by Mia Madison
After a while, Joshua slipped out and disappeared into the bathroom, cleaning himself up before returning to do the same for me.
“I’m gonna need a few minutes before making dinner,” he said, flopping down beside me with a yawn and pulling me against him. “Give me ten minutes.”
His eyes closed and I wondered if he was going to fall asleep, but the serene smile on his face told me that he was simply enjoying the afterglow. I glided my hand up and down his chest, a question in my head that I couldn’t ignore any longer.
“Was that—Was it okay?” I asked nervously, unsure of how to phrase my concern. “You didn’t….”
“Take your ass?” he finished, opening his eyes and laughing lightly as a blush rose to my cheeks. He shook his head and cupped my cheek, the mirth draining from his expression as he whispered, “I don’t want to hurt you, baby. We’ll work up to it.”
“How?”
“If you have a toy smaller than my cock, that’d be perfect.”
“I’ve got one,” I confessed, nodding my head and trying not to let the mental picture of him fucking me in the ass with my vibrator turn me on again. I failed miserably. “Maybe we can try again on your birthday?”
I swore that Joshua’s grin could have lit up an entire room.
“Already planning to break the rules again, are you? Brave girl.”
I shrugged, though I could feel my cheeks heating up again.
“I just thought... Well, I don’t have much money to buy you a gift with and even if I did I wouldn’t really know what to get you so I—”
Joshua placed a finger to my lips, cutting off my nervous rambling.
“Baby, being the only man to take your ass is better than anything money can buy.”
When I arched an eyebrow, he removed his finger and I asked, “Only?”
Joshua chuckled but the sound was humorless. “You’re it for me, girl. Maybe I’m lying to myself in thinking you feel the same, but I’m pretty damn sure you do. So, yeah. First, last, only—pick one. They’ll all apply.”
“I like them all,” I admitted quietly, finally giving in to the urge to let him know that I was thinking about us in a similar fashion, even though I was still nervous about certain parts. With that thought in mind, I miserably muttered, “My dad is going to hate you.”
Joshua laughed and the feeling of his chest rumbling under my palm made me smile.
“Isn’t that a father’s job? To hate his daughter’s boyfriend?”
“Is that what you are? My boyfriend?”
“Maybe for now,” he said vaguely, grinning when I shot him a confused look. “But we’ll keep that bit of information between us.”
After my nod of agreement, we slipped back into a comfortable silence. The ten minutes Joshua wanted passed by along with another ten and I was fairly certain he was reluctant to get out of bed for the same reason I was.
“It’s going to be even harder to stay away from you now,” I said with a sad sigh.
“I know, angel. Which is why we need to get up and eat before one of us says something that’ll make it worse.”
He didn’t look at me as he climbed out of bed, but I instinctively knew what he meant. The L-word was rolling around in my head, but neither of us could say such a thing yet without it ultimately causing pain.
“Three more months,” I said as I got out of bed and grabbed his shirt from the floor. “Three long months.”
“You’re worth the wait.”
When I looked back, he was staring at me with serious eyes and a small smile. There was a moment of clarity when I realized that he was worth the wait as well.
“Besides, my birthday’s in three weeks.”
I grinned as his eyebrows waggled suggestively.
Definitely worth it.
12
As it turned out, Joshua and I were really bad about keeping our promise to stay away from each other. We had managed to keep it down to meeting only once a month, but I still felt guilty every time I had to face Finley’s disapproving glares.
Still, I thought we did pretty good. Seeing him in class felt like both heaven and hell, and judging by the way I sometimes caught him staring at me, I was sure he felt the same way.
But we made it.
Finley had relented her argument by the time graduation day came, our countless conversations over the past few months making it clear that I had no intention to ditch him when school was over. She still seemed a little upset, but I had a feeling that it had more to do with the fact that we wouldn’t be moving in together post-college.
Which made Ben ecstatic, though he wouldn’t outright say it. They had become more and more serious as time went on and I had known since April that he was only a step away from asking her to live with him. The final push he needed occurred when I informed them both at the beginning of May that I would be moving in with Joshua right after graduation.
He had mentioned it casually on his birthday, but on our next meeting, he made it very clear that he had been completely serious.
‘The place could use a woman’s touch. Your touch, if you want to get specific.’
If I hadn’t already been in love with him, those words would have tipped the scale. But alas, I was already aware that I had fallen for him the very first time I saw him.
