Forever Our Virgin

by Frankie Love

  It’s not a legally binding ceremony, but it is one that solidifies everything we believe.

  Around us are Noah’s parents and Enzo’s father. Harlow, and her plus one, Jude, are here too. My parents came and so did my sister, which was a surprise considering how she had let everyone know what she thought about this relationship back in California.

  But love won in the end. My family realized that Chloe wasn’t going anywhere and if they wanted to stay close to me, then they would have to accept Chloe for the woman she is.

  The officiant begins speaking again, “The world around us faces such turbulent times. Everyone seems to be angry over one thing or another, politics or the environment or more. But what we have before us today, are five people who have decided to fight for love in the midst of pain. To fight for love even if other people might not understand. Even if family doesn’t understand.”

  At this, I notice all our guests looking at one another and sharing a look of understanding. Maybe it isn’t just judgment they are holding right now.

  Maybe they’re scared for us, scared that this choice is going to implode. That bringing a baby into this is going to create complications we aren’t prepared for.

  My heart surges with gratitude realizing that my family and friends are most worried about us because they’re scared for us. That’s not the worst place to be. They are scared because they love us. They want the best for us.

  The five of us are in a circle, Chloe hands her bouquet to Harlow and we stand in a circle, we stand as one.

  “And now it’s time for the vows,” officiant says.

  Enzo clears his throat before he begins. “I’ve always held so much love in my heart,” he starts. “But until meeting you, Chloe, I had no one to offer it to. Then you came into my life, and you accepted all the love I had to give, Bellissima. It was like you were an empty vase and my love was the water you were thirsty for. And I vow to love you like that, to quench your thirst, for all the days of my life.”

  Chloe wipes her eyes, and she takes a ring from Harlow and reaches for Enzo’s hand. “You make me feel beautiful. Not just on the outside, but on the inside too. You believe that together, our life can be glorious and you make me believe that too. Without you, the world seems grey but with you in it, everything seems possible. Enzo, you’ve always fought for love and I vow to fight for you. Now and forever.” Chloe slips a ring on Enzo’s finger, and from his pocket, he takes a thin gold band and slips it on her ring finger too.

  They kiss, softly, and when they part there are tears in both their eyes. I look around and see that all us guys are getting choked up. We’re all gonna be crying before this is done.

  Then Noah takes a deep breath and smiles down at Chloe, his eyes are locked on hers. “Chloe,” he says in a voice laced with love. “You see through my laughter and my jokes. You see me as the man I want to be. The man I want to be for you and our child. You give me a reason to reach deep inside myself and stand up tall and be a man. Your man. That’s all I want to be now and for always. You are the best thing that ever happened to me, and without you, I’d be lost at sea. But you never gave up on me, and I swear I’ll never give up on you. I love you, Chloe,” he grins at her, reaching for her hands. “And not just because you have a cute butt, but because you have a good heart. And with this ring I vow to you, I will love you until the end of time.”

  He slips a second thin gold band on her ring finger, and with tears in her eyes, she offers him her vows, “Noah, when I met you I was so sad, so broken. But you never saw me as someone who needed to be fixed. Instead, you saw me as the woman I would become when I was whole. Without you, I’d be walking around with a frown most days, but you enter the room and give my black and white world color. Noah, I love you and I can’t wait to smile with you for the next eighty years. You are more than my cure for the blues, though. You give me a reason to smile.”

  She slips a band on his ring finger and he pulls her to him. He kisses her with his hand on her cheek.

  When she steps away, she’s beaming. And then Ethan steps toward her, reaching for her hands.

  “Chloe,” he says, tears in his eyes, before pressing his fist to his mouth and regaining his composure. Ethan’s all choked up, and damn it, it makes me so proud to be part of this family. I remember when Ethan was a teenager, so fucking lost and alone in the world and angry at everyone.

  And now, to look at him like this, it’s a fucking miracle.

