by Eden O'Neill
Currently, she chugged it back while we watched Billie, Greer, and Cleo (LJ’s, Knight’s, and Jax’s girlfriends) attempt to nudge details from December and Royal about their baby. It was too early to know the sex, but they wanted to know about the baby shower and all that, and they were inquisitive with the couple. Of course, this turn of topic had their guys about to fall asleep, but I was listening because I had a feeling I’d be the one to buy the pacifier cupcakes. It was a job I planned to volunteer for and wanted to. That kid would be terribly spoiled, by me and probably all his or her god-dads.
My hand on Bri’s hip, I juggled my attention between my girlfriend and December, who spoke. The other couples were seated around us. This party was at my mom’s manor, an open house. This room was about half full with party guests, but what wasn’t was Brielle’s glass. In fact, she snapped to have it filled again, and I nudged her.
“Everything okay?” I kissed her shoulder. My woman was sexy as fuck in all black once again. Her tight top exposed her shoulders, her pants cropped at the ankles. With her strappy heels, she basically looked like Olivia Newton-John at the end of Grease, which I’d fucking take. I frowned. “You’re really laying into that wine.”
“Am I?” she squeaked like she’d been caught, and Brielle Whitman-Quintero didn’t squeak. She placed a hand on her chest. “Sorry, I’m just kind of all over the place.”
Which worried me, about the need for it. She hadn’t been this way all day, not even when I had her meeting the rest of my family. Of course, she expressed she’d been nervous prior but had handled it well.
My mom was a part of this powwow as well in the parlor, and curiously, I noticed her looking at us. She was with James, who she’d been dating for a couple of months now, and surprisingly, I’d been okay with that. I’d known the guy for a while. Our community was big, but also small. He was a divorcee himself, and after I’d probed him about his intentions (which I did, heavily), I deemed him suitable for my mother.
She deserved the best after all.
Anyway, I definitely noticed her looking at Brielle from across our conversation circle. She eyed her, her smile coy under James’s arm. I even observed a little nudge of Mom’s glass in our direction, and Brielle lifted a hand at her. At this point, something was going on, but before I could voice it, Brielle shifted on my lap.
She faced me, and I let her stand up. I was really curious now but crossed my legs.
Especially when she tapped her glass.
She did it with a flick of her nails, not a huge ordeal, but it did get the attention of the rest of the room, December, Royal, and the rest of the gang included. Brielle’s face was beet red, and she smoothed her hands down her pants before speaking.
“I guess I just wanted to say something,” she said, and I smiled. She put her glass out to me. “About Ramses. First off, I just wanted to wish him and all the rest of you graduates congratulations. Doing so is a huge accomplishment, so you all should be very proud.”
She was aware my other friends had graduated too, and they raised their beverages to her, the rest of the room lightly clapping.
Brielle folded hands around her glass stem. “Ramses, what do I say about you?”
So that had the room laughing, me too when I waved a passive hand. I had no idea she’d be doing this, and though Brielle wasn’t shy, being put on the spot at all wasn’t one of her favorite pastimes. This speech was definitely putting her completely out of her comfort zone right now.
My Jersey girl.
She smiled at me. “An accomplished scholar and businessman. A wonderful son.” She placed her glass out toward my mom before guiding it toward December. “And cherished friend.”
Both Mom and December grinned, and that shit? Yeah, it kind of got some stuff caught in my throat a little bit. My girlfriend apparently loved placing me on the spot, too.
She faced me. “But also, an amazing man and fierce protector.” She paused, tucking a stand of hair behind her ear. “Many of you probably know this man saved my life. Whether you’ve read about it or heard directly from us. And though that’s true, I’m sure most of you don’t know it wasn’t the first time.”
I eyed her, surprised she was saying this.
I placed a hand out for hers, and she took it, lacing our fingers.
“Ramses, I’ll never be able to thank you.” Her voice thickened, and when she squeezed her eyes, that shit got me a little, too.
I fought it with a smile, keeping our hands laced and after she got herself together, she continued on.
She squeezed my hand. “And this is probably crazy. I’ve probably lost my entire mind, but I asked your mom for permission, and she’s okay with it so…”
What the hell?
And then, legit, she got on her knees. Like really, on her knees before me.
She laughed in her heels, shaking her head. “I’m going to ask you a question. Because I know that’s what you need. You need to know I’m okay with this, this question.” She chuckled. “Because you are so good. You are and will fight your instincts because you need to know I’m okay with this before you’d ever ask. You’ll always wait for me. Even if it goes against everything you feel.”
I would do that, impulsive, but she was logical. She was, so I respected that.
I did tell her I’d wait for her. Even if that meant years down the line until she was ready. Until she wanted to commit to me.
“Ramses…”
I eased to the floor with her, guiding her to stand to her feet.
The room gasped.
Her father honestly thought I was crazy when I’d spoken to him today. I mean, Brielle and I’d been dating for like two seconds, but it didn’t feel like that.
We only felt like forever.
I slid a black box from my pocket, and my mom literally squealed so loud that the whole room erupted in laughter.
I couldn’t quite gauge Brielle’s reaction. She had half her face covered with her wine glass and her hands, but I took that for a good thing.
