by A. Aubry
“God, you look gorgeous,” Jackson said softly against my lips.
“How you’re dressed makes me feel like I should go and change,” I giggled as our lips parted.
“No, what you are wearin’ is perfect,” he smiled.
I put my arms around his neck and hugged him tight, “I can’t believe we get to go on a date with just the two of us again. It feels like it’s been forever.”
He kissed the side of my head, “I know. It’s been terrible hidin’, but we made it through and you haven’t gotten to runnin’ to the hills.”
“I would never run from you,” I gazed up at him and he placed a gentle kiss against my lips.
“Good. Now, let’s get out of here. I have a whole special date planned for us.”
Jackson held out his arm and I took it as he led me to his truck. He helped me climb in so that I didn’t have to awkwardly get in while wearing a dress. That would have been fun to watch but very embarrassing. He closed my door for me before he went to the driver’s side and got in. Almost as soon as he pulled out of my apartment complex, Jackson’s hand was in mine. It had been this way ever since we started dating. We had to be touching in some sort of way as one of us drove, it was one of those things that we couldn’t not do.
We pulled up in front of CRAVE, a nice sit-down restaurant. Jackson helped me out of the passenger seat, and we walked into the restaurant hand in hand. He let them know we had a reservation and we were immediately brought back to a table. Our waiter came and took our drink orders, Jackson ordering some wine for the both of us to celebrate our first date back out in public before he took his leave. I looked over the top of my menu after deciding what I wanted to see Jackson already watching me.
“What?” I smiled as I put my menu down.
“What do you mean what?” He mirrored my actions.
“You are staring at me,” I giggled.
Jackson reached across the table and took my hands in his, “You are tellin’ me that I can’t stare at a beautiful girl?”
I looked down at our hands and blushed, “No…”
“Because that is what I’m doin’, Madeline. I’m lookin’ at my beautiful girl who I am out on a date with.”
“You know you don’t have to shower me with compliments, you already won me over a while ago.”
“I’m simply tellin’ you the truth. Would you like me to announce to the whole restaurant how beautiful you are?”
“No!” I shot a look to him as he grinned.
The waiter came back and took our orders. While we waited for our food, Jackson and I had multiple conversations about his traveling, what had been in the news lately about him, and lastly, what the future looked like for us. When our food came, the conversations were kept light, mostly about how his family was doing and my family. That was when we realized that up until that point, Jackson had never met my parents. The last several months had been a whirlwind and I had talked to my parents about Jackson, but he had never actually met them.
I texted them once we were back in Jackson’s truck on our way to wherever he was going to take me for dessert. They agreed that they would come up this weekend to meet him. Jackson seemed genuinely excited when I told him about it as he pulled into the Dairy Queen parking lot. This was his idea of dessert? Damn, he was definitely after my heart. We hopped out and went inside, ordering our ice cream. Taking a seat inside the restaurant, we ate our desserts.
“So, how did I do for this date?” Jackson questioned as he took a spoonful of his blizzard ice cream.
“I’d give you a ten out of ten just for picking this for dessert,” I smiled as I licked my ice cream cone.
“Oh, I’d definitely give myself that too right about now,” he winked.
I raised an eyebrow, “What are you talking about?”
“Watchin’ you lick that ice cream cone is a major turn on,” his tongue ran along his lips.
My eyes went wide as I stopped mid-lick. I never really realized how wrong licking an ice cream cone could look. Leave it to Jackson to point it out for me. With that, I decided to have a little fun.
“Too bad I don’t have sex on the first date,” I smiled innocently.
“So, what you’re sayin’ is I’m not gettin’ lucky tonight?” He pouted.
I bit my lip slightly, “I mean…I may be willing to make an exception…”
Jackson put his spoon back in his empty cup, “And what do I need to do for that exception?”
Leaning over the table slightly, I kept my voice low, “Turn me on so much that I am begging for you to give it to me.”
His eyes darted to the V of my dress and he pursed his lips hard, “Oh, I think that can be arranged.”
I batted my eyelashes and sat back in my seat, continuing to lick my ice cream cone slowly. Jackson brought his fist up to his mouth as he tried not to groan. Just when I was actually starting to enjoy my ice cream, he took it out of my hands and put it in his empty cup before going and throwing it away. When he came back to the table he held out his hand and with a simple glance, I could see that he was really turned on.
“Come on, let’s go home.”
“Home?” I tilted my head to the side and smirked.
He nodded, “You’re comin’ home with me.”
Eagerly, I took his hand and let him lead me to his truck. I got in, with assistance yet again from Jackson, before he took his spot next to me as driver. We wove through traffic and Jackson’s hand rested on my leg. I looked out the window, excited about celebrating our first night out together.
“So, I have a proposition for you,” Jackson’s voice cut through the comfortable silence that was filling the car.
“Proposition? Sounds like an odd proposal to turn me on,” I smirked as I turned my attention over to him.
“This actually isn’t about sex,” he chuckled and gave my thigh a light squeeze.
“Okay then, what is this proposition?”
“Tomorrow night, would you like to throw the first pitch as a representative of the Pioneer Press?”
