by Allie York
“Oh, did we not talk about this?” Harriet wiped her hands on a towel. “I think marriage is silly. I don’t need a piece of paper and a ring to know where I belong. I thought we had this conversation.” She looked genuinely confused, so I hurried an answer. I hated to be the one to make her second guess, and anytime we were asked about marriage, Harriet got flustered.
“We did. I just hoped you would change your mind. I’ll file the paper in a drawer so you never see it, and we can skip the ring, and when I introduce you I promise to call you my girlfriend, or just my Harriet.” I closed the book and waved her to me. “I get that you are all against ‘the man’ telling you to settle down and be monogamous, but you’re stuck with me.” She settled in my lap, adjusting her long skirt and kissing my head.
“I can be monogamous. I just hate labels.” My girl smiled sweetly, trying to end the conversation. She hated fighting, hated any disagreements, but our conversation wasn’t done. It wouldn’t be until the diamond I bought was on her finger. It was so perfect. Raw and uncut with a bronze band.
“Okay, we can skip husband and wife. Oh, let me introduce you to the woman I plan on fucking for the rest of my life.” Harriet giggled. “I’m fine with that too.” She patted my chest and tried to stand. “I mean it. I’m not above begging either.” I kissed down her neck. “Can you think about it? You said if it was important to me, you would consider it. It would make Ma happy.” I knew Ma was Harriet’s weak spot and used it as often as possible. Harriet’s whole family was full of shitty people, and Ma sated her need for an actual mother. Ma had two boys and Harriet was her new daughter, ring and paper aside. They clicked before I was even involved, so it was really smooth when Harriet moved in. She took Ma shopping and out to eat as often as I did, probably more.
“I’ll think about it if it means that much to you, but I’m not going anywhere, Briggs.” She kissed me and tried again to get up, but I held her tighter, kissing her jawline to her mouth. Harriet returned everything I gave so readily. It blew my mind how giving and how loving she was. “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, but if I agree to this, promise you won’t force a huge wedding on anyone. It would be about us, not everyone else.” I kissed her in between words. “If you ask really nice, I might let you call me your wife. If I decide to agree to the whole marriage thing.”
“I have a confession to make,” I mumbled against her mouth, already smiling because I knew I had won, “I may already have a ring, and I may already be planning this in my mind. So, if you need to write any of this down, grab a piece of paper and start taking notes.”
Acknowledgments
This book is for Ashley. You sat with me, holding my hand, through the whole process. You listened to me talk about Harriet and Briggs for hours, and you got really mad about my ending. I couldn’t ask for a better beta reader or friend. You deserve more than the back of a book, but it is what it is. Love you, Ash.