“You really do know me,” I said, popping the box open. Inside, was my great-grandmother’s ring. I’d had it for what felt like forever. A diamond ring in the form of a lily, timeless, beautiful just like her. I took Bri’s hand. “And I hope because you do, you’re not surprised by this.”
Her face gorgeously flushed, she shook her head. And when she removed that wine glass, she had tears in her eyes. She laughed. “Thank God, you saved me. I hoped you would.” She palmed her face. “I’m like seriously mortified.”
“I know.” That had the whole room laughing, but once it faded, I stared up at her. “Brielle Whitman-Quintero, will you—”
“Yes.”
I paused, eyeing her.
She covered her mouth. “Sorry.”
More laughter, and I shook my head. “Brielle Whitman-Quintero, will you marry me?” I stated, then eyed the room. “Something you don’t know about her is she always likes to take control.”
“Yeah, she does!”
That came from the back of the room from, of all people, her parents. They were there too, her dad’s glass in the air. He hugged Bri’s mom’s shoulders, the older woman basically in tears.
Bri’s lips parted, facing me. “Did you tell my parents about this?”
“I even asked your dad,” I said, winking. Of course, I had. I’d ask whoever I had to.
I held her hand, waiting there on my knees.
“Give him an answer, girl. You’re killing us!” came from December, looking completely cheeky from Prinze’s lap. He had his arms looped around her waist, shaking his head at her.
He kissed her. “Let them have their moment, princess.”
This had December tsking, of course, but she waited with bated breath for Bri’s answer. I think we all knew what she’d say. I mean, she had said yes already.
“We jump together,” she said instead, and that was yes enough for me.
I placed the ring on her finger, and the room erupted in applaus
e, my girl in my arms in the next second.
“Together,” I returned against her mouth, spinning her around. We were both fucking crazy. We’d been together for definitely only a minute. But I liked this girl’s crazy.
And she obviously loved mine.
Epilogue
Bri
“Everything here I’m seeing looks good, Brielle. Really good,” Dr. Powell said, grinning at me. “Of course, we’ll have to follow up. Overtime and as the years progress, but as it stands right now, I see no problems for the pair of you trying to conceive. In fact, I can imagine a really strong chance of success as long as what I’m seeing keeps up.”
I could have gone behind Ramses’s back with all this. Kept my appointment at the fertility clinic a secret. I still wasn’t even sure if I’d ever change my mind about having children again.
I took his hand, in the chair beside me. He placed his on mine, and really, that was why I had. I didn’t keep things from him. We didn’t keep secrets. He’d always remain abreast of any decision I made when it came to my body or otherwise. We were each other’s support systems, and that was what this had been about today. To give us all our options, to know if it was possible.
And now, we did.
The pair of us simply entered life this way now. We didn’t close ourselves off to anything. I think life and the previous world I lived in made me lock myself up pretty tight, and not just when it came to my life. I didn’t take chances, went at life with the smallest possible chance of failure. It made me feel secure and in control, but sometimes that wasn’t what life was about. It was about climbing high dives and suggesting to get pizza with a guy over a decade younger than yourself. It was love, marriages, and second chances. Meeting Ramses Mallick had changed my life.
It had changed both our lives.
I would like to say after the pair of us left the fertility clinic that day, the news good and future hopeful, we did a little more talking about what was next. We had an entire drive over to December’s baby shower, and though we had chatted in the parking lot, we didn’t exactly leave the parking lot.
At least, not right away.
It was like a switch went off, and next thing I knew, I was in Ramses’s lap in his Mercedes. Dr. Powell had given us the okay to move forward with conception…
And I guess we wanted some practice.
My hands hit the top of his car, my top unbuttoned as Ramses slammed into me from below. We typically liked to drive my car since it was an SUV. After he graduated, we’d moved in together into his Maywood Heights home and our cars had become interchangeable. We did like to drive my car since it was bigger and it gave us more room when, well, we got distracted with each other. I’d like to say parking lot fucks didn’t happen a lot but…
“Fuck, Jersey girl. Fuck,” he gritted, his powerful thighs slapping against mine. He’d gotten blackout windows so at least people didn’t see us doing this crap, but still, it mortified me every time. That I literally couldn’t keep my hands off this man for even a second longer to get home, or in this case, wait until after his friend’s baby shower. December was only about fourteen weeks, but she’d already had a couple. The first, Ramses had actually helped her with, volunteering because he was just perfect and couldn’t help himself. Something told me when he did finally become a dad, he’d run through fire and brimstone for our child. Especially if she was a girl.
Our child.
We obviously hadn’t decided yet, but the possibility warmed my insides as much his mouth on my flushed skin. I did see myself having kids with him. I must have because we went to a fertility clinic. Ramses had me wanting to take chances again and explore new possibilities.
Smiling, I secured our lips, rocking my hips as his length tunneled deep. He hit me in places I didn’t even know he could reach with the massive size of his cock, his hand slamming to the window as he gripped my hip. Digging in his heels, he used the traction to pretty much split me apart. He peppered my chest in hot kisses, tonging me between my breasts.