That was an odd proposition. Sure, people threw the first pitch at baseball games all the time, but I couldn’t recall a time that the newspaper that I worked at had someone do it.
“Am I just getting special treatment and being asked because I’m your girlfriend?” I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Actually, no. It was a group decision.”
“You do know when it comes to throwing a baseball, I’m pretty useless…right?”
“I’m sure you will do fine. Can I count on you to say yes?” He glanced over at me and smiled.
I lifted my hand and put it on his cheek, “How can I say no to that smile?”
“You can’t, that’s why you love me.”
I rolled my eyes and sat back in my chair. His hand began to slowly move up my leg before slipping completely under the skirt of my dress. When I thought it would stop there, I was proven very wrong.
“Jackson…what are you doing?”
His hand pulled my leg to open the way I was sitting slightly, “I’m doin’ exactly what you asked me to do.”
Grabbing onto his hand didn’t stop him from slipping his fingers into my panties and rubbing my clit. I gasped, and my legs fell open just a little more. Apparently, when you gave this man a challenge, he went all in on it. I had never been more turned on in my life.
Alexandria and I arrived a few minutes before Jackson had told me to arrive at the stadium. We did have to find out exactly where we were going, after all. Alexandria was going to write an article about how Pioneer Press got to have someone throw the first pitch. I thought it sounded like an odd story to be written but who was I to judge on odd stories. Jackson had let me wear one of his jerseys and I had worn a dark-washed pair of jeggings because they were obscenely comfortable. My hair was in pigtail braids and I had my Minnesota Twins hat on.
Brad came and got us once again and led us to the dugout. Alexandria got a few pictures of me standing up on the field be
fore we descended down to where the guys were talking. A few were up on the field warming up, but otherwise everyone was down in the dugout talking shit. I snuck up behind Jackson and wrapped my arms around his waist. He jumped slightly before he looked over his shoulder at me and smiled.
“Hey baby! Can I just say that I am very happy that you’ll be throwin’ the first pitch?”
“Why? So you and your friends can laugh about how terrible I am?” I stuck my tongue out at him.
He turned around in my arms and pressed his lips against my ear, “That tongue was bein’ used quite a bit last night if I remember correctly…”
I gasped, “I think it was your tongue, Jackson…not mine…”
His teeth clamped down gently over my earlobe, “Oh yeah, that’s right. It was mine. How could I forget how great you tasted?”
My cheeks went full-on red. His teammates were standing just a few feet away and here he was whispering in my ear like this. Alexandria snapped a picture of us and I put my hand up to block her attempt at taking another one. No one in the world needed to know about our intimate moment. I leaned back slightly and narrowed my eyes.
“Baby, you have a game to play. You can’t turn me on like that and then just leave me hanging…”
“But it will make it that much better when I get you home.”
I playfully pushed him away before he caught me and pulled me back into his arms. His lips covered mine in a soft, gentle kiss that took my breath away. The coach announced that it was time for the first pitch. Jackson surprised me by following me out to the pitcher’s mound. He wasn’t the pitcher, but I didn’t question it.
He handed me the ball and the stadium announcer said my name and how I worked for the Pioneer Press. I threw the ball as hard as I could and actually got it into the glove of the catcher. Everyone was screaming around me, and I was ready to scream myself. I was pretty damn proud. I turned around to give Jackson a hug because I was so happy, only to see him down on one knee on the pitcher’s mound, holding up a rather large diamond ring.
Owen jogged up and handed Jackson a microphone. Jackson thanked him before he disappeared somewhere behind me. Tears were welling up in my eyes as I watched Jackson. He smiled, my favorite boyish grin, and held up the microphone to his lips. I was thankful that he had that because over the roar of the crowd, I wouldn’t have been able to hear a word he said edgewise if he hadn’t.
“Madeline, you have stood by me through so much. You understood when I wasn’t allowed to date, you supported me no matter what, and you have always known exactly what to say to make any day a better day than it was before. I love you so much, I’m over the moon for you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you please marry me?”
Even though his words weren’t necessarily true about not being together for the duration of his no-dating clause, I knew he had to say them because of how public this moment was. In the back of my mind, I didn’t even expect him to do this. I had already told him that I would marry him twice before. But the fact that he went out of his way to set this up like I was doing the first pitch for my job, to surprise me, showed me he loved me more than I thought.
I grinned, “Of course, Jackson. I would love to marry you.”
He slid the ring onto my finger and the crowd went wild as he stood up and kissed me deeply. Jackson spun me around and I giggled as I held onto him.
“So, we weren’t together when you couldn’t date, huh?” I teased as he put me down.
He held up his finger to his lips, “That is our secret. You’ve been by my side since our first date. You treat me better than any girl has ever treated me, you act as though you care. You are so selfless, Maddie. I have never been as happy as I have been with you.”
I took his face into my hands, “I do care, it’s not an act. Like I said after our second date at my house after you helped me with my writing, this is a two-way street. You care about me and I care about you. I love you so much, Jackson and the fact that I can make you as happy as you make me, it makes me want to jump up and down.”