  “Chloe, I don’t know why we got so damn lucky, but we did. Here we are, together. Forever. Girl, I love you so damn much.”

  She reaches for his face and brushes away his tears with her thumb. Her hands shake and he reaches for her belly, pressing his hands on our child.

  “I never grew up with an example of what love was. What commitment meant. And I was scared I wouldn’t be the father our child needs. I was scared I wouldn’t be enough for you. But you, Chloe, you never doubted the man I could be. You always fought for me. Assumed the best in me. And loved me with all that you are. I vow not to run away when things are hard and instead run toward you. Toward the light. Toward our love.”

  He places a ring on her finger, his hands shaking as he does. She presses her hand her chest as if struggling for the right words.

  “Not everyone understands this relationship. But that’s okay. When I think about you and me, Ethan, I know that we are lucky to have found a love like this, because with a love like this, when someone is feeling weak, there is someone else who can be strong. And when someone is scared, there is someone else who can be brave. You don’t have to try to be everything. With the support of one another, the only thing we need to be is the best versions of ourselves. I love you because you accept me even though you understand the dark places my mind has been. I love you because you see me when I can barely see myself. I love you because you know just how special what we found is. And for all of my days, I vow to honor you with our love. I will never take this for granted,”

  They kiss, their foreheads pressed together, and then she remembers to slip a ring on his finger.

  Ethan steps back and I clap him on the back, and Enzo gives him a hug.

  We’re stronger together than we are alone.

  “Chloe,” I tell her. “The night we met, I thought you must be a mermaid. How else could a beautiful woman like you have washed ashore? Maybe you are a mermaid; you’re drawn to water, your skin sparkles, and you are able to transform. You are no longer the woman I met in Jamaica— you’ve become stronger and braver. You make me want to be braver and stronger too. You were by my side when I was at my weakest,” my voice cracks remembering the months after my accident.

  “You were by my side and you nursed me back to health,” I say. “You saw me at my very worst and you didn’t walk away. Instead, you wrapped your arms around me and you loved me more deeply, with more compassion. You refused to let go. And you brought me back to life. Your love is magic. It pushes the barriers that the world wants to put on us. You refuse to let other people’s ideas about love shape who you are, change who you want to be. I cannot wait to spend rest my life with you, with all of you,” I say looking around at the men before me— my best friends. “I love you, Chloe, and I vow to love you forever.”

  I put the ring on her finger, the fourth band.

  She reaches for my hand placing a gold ring on my finger too. “Mason, you are a beacon of light in a world that is dark. You saved me both literally and figuratively. Before I met you, I never knew a man who was strong and true and confident like you. You taught me that good men are real. You’ve always known who you are. You don’t waver. When you decide what you want, you dive in headfirst, and you don’t look back. You believed in me before you had any reason to. And you’re unwavering in your commitment. You make me want to be a better woman. A braver woman. Your woman. I love you and I’m so proud to be by your side for the rest of my life.”

  She wraps her arms around me and kisses me hard. When she pulls back, a smile s
o damn bright lights up the horizon. She smells like rose petals and promises and saltwater and sunshine.

  The officiant blows her nose with a tissue, bringing the five of us out of our reverie. We blink, looking around at the family gathered and it’s clear everyone is emotional; hugging, holding hands and wiping tears away.

  Good, they see us for who we are.

  They see what our love is.

  Pure and real.

  And forever.

  Epilogue 2 … Four Months Later

  ENZO

  When she goes into labor we are all more than a little relieved. It’s ten days past Chloe’s due date and she is ready to burst.

  No number of massages or back rubs can ease her utter exhaustion. I swear … I’ve never seen anything like it. My love language may be acts of service, but there’s nothing I can physically do to make her more comfortable.

