Unveiling Forever

by Jeannine Allison

  One hand still wrapped around hers, I took the ring out of its plush cushion and held it up. “Alara, will you marry me?”

  The fingers of her free hand were pressed to her mouth as she tried not to all-out cry. With a laugh, Alara dropped them and pulled her other hand free, bringing both hands to my face. She pulled me closer until our foreheads were touching.

  “Yes.” The single greatest word I’d ever heard kissed my lips right before Alara did. It didn’t last long, our laughter and tears were too great for our mouths to stay connected.

  “Yes? Really?” I asked. My cheeks hurt from the wide grin that split my face.

  Alara laughed louder, completely uninhibited. “Were you expecting a different answer?”

  “Don’t even joke.”

  I pulled back and slid the ring onto her finger. Our hands were shaking with how excited we were. Alara and I were staring down it at as my thumb brushed over her knuckles. “It looks even better than I thought.”

  “It’s perfect,” she whispered.

  We lifted our heads at the same time, and the laughing girl with tears in her eyes was gone. Alara’s eyes were now heated and zoned on my mouth. I could imagine my expression was the same. My cock was hard and ready, straining against my jeans.

  I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her as close as I could in the small space, and slanted my mouth over hers. She climbed onto my lap and my hands fell to her ass, gripping roughly as I pulled her down while I thrusted up into her. Not even the clothes between us could dampen the pleasure radiating up my spine.

  “G-Gabe,” she whimpered.

  “Shit. I need you.”

  “Oh God… we’re like, thirty minutes from home.”

  “I didn’t really think that part through,” I panted out against her neck. Despite our words, our lower halves continued to move, grinding, thrusting, and growing more aroused by the second.

  “We gotta get home fast. I need…” she trailed off before kissing me again. The way her mouth moved against mine was hard and greedy, and I knew there was no way we were getting out of here without me hearing the sweet cries of her orgasm.

  I broke away, grabbing her head and pushing her face into my neck. “Stay quiet,” I whispered. Pulling one of my hands free, I immediately slipped my fingers into her pants and under her panties.

  “Jesus,” I grunted out when I made contact with her wetness. Cradling her head against my shoulder, I wasted no time in running my fingers through her arousal and bringing it to her clit, making fast circles.

  Alara was moaning against my skin as she greedily moved her hips into my hand. “Gabe…”

  “Shh… I’ve got you.”

  Less than a minute later she was shaking in my arms, her teeth sinking into my shoulder to stop from screaming.

  “Fuck, that was hot,” I said when she stilled.

  “I can’t believe I just did that.” She sounded mortified as she buried her face into my neck for a completely different reason.

  “Hey, why are you embarrassed? You’re not the one about to walk out with a hard on.”

  Alara pulled back. “No, I’m just going to leave looking like I’ve been fucked.” She waved her hand toward her flushed face and messed up hair, hair that had obviously been pulled and twisted in a fit of passion.

  “Yeah, I’m not going to feel guilty about that at all.” I grinned and she rolled her eyes in response. Moving back to her side of the bench, she adjusted her hair before waving her hands in front of her face. I closed my eyes, trying to think of anything that would keep me from dragging her back and fucking her here and now.

  A few minutes later, when I felt I could leave without embarrassing myself, we mindlessly stumbled out of the booth. We immediately stopped short when we saw a family waiting outside for us to finish. One of the mothers was keeping the young kids distracted by a giant stuffed elephant in the window of a toy store, while the other mother had her arms crossed and was staring daggers at us.

  “Oh God.” I heard Alara’s horrified whisper. Reaching behind me, I grabbed her hand and quickly pulled her away.

  We ran all the way to the car until we reached the passenger side. Before Alara could get in, I framed her face with my hands and pulled her in for another kiss. It was meant to be short and sweet, but apparently those wouldn’t be happening for a while.

  All we were capable of was rough and wild. My hips pinned hers to the car while her hands slid under my shirt, pulling me closer.