I heard my name being shouted and I scanned the crowd of people, looking for the source of the voice. When I spotted my mom’s hand waving through the air and my father standing a few feet behind her with a look on his face that said he was embarrassed on my behalf, I braced myself for impact.
It was a bit of a shock to see them standing within a few feet of each other again, though I wasn’t sure why. They had behaved civilly at my high school graduation. But of course that was before my father remarried someone a decade younger than my mom.
That was the kind of thing that made holidays awkward.
She pushed her way through the throngs of people and Dad followed behind her, his new wife nowhere in sight. When they finally reached me, Mom pulled me into a hug so tight that breathing quickly became an issue.
“Honey I am so proud of you!” she excitedly screeched. I hugged her back for a moment before subtly trying to pull away, grateful when she caught the hint and let me go.
“Good work, kiddo,” Dad said before giving me a much less embarrassing hug. “We’re both proud of you.”
“Thanks. Where’s Jessica?”
Dad politely ignored the annoyed sound my mom let out and smiled at me. “She couldn’t make it—work called her in at the last second. But she asked me to give you this.”
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small box, handing it over and watching me like a hawk as I pulled off the lid. I smiled when I spotted the silver graduation cap charm, pleased that she had remembered that I collected them. I never wore the bracelet anymore because it had gotten so full of charms over the years, but I still cherished it.
Mom peeked over my shoulder to look in the box and sighed sadly when she saw the gift. Mom was the one who bought me the bracelet in the first place, which made this whole thing all the more tense.
Actually, no. What made it really tense was when she abruptly asked—
“Where did you get that?”
She lifted my hand into the air and the diamonds on my tennis bracelet sparkled in the sunlight. My dad frowned at the jewelry and looked at me with a question in his eyes that demanded an answer. My mouth opened and closed multiple times as I frantically searched for a reasonable explanation.
“Honey? Is there something you want to tell us?” Mom pushed.
If there was one woman who could spot a fake diamond from a real one right on the spot—it was her. Since she knew I didn’t have the funds to buy a bracelet like this for myself, it was pretty damn obvious that somebody had given it to me.
“Well, I—”
“Hey, everyone!”
Finley to the rescue. Praise the Gods.
As Finley struck up a
wonderfully distracting conversation with my parents, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. I spun around and scanned the crowd, my eyes almost immediately landing on Joshua as he watched me from a distance.
Our eyes met and he arched an eyebrow up in a silent question. I swallowed nervously and nodded, feeling my heart race as he began walking towards me.
When he finally reached my side, we kept a safe distance between us—but his smile was so fond and loving that I worried someone else would take notice. Luckily, he wiped it off his face when he saw the panicked look in my eyes and he made a vague hand gesture towards my parents.
I spun around and was surprised to find that Ben had joined the group during my silent exchange with Joshua. As I stepped closer, I realized that he and Finley were occupying my parents with details about the apartment they had found in the city.
Mom turned to me with a smug smile as she said, “Oh, honey. I’m so glad you changed your mind. You’re going to love Florida.”
My groan was lost beneath the booming voice of my father as he shouted, “Like hell is she moving down there with you! She can live with me and Jess if she needs a place to stay!”
“Come off it, Brandon,” she hissed. “She doesn’t want to live with you and your wife. She’d die of boredom.”
I knew this was an argument that was going to get out of hand very fast, so I stepped between them and loudly announced, “This is Joshua Baxter. He teaches political science.”
Joshua stepped forward, giving my parents an easygoing smile as he reached out to shake their hands. The irritated look drained off my mother’s face as she eyed Joshua with curiosity, but Dad obviously hadn’t let it go. I pulled him to the side as Joshua started to chat with my mom.
“Dad, I’m not going to Florida.”
His face went slack with relief and he raised a hand to cover his heart. “Thank goodness. I don’t think I could stand you being so far away.”
“I’m not moving in with you either.”
“Then where—”
“I’ll be around,” I said vaguely. “I, uh... I have a place to stay already. Not far from the apartment.”
He seemed relieved to know that I would be close by, but he still frowned, aware that I was withholding something important.
“This have anything to do with that bracelet?” he asked with a grunt, gesturing towards my wrist. “Do I need to get the shovel?”