Jackson playfully eyed my breasts that were covered by my tank top, “I wouldn’t mind watchin’ you jump up and down.”
“Jackson Ryder!” I scolded and kissed his lips again.
He dipped me down in front of everyone and the screams and cheers were almost deafening. When we were finally standing upright, Jackson and I walked back to the dugout. With one last kiss, Alexandria and I were then escorted in the direction of our seats. The game had begun by the time we sat down, but I knew I had to call my parents. If they didn’t hear it from me that I got engaged, they would be pissed. I excused myself and went up into the concourse, attempting to find a semi-quiet place to make a phone call. As soon as I found one, I called my mother.
“Hello?” My mother answered the phone.
“Hi mom,” I took a deep breath, “How are you?”
“I’m good, Maddie. I thought you were going to your boyfriend’s game tonight.”
“I am there right now actually, but I wanted to tell you something before you hear it from someone else.”
“Madeline Walker, are you pregnant?”
“No, mom, I’m not pregnant. But…Jackson proposed…”
“He did?”
“Yeah, he did…and I said yes,” I bit my lip.
“You what? Madeline, your father and I haven’t even met him yet. He didn’t even ask your father for his permission to marry you. You two haven’t even been together that long!”
Well, that was not the type of reception I was planning on. My mother always seemed supportive of my decisions, but I make a major one like this and she goes off the handle?
“Mom, I’ve been with him long enough to know that I want to spend my life with him. Sure, he didn’t ask dad for his permission and that would have been very sweet, but it’s not the end of the world. You two are going to love him when you meet him this weekend.”
She sighed loudly, “I don’t know, my research into him hasn’t turned up anything that exactly makes me think he’s a good fit for you.”
What the fuck was she talking about? If she Googled him then of course she was going to see shit that made him look bad. The man got divorced after less than a year of marriage, but it wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t as though he had a track record of bad things in his past.
“You can’t judge someone based off of a Google search, mother. And if you come here with those predisposed ideas of him, then you aren’t going to give him a fair chance. Jackson is a fantastic guy who loves and cares about me. I thought you would be happy for me…” I could feel the tears as they burned my eyes, threatening to spill over onto my cheeks.
“I am just looking out for you, honey, that’s what mother’s do. We will see how this weekend goes, but if your father and I don’t like him then it may be best not to move forward with him. I need to go, I am in the middle of grocery shopping. I will call you later.”
She hung up without letting me say my peace. If they didn’t like him then I couldn’t move forward with Jackson? Who the hell was she to tell me who I could and couldn’t marry? Yeah, she was my mother, but Jackson made me happier than anybody in the world. I huffed and stopped at one of the bars to get a strong drink before I returned to my seat. When I sat down beside Alexandria, she knew something was up.
“How’d it go with your mom?”
“She has Googled Jackson and doesn’t like what she has seen. She’s angry that I accepted his proposal before they even met him and that he didn’t ask my dad, and she said if they don’t like him when they come up this weekend then I shouldn’t move forward with him. That is how it went,” I took a long drink of the vodka soda that I got.
Alex’s eyes went wide, “Damn…talk about dramatic mothers.”
I nodded and turned my attention back to the game, “Yeah, let’s just focus on the game. I don’t want Jackson to somehow look over here and see that something is wrong. I’ll have to talk to him about this tonight.�
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We watched the game and cheered on our men. It was easy to get caught up in sports events and forget about all of your problems. Once the game was finished, I was a nervous wreck. How was I going to tell my fiancé that my mother didn’t take the announcement very well? How was I going to tell him that if they don’t like him, then we may not be able to be together?
Chapter Fourteen
Jackson and I sat in the living room of my apartment. Well, I sat…Jackson paced. He was a nervous wreck if I was being completely honest. Ever since I told him about my parents’ reaction to the proposal, he had been freaking out. So much so, that we hadn’t even been intimate the last few days because he was stressing. That meant that we had yet to intimately celebrate our engagement. Tonight he had a game which I bought myself and my parents tickets to go see. They needed to see Jackson in action at his job, plus it was the first of the final three games of his season and I wanted to be there to support him.
“Jack, you’re going to wear a tread in my carpet and I’m sure they won’t appreciate that when I try to move out,” I sighed as I reached out and grabbed his hand.
He shook his head as he stopped in front of me, “They already hate me, Madeline. I just know it.”
I stood up and put my arms around his waist, “It’s impossible to hate you. Just be yourself and they will love you.”
“Your parents think that we are rushin’ this,” he sighed as he snaked his arms around me.
“Do you think we are rushing this?” I looked up at him and rested my chin on his chest.
“No, I don’t. If it were up to me…we would have been married already.”
“Then if we don’t think we are rushing it…we aren’t. I love you and you love me, this was the next step to go from where we were at.”
His forehead rested against mine, “God, I don’t know what I would do without you.”
I smiled shyly and closed the distance between our lips. Jackson’s phone beeped from his pocket just as mine rang off from mine. We separated reluctantly and checked our phones. My parents were downstairs in the parking lot, their just under four-hour drive felt like it took forever.