  “No.” She broke away, panting. “It’s the middle of the day in the parking lot.”

  Reaching around her, I fumbled for the door handle before shoving her inside. Her laughter echoed as I ran around the front of the car and hopped in.

  “Remember,” Alara began as I backed out. “We can’t have sex if we’re dead or laid up in the hospital. So don’t drive like too much of a maniac.”

  We both chuckled as I left the parking lot. Despite her warning, we still made it home in record time. The drive that normally took thirty minutes, only took twenty-two.

  My fiancée—damn that felt good to say—didn’t mind, though. Not that she would have had time to say so, because once we got home, we were a flurry of limbs as we stumbled toward the front door, immediately tearing off each other’s clothes once we got inside.

  When we collapsed hours later, Alara whispered into the darkness of our bedroom, “Best. Day. Ever.”

  September

  MY PARENTS AND I had a weird relationship. There wasn’t any bad blood between us, but we just weren’t close. They lived in northern California, while my sister, Jackie, and I still lived here in Carillo, Arizona.

  Sometimes I chalked it up to being busy, but other times I wondered if my depression had created an irrevocable void between us. It was hard to stay close to people who didn’t understand depression, who thought it wasn’t “real.” My mother and father never said as much, but they never quite knew how to act either.

  It wasn’t until I met Gabe that I realized how precious having both my parents alive and well was. His mother passed away three years ago and there were days when he still didn’t seem quite over it. It didn’t help that his father was an insufferable prick.

  As a result, I’d been making more of an effort with my parents. So when they announced they wanted to fly out and celebrate Gabe and mine’s engagement, I wasn’t too surprised. I was surprised when my mother told me that she invited a few of their old friends, turning it into a mini impromptu engagement party.

  “We’ve only been engaged a month. Isn’t it a bit soon for an engagement party?” Gabe asked from the driver’s seat. We were waiting for my parents in the pick-up lot at the airport. Their flight was due in any minute.

  I shrugged. “It’s not a real engagement party. Besides, is there any kind of set timeframe for these things?” Reaching over, I wrapped my hand around his. “My mother’s really excited about designing the dress. I think she’s overly excited in general.”

  “I guess that makes sense,” he said, eyes out the window, focused on the digital board that showed the incoming flights.

  “Your mom would have felt the same way,” I whispered, feeling his arm grow taut as a result.

  After a few seconds, he let out a tiny laugh. “I doubt she’d be excited if I asked her to design my wedding dress.”

  I smiled, too, but it was sad and fell quickly. With one hand still gripping his, I brought the other to his cheek and turned his face toward me. His eyes were haunted.

  “You don’t need to pretend. Not with me.”

  Gabe closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. “I don’t want to, Alara. I’m not trying to. I just… I miss her.” His eyes opened and he let me see everything, all of his pain. “I wish I could have dragged her with me to shop for your ring, I wish I could have spent the whole time gushing about how absolutely goddamn in love with you I am and how I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.”

  We both smiled, this time with fondness inst
ead of sadness. I opened my mouth to speak when the phone rang. A shrill pierce in the quiet. Looking toward my phone in the cupholder, I hesitated. Gabe squeezed my hand, forcing my stare back to him.

  “Answer it. I’m better.” He lifted my hand and placed a kiss in the center of my palm. “Thanks to you.”

  My grin widened as I reached for the phone before the call dropped. “I didn’t even do anything.”

  Gabe lifted our joined hands. “You do more than you know.”

  I felt myself blush as I finally hit accept.

  “Hi, Mom,” I answered.

  “We just landed. We’ll call you when we’re at baggage claim?”

  “Sounds good.”

  I moved to hang up when she said, “I’m so excited to see you, sweetie.”

  “Me too, Mom.”

  Twenty minutes later, we pulled up to the curb where my parents were standing. My mom and I hugged while Gabe shook my dad’s hand. We quickly got back in the car and drove away from the bustling terminal.