“We’re going to be late,” I gasped, gripping his shoulders. Even as I said the words, I closed my eyes.
His chuckle, gritted and aroused, escaped before he bit my chest. I’d already been on the cusp of an orgasm.
And then, he did that.
It ripped through me, a blaze to a dry desert. All explosion. All fury, passion, and complete heat.
“Fuck.” On his heels, he did the same, his head rolling back and digging into the headrest. His fist punched to the ceiling on his way down from the high.
I laced my arms around him as my hips jutted, my inner walls spasming. His warmth burst into me, and I knew we’d have to do a quick clean up. We’d stopped using condoms a while back. Actually, not long after he’d proposed a few weeks ago. I’d always been on birth control and we both tested clean, but not wearing condoms was another sign of trust. One we both gave the other.
My hands smoothed across his jaw as I kissed him. I wore the diamond ring with ease on my left hand.
The same went for the band below.
This was a new development, the one on his left hand the same. We’d done something impulsive not long ago, something totally Ramses and not me. What could I say, Ramses Mallick had me taking more of those chances.
I’d take a million more.
His was gold on his left, the metal currently pressed into my waist. The decision to get married one shouldn’t take lightly, and we hadn’t. I mean, this was my second marriage and his first. It just felt right so we’d done it, and hell, if someone should disagree with that.
This was just another step toward the completion of us. A world of our own creation and rules. We wanted to get it done before he started really getting involved with his new businesses and I left for the summer. I was planning another dig overseas. I was going back to the basics for my research, and I’d probably see Ramses every few weeks as his schedule permitted. He was going to be increasingly busy in the upcoming months, and though I told him the dig would just be for the summer (I was coming back to teach in the fall), he made sure to write me into his schedule. Hell, he’d even agreed to put his life and plans on hold until I finished.
Of course, he had.
That was just him, but I was also me and I didn’t let him. We could both get out of life the things we wanted and would. He couldn’t get rid of me now that he’d placed this ring on my finger.
Once we got ourselves together (and I got out of his lap), we finally made it over to Royal and December’s for her latest shower. I really couldn’t remember who was throwing this one for her. She had so many people who loved and cared about her around her. It made me excited to be a part of this community. Ramses and I were settling here in Maywood Heights, building our lives and our futures, and it seemed we already had a fine support system to back us. Outside of Evie and her fiancé (yes, that had happened), Ramses had his friends from high school. I’d finally met them all at his graduation party, and we’d even all hung out together after.
I wouldn’t lie. I had felt older than everyone else, but that came with the territory. Ramses had actually met some of my friends, too, when they came down from Jersey for his graduation party. Evelyn had basically invited everyone both Ramses and I knew. Especially when I’d told her I planned to propose to her son.
Was it weird my good friend and mentor was my mother-in-law now? Yes, but was I dealing with it?
More than well.
Ramses and I showed up only partially late to December’s event, and of course, the mommy-to-be spotted him the moment we arrived. This shower was at Royal and December’s house in Maywood Heights, a huge property in a gated cul de sac community. They basically lived in a castle like many of their friends. Knight and Greer didn’t live in the same neighborhood, but their friends Jaxen and Cleo had moved in down the street. I’d heard their friend LJ and his girlfriend Billie were looking into the neighborhood as well.
“There you are!” December called, scurrying her way over
in probably the cutest little top to show her baby bump off ever. She was still quite small, and from what I understood, the couple had been adamant about not knowing the sex of the baby at all prior to delivery. This, of course, drove the rest of us crazy, and already, I’d come to love this girl. She brought so much high-powered energy into Ramses’s life and mine now as well. She hugged him tight upon getting to us. “Fashionably late.”
“Well, uh, you know.” Ramses passed off, chuckling. He brushed a kiss on her head before releasing her to me.
“Hmm,” she said, eyeing him before taking me in the biggest hug. She loved hugs, and once done, she didn’t let me go. She pointed at Ramses. “I’d be more hurt if everyone else didn’t show up late, too.”
She said this loud enough as she whipped around toward the others she’d previously been with. As per usual, their friends were coupled up. I spotted Knight, LJ, Jax, and their girlfriends all over by the food table. This particular shower was in the Prinzes’ backyard with enough landscape design to place them well in the company of those featured in Better Homes and Gardens. I was talking hedges designed like animals and ponds with colorful fish. Completely fabulous, gorgeous.
Their friend Knight, the huge guy who ate pretty much everything us girls put in front of him whenever we all got together, shrugged. He pulled his girlfriend Greer over. “What?”
The other guys, Jax and LJ looked just as guilty, sipping on their beers and Royal, with them and their girlfriends, laughed. Royal lifted his beer. “You surprised, Em?”
“I guess not,” December said, but did smile. She instructed us to go mingle, and I scanned the crowd, spotting Evelyn. This was a guys and girls shower, and she’d come with James.
Getting their attention, I lifted my hand to wave at them both.
December noticed.
Well, what she really noticed was the band I’d completely forgot to take off in the car.
Fuck.
“Oh my freaking God. What?!” She grabbed my hand, shooting a look at Ramses. “Arizona, did you guys get married?”