  The heat of Oahu, where we’ve bought a home and have decided to make our home base, has gotten to her. She can’t bear to be outside for more than a few minutes, and even that is a lot to ask of her at this point. She is ready to be done. Yesterday, I caught her doing jumping jacks as an attempt to get the baby out. And last night, she was on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor. Apparently, the old wives’ tale about having sex to induce labor is complete rubbish because she has been insisting sex several times a day for weeks.

  None of it has helped.

  Though I like to think giving her multiple orgasms has helped relieve some tension.

  So, when her water broke in the middle of the night, I let out a sigh of relief. Finally, my Bellissima will be more comfortable.

  Now, hours later, she’s ready to push.

  “Enzo,” she says as I wipe her brow with a wet washcloth, “I couldn’t have done this without you.” I cradle her face in my hands and kiss her lips softly. “I’m such a mess.”

  “Bella, you’re doing great. More than great. You’re doing this perfectly.”

  She bites her bottom lip as another contraction begins to roll over her.

  “I’m scared,” she says, gripping my hand so damn tightly.

  “It’s okay to be scared,” I tell her.

  “He’s right,” Dr. Brown says. “This is all new. It’s the first time your body has ever been through this. But trust yourself, Chloe. You were born to give birth. Your body intrinsically knows what to do.”

  Dr. Brown is always confident and quick with helping calm Chloe’s nerves.

  And God knows … we’ve needed plenty of that over the past nine months.

  Talk about a steep learning curve. None of us expected to have a baby and we’ve read lots of parenting books and listened to lots of lectures on MeTube as we’ve tried to get a handle on what it will mean to be parents.

  But it hasn’t been a chore. It’s been a complete joy to learn together. It’s brought us together so damn tightly, closer than ever.

  “I wonder if it’s gonna be a boy or girl,” she says, gritting her teeth before another contraction rushes through her. “I just want to know. Now.” She lets out a cry, and Mason, Ethan, and Noah step closer around the hospital bed.

  We’ve been at her beck and call for months, but now is the culmination of all of that work. Now she’s going to push.

  Dr. Brown is at the end of the bed, Chloe’s legs are stretched out, her knees up and Mason holds one of her feet and Noah has the other.

  Ethan’s on the other side of her, holding her other hand. He was giving her ice chips, but those are long gone. Chloe can’t focus anymore. Now her body is concentrating solely on delivering this baby.

  “I just want it now,” she cries again.

  “Good, because it’s time to push. Chloe, if you do one good push, you’ll be able to feel the baby’s head. Okay, can you do that?” Dr. Brown asks in a soothing voice.

  Tears are in Chloe’s eyes and she nods vigorously. “I can do that, I can do that. No. I can’t. I can’t…” She lets out a loud cry as she pushes, bearing down. Her hands squeezing my hand so tight I swear she might break my bones.

  “Good one,” Dr. Brown says. “Now, one more.”

  One more turns into six more, and Chloe is about to lose it when Dr. Brown takes Chloe’s hand and presses her fingers between her legs.

  “Do you feel that Chloe? Do you feel that? That is your baby’s head, the hair.”

  “The baby has hair?” Chloe asks, her eyes wide with relief and expectancy.

  “It does. And in a minute we will find out if it is a little boy or little girl.”

  The words send a surge of intensity through Chloe. “Get the baby out now,” Chloe screams.

  Her hair is a tangled mess on the top of her head, sweat is on her brow, and her hospital gown is doing little to cover her skin. But none of that matters. All that matters right now is Chloe delivering a healthy baby and staying healthy herself in the process.

  “We’ll get the baby out, but you have to do the hard work. You ready to push again?” Dr. Brown asks. Chloe doesn’t speak, she squeezes her eyes shut and grips Ethan and my hands, barreling her feet into Noah and Mason’s hands.

  She pushes with all her might, growling as she does.

  And then, the world changes forever.

  Chloe’s screams stop and a new cry fills the room.

  Our child.

  I watch as the baby is pulled from her womb, its tiny body perfectly formed and wiggling in Dr. Brown’s hands. Then Dr. Brown immediately sets the baby against Chloe’s bare chest.