  Gabe took my hand again and kissed the back before placing it on his knee.

  My mom was talking a mile a minute, confirming that she couldn’t wait to start designing my wedding dress.

  Truthfully, I didn’t want a big fancy wedding. The idea of standing up in front of a lot of people was kind of terrifying.

  But my parents had a lot of friends here and I knew they were already making a list of who to invite.

  Gabe hadn’t said what he preferred either way, but he wasn’t an anxious person like me, so I imagined he was okay with all this.

  “I think a winter wedding would be wonderful,” my mother said as she took out her notebook. “You really need to start looking into the details.”

  “Already?” I asked. “It’s only been a couple weeks.”

  “Yes. There’s so much to plan, Alara. We have to reserve a venue and put together a guest list. There’s the cake, flowers, a band, caterers…”

  “I think it’s a good idea,” Gabe chimed in. “You hate the heat. And even though I know fall is your favorite time of year, winter would be a nice substitute.” He quickly smiled over at me before returning his eyes to the road.

  “You really think we could do all this in three or four months?” I asked.

  My mom’s laughter filled the car. “Oh no. It will be next winter.”

  “What?” I turned around, dislodging my hand from Gabe’s. “Like an entire year?”

  She wasn’t looking at me as she scribbled in her book. “More like a year and a half. It’d probably be a good idea to plan for January or February.”

  I looked back at Gabe. He had a small frown on his face as he looked out the window at the red light. When he felt my stare, he glanced over at me and forced a smile.

  “How long was your engagement?” I asked my parents when Gabe started driving again.

  “About two years, wasn’t it, Gary?” my mom asked, still eyes down.

  My father was staring at her with so much love in his eyes. I wondered if Gabe would look at me like that in thirty years.

  “Yes. Your mother was very ambitious,” he said, turning toward me. “Half of the guests were strategic business arrangements.”

  My mom finally looked up, smacking him in the arm. “I seem to recall quite a few of your business associates there as well.”

  “This is true.” Turning back to me, he said, “We didn’t need to rush it. We were in love either way.”

  My parents started reminiscing about their wedding as I turned back around, a small V pulling my eyebrows in.

  Was that how most people felt? That being deeply in love meant there was no rush?

  I never thought I’d be that person, rushing to get married. But ever since Gabe asked, I couldn’t wait to be his wife. Was he okay with waiting that long?

  Once we got home, my mother’s inquisitions didn’t stop. Apparently I was supposed to give my opinion on all of this wedding stuff. Right now.

  And based on the way my mother scrunched her nose and wrote her own considerations next to my opinions, my opinion would probably be ignored on a lot of it.

  I didn’t mind. I wasn’t crazy over the idea of a big, fancy wedding being held in eighteen months.

  Ughhh…

  But I couldn’t completely begrudge the time. My mother and I hadn’t talked and laughed this much in a long time.

  Later that night, Gabe said goodnight to my parents before going to our room. I walked them to their car, hugging them both and telling them I’d see them tomorrow. We’d invited them to stay with us, but they insisted on booking a hotel room.

  A little while later, Gabe and I were lying in bed. My back to his front as we slept in the quiet room. Well, tried to sleep. I was tired, but I couldn’t shut my mind off. Not after everything my mother threw at us that day.

  “Alara?” Gabe suddenly whispered, sounding just as alert as I was.

  “Yeah?”

  “I don’t want to wait.” I froze against him. He gently turned me until I was on my back, staring up at him. “I don’t want a long, drawn-out engagement. I’d like to get married before the end of the year.”

  With a smile, I cupped his cheek. “That sounds perfect.”

  Both our lips turned down at the same time. “But we can’t really do that, can we?” he asked.

  “We can, if we really wanted,” I admitted.

  “But?” he prompted.

  “She’s so excited,” I whispered.

