear myself anymore.”
“You were trying to survive.”
“I was. But you still heard those words, and I need to give you the ones that were actually mine.” He tightened his fingers around mine. “So this is our first real Halloween. No hiding. No monsters whispering in my ear. Just me, telling you in my own voice.”
My heart was pounding.
“I love you, Aslan,” he said. “This Halloween, every day after it and for the rest of my life. That’s the memory I want you to keep.”
I kissed him before he could say anything else. “I love you too, wolf. Every fucking day.”
The old memories didn’t disappear as he pulled me into his arms beneath those lights. They simply weren’t the last ones anymore.
Back in the dorm that night, the world outside our door ceased to exist. There was only the soft glow of the desk lamp and the same, familiar space of his bed. We took our time, a slow, deliberate dance of rediscovery. Each piece of clothing peeled away with lingering kisses and whispered touches. We weren't just undressing; we were savoring the reveal of every inch of familiar skin, every scar, every freckle. We mapped each other's bodies with our hands and mouths, learning the rhythm of heartbeats, the cadence of breaths, the language of a love that had been forged in fire and survived.
Then, with a tenderness that almost stole my breath, Garrett took control. He gently guided my legs, settling them over his shoulders. I watched his face as he entered me, watched the way his beautiful eyes darkened with a love so intense it was almost painful. Our bodies responded instantly, a primal, hungry rhythm we'd always known, but it was different now. Deeper. Every thrust wasn't just a movement; it was a vow. A desperate, loving push closer, closer... until there was no space left between us, no past, no pain, only the blinding, brilliant certainty of right now.