  All of us grin, smiling through tears and clapping one another on the back as we lean in for a closer look.

  “It’s a boy,” Chloe says. She’s laughing, a laugh that is so pure and so unblemished, it’s as if world peace could be achieved if everyone heard her laugh. It’s a laugh swelling with pride and joy and devotion.

  “We have a baby boy,” she repeats, looking at all of us.

  We didn’t have a paternity test. No one needed one or wanted one.

  This baby isn’t one of ours, it is all of ours.

  We have a son.

  “You did it, baby,” Noah says, covering his mouth with his hand as shock ripples over us. We are fathers.

  “No,” Chloe replies. Tears streaming down her cheeks as she stares adoringly at our son. “We did it.”

  And she’s right, of course.

  Together we brought this child into the world. Together we will raise him to be a man. Together we will learn how to be a family.

  A family that grows and changes and evolves for the rest of our lives.

  We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. We don’t know what challenges we will face and what heartbreaks we will encounter.

  We don’t have a choice in so much of our lives.

  But we do have a choice in this.

  We can choose love.

  Over and over and over again.

  We can choose love, forever.

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  His Billion Dollar Secret Baby By Frankie Love

  Chapter 1

  Dane

  Here I am, on the beach in Miami, soaking up the mother fucking sun. This club overlooking the ocean is banging, waitresses are walking around in string bikinis, their tits in my face and their asses hanging out. The only problem is they’re all cookie-cutter women. I want someone different.

  I’m sick of the same old shit.

  My friends are here, smoking their cigars, talking about their yachts, and their harem of women they've collected over the years.

  I don't bother with that shit; I keep a woman for a night, no longer. I've got no interest in getting shackled. Why would I? I've seen what happens when you get attached to people. In this life, there are no fucking guarantees. That's why I play hard and fuck harder.

  But damn, either I’m getting old or just becoming straight-up picky. I want something different than what I see. Work is a grind, and being a billionaire CEO of a Fortune 500 company affords me a life of luxury—but what use is it when at the end of t
he day I’m chasing tail?

  "Hell, Dane, you need to get yourself a woman. You look tense," my friend Leo says. A waitress brings me a vodka soda and I tuck a hundred-dollar bill in her bikini top. She blows me a kiss as she walks away.

  "You planning on tapping that?" Leo asks.

  I shrug, knowing I’m not in the mood for her tonight. I want a woman who is one of a kind.

  All week, I've been around women who are tan, with fake boobs, and nice round asses. It’s no different in Manhattan. There, the women wear all-black and permanent scowls. Maybe I’m just nostalgic today—it’s the anniversary of my parents’ death, fifteen years ago. A car accident that changed everything.

  My brother Thomas went off the deep end after their death. I haven’t seen him in ten years. So, yeah, today I’m feeling lonely—and my mom would hate this bullshit-vibe here.

  My mom was from a different era entirely. I remember the way she wore an apron when she made dinner, her big Jackie O sunglasses on sunny days, her signature red lips. She was a classic.

  I exhale, the memories getting me all lost in the past. Leo presses me again about my plans for the night.

  "I want something different tonight, a different kind of woman."

  Leo laughs, elbowing me, his hand motioning over the crowd, "All these women here, you could have your pick, yet you want someone different." He laughs. "You always have to make things difficult, don't you?"

  I shrug again. "I don't know, maybe I'm over this Miami scene. I need to get back to New York. I haven't worked in weeks.

  "Always working for the man."

  I scoff. "Leo, get your head out of your ass. You know as well as I do that I'm the man. I don't work for anybody. I work for myself.

  "I hear what you're saying, but I don't think it's as simple as that."

  "What do you mean?" I ask taking a drink of my vodka.

  "I mean everybody works for somebody, for something. For example, you're working to prove yourself to the parents you lost—"