“Oh my god, Dad,” I groaned, covering my face with my hands as I shook my head. “No, there’s no need for the shovel. I’ll explain everything later, okay?”
“You better,” he grumbled, his eyes rolling when he heard Mom’s exaggerated fake laugh. “Good Lord, I better go save that poor man. Baxter, you said?”
“Yeah. Joshua Baxter.”
When he headed towards my mom and Joshua, Finley swooped in to take his place.
“Your mom just asked Joshua if he’s single,” she told me, barely managing to stifle her laughter. “He told her he was spoken for, but she’s still trying.”
“God love her,” I said, shaking my head as I watched Dad trying to detangle her from Joshua’s side. “But can you really blame her?”
Finley’s lips quirked up at the corners and she shook her head, but her expression switched to worry as she asked, “Are you going to tell them tonight? About you two moving in together?”
I thought about it for a second and shook my head. “No, not yet. Dad’s already talking about the shovel. I think I can dodge their questions for a couple of weeks and I’ll spring it on them after I get settled in.”
“Because that won’t look suspicious at all,” Finley dryly stated.
“I don’t have much of a choice. They’ll figure it out either way, but at least if I wait a little while it’ll feel less...” I trailed off as I considered what word would best express what I was trying to say.
“Inappropriate?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“You know, I do have one question for you.”
“Shoot.”
Finley’s smile was nothing short of smug as she asked, “Remember that conversation we had years back about love at first sight? Do you still think it’s a crock of shit?”
I sighed heavily, looking away from her smile as it grew bigger and bigger during each second that I hesitated. Eventually, I pitifully muttered, “I was wrong.”
“I’m sorry? What was that?” she asked, cupping a hand behind her ear.
“I was wrong!” I repeated, louder this time. I gave her a shove to the shoulder and playfully added, “You bitch.”
Joshua came out of nowhere, startling us both as he shot me a dry look and blandly stated, “Your mother invited to dinner with your family tonight. I accepted because it seemed like a good idea at the time—then she grabbed my ass. I’m starting to regret my decision.”
I looked between him and Finley’s shocked expression a few times before I amended my earlier statement.
“Screw it. We’re telling them tonight. I can’t watch my mother flirt with my boyfriend through an entire meal.”
Finley laughed and wished us luck as someone in the crowd called her name. My parents were still busy bickering so after she walked away with Ben flanking her, Joshua and I were left standing as alone as we could get amongst the chaos.
“Boyfriend?” he asked with a quirky grin. “I’m too old to be someone’s boyfriend, darling. Sounds fucking pathetic.”
My eyebrows furrowed together. Was he breaking up with me right when we got the chance to actually be together? That couldn’t possibly be right. It made no sense.
“But—”
“How about fiancé?” he cut in, shooting me a heated look and a grin. “That sounds much better. I can keep that title for as long as you’d like and when you’re ready—I’ll upgrade to husband.”
My jaw dropped. Was he serious? Was he really—
Oh my god, he’s reaching into his pocket and that is definitely not a big enough box for a bracelet.
“What do you think?” he asked softly, holding the box just far enough out of his pocket to make it clear what it was. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to put it on your finger right here. I’d like to take you home and do it properly—if you’re up for it, of course.”
“Let me get this straight,” I drawled, tearing my eyes away from the box and up to meet his. “You’re suggesting we move in together and have a long engagement? Is that right?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Or short. I’ll leave it up to you.”
“But... But we haven’t—”
“I love you, Brooke. I’ve loved you since I first saw you bust your ass in the snow and felt compelled to pull over and help you,” he reminded me with a chuckle, his hand sliding the ring box back into his pocket and staying there. “Now if you don’t mind, I would very much like to take you somewhere where I can touch and kiss you. And maybe attempt a more romantic proposal that involves getting you to say yes.”
“Let’s go,” I agreed, nodding my head rapidly in agreement. “And Joshua?”
“Hmm?”
“I love you, too,” I whispered, a sly smile forming on my lips as I added, “And—for the record—I don’t think I’d be able to say no if you dropped to one knee. Just saying.”
The hand that wasn’t in his pocket twitched wildly with the desire to reach out for me, but he held himself back at the last second. After I said a quick goodbye to my parents and promised to meet them at the restaurant for dinner, Joshua and I snuck out together and drove away from the campus where we had to hide our relationship and into our future as an almost-engaged couple.
The End
About the Author
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