  “Yeah, she is.” Gabe leaned down and kissed me, soft and sweet. “I know how much this means to your mom, and how you guys have been getting closer. I just wanted you to know that I can’t wait to marry you either.”

  “All these decisions will eventually drive us crazy, you know that, right?” I asked with a laugh.

  “Yes, I do. But, by the end of all this, I get to marry to my best friend, how could I possibly be anything less than ecstatic?”

  The next morning I opened the door to a haggard-looking Ellie.

  “Hey, Alara.”

  “How are you?” I asked, stepping back and giving her room to enter.

  “I’m good. Tired, but good.” She gave me an exhausted smile. “Thank you so much for doing this,” Ellie said as she handed me her son’s diaper bag while crossing the threshold.

  “Of course.” I smiled at Andy as he giggled and smacked his mother’s cheeks.

  Ellie winced and grabbed his chubby little fist, stopping him. “I’m afraid he recently woke from his nap. He’s going to be hyper.” She threw me a look of apology as she lowered him to the ground. He immediately started toddling away.

  “Seriously don’t worry about it.”

  “I’ve had my coffee,” Gabe said as he walked into the room, immediately bending down to pick Andy up.

  I froze, my heart nearly pounding out of my chest at the sight before me. Gabe holding a baby was a sight I wasn’t prepared for. He’d held him before, of course. But not since we’d gotten engaged. And everything felt different now that we were. Possibilities were around every corner.

  Ellie looked at him before combing back her hair. “Grayson’s at work and I need a few hours of peace.”

  Gabe stepped forward as he hefted Andy on his hip. “Stop. Apologizing.” He softened the words with a smile.

  As a recovering alcoholic, all of us would do anything to ensure Ellie stayed sober. And if she needed a few hours on a Saturday to hang out with her sponsor, Gabe and I would gladly watch him.

  We actually baby-proofed the house the second we moved in. Since we were a close-knit group, babysitting Andy so Ellie and Grayson could have date nights or relaxing days wasn’t even an issue. But during the school year Gabe and I had assumed it would fall more heavily on us, with Sherry in med school, Naomi in law school, and Sam still navigating her return to Carillo.

  When it looked like Ellie was going to say more, I turned her around and gently shoved her toward the door.

  I looked down at Andy’s dozing face
and asked my fiancé the question that’d been on my mind recently. “Are you sure you’re okay with all the fanfare surrounding the wedding?”

  “Yes. Besides, the long engagement might be a good thing.”

  Frowning, I stared down at Andy as he whacked himself in the face when he tried to scratch his nose.

  Once Gabe processed his words, his head snapped my way. “I didn’t mean because I want to wait. I meant what I said last night, Alara. I just…”

  “What is it?” I grabbed his free hand and squeezed when I saw the uncertainty in his eyes.

  “It’s kind of crazy…”

  I raised my eyebrows and stepped even closer, bringing my other hand to Andy’s back. “Then I definitely want to hear it.”

  “I think I want to own my own restaurant.”

  “Really?” I asked with a grin.

  “I don’t know.” Gabe shrugged. “Maybe. Someday.”

  His hand still in mine, I dragged him to the couch. “I think it’s a great idea.” We sat down, Andy drifting off against Gabe’s chest and our hands resting on the cushion between us.

  “I know it’s a dicey decision.” He flipped his hand over and laced our fingers. “I don’t want to do something so risky if you’re not okay with it.”

  “Obviously there will be things we need to look into it. But if this is what you want, it’s what I want too.”

  A wide, confident smile spread across his lips. I loved when I made that happen. Gabe leaned forward and whispered, “I love you,” against my forehead before dropping a kiss there. We stayed that way for a minute or two, frozen.

  My happiness was practically tangible. Because I could imagine this. I could picture Gabe and me sitting on this couch, holding our own newborn, making plans and falling deeper in love.

  The future I’d always been afraid of, that I never could quite see, was now clearer than ever.

  October