by M. Piper
“Hey, what’s goin’ on in that beautiful head of yours?” he asks, caressing my lips with his thumb.
“Just…. You. You’re filling my head with all these feelings and perfectness. I can’t help but feel like it’s all too good to be true. It’s just so hard to believe.”
“Hmm…” He yawns, breaking the spell he’s had over me.
“You’re so tired lately, Benton…. Why don’t you take some time off work?”
He gives me a funny look, then chuckles and shakes his head. Stepping back from me, his hands run down his face, and he sighs and curses.
“It’s not work, babe… I think with everything moving like it is between us, my brain just is moving faster than my body wants to. It’s all good… no need to worry. Come on, don’t wanna be late.” Grabbing my purse for me, he waits impatiently for me to finish my hair so we can leave.
What an abrupt change of mood. Just a few moments ago, he looked like he could ravage me and now he can’t wait to leave.
I didn’t lie when I told Benton this all seems too good to be true. I’m not sure why I can’t wrap my head around this, but I feel like something bad is lurking in the corners. I mean, other than my crazy mother.
Hannah’s been with Benton’s dad all day, and I’ve been primped and pampered with the help of Adam’s Black American Express. He’s good for something, I guess.
“Babe!” Benton yells from the living room.
So impatient!
“Coming, hang on!” I yell back, trying to make my hair perfect for the dinner tonight.
“No, really, Gabby get in here,” he yells again.
What the hell? I walk into the living room to see his eyes glued to the TV, and my heart immediately starts slamming in my chest. What happened? Where is she? This means they haven’t found her, right?
“Police surround a home in Bloomington, Illinois today after a tip that Lynette Burns Rosdale is hiding inside. The standoff has been going on for hours now. Let’s go to…”
That’s all I hear. My ears start to buzz, and I have to sit down.
“She was on her way here,” I whisper, staring at the woman’s image on the screen. The woman who put me through so much torture as a child. The woman that gave me life, and then ruined it.
“They got her, though,” he says, sighing. Looking at me, he smiles and laughs. “They fucking got her, Gabby! You don’t have to be worried anymore! There’s no fucking way she’s getting out of that… did you see how they had the house surrounded?!” He’s so damn happy and hugging me that I can’t help but feel some of his relief.
I laugh, because he’s completely right. I don’t have to worry every time I take Hannah outside. I don’t have to look over my shoulder to make sure no one’s following us. She’s locked away, and isn’t getting out any time soon. I’m sure that day will come, but I know now that she’s gone, and I feel a little freer than I have these last twelve years.
“Come on,” I say smiling. “We’re going to be late… and I have good news to tell the bride.”
Soon, we’re out the door and finally on our way to the Langham Chicago, one of the most expensive places in the city to party, but Adam’s not about to go low key on this event. Tomorrow is my best friend’s wedding, and I’m so happy for her, but I can’t help but feel a little green with envy that she can lead a normal life like I’ve always wanted but not deserved.
The entire drive, he still seems off about something. Nervous, almost. What’s his deal this week? I’ve noticed him working late into the night. I’ve noticed him getting up when he thinks I’m asleep to get work done. What’s going on at work that he has to work longer hours plus stay up all night? I know he’s busy, but that’s just insane.
By the time we get to the rehearsal dinner, everything is in full swing. Benton is white as a ghost for some reason, but, the minute we walk in the room, Annaliese finds me and grabs my hand, awkwardly playing with my fingers as she talks about everything we have to do tomorrow.
“So, you two are good the whole day?” She’s asked me this about a hundred times tonight, and each time she gets the same answer.
“Yes, babe. Hannah is with Benton’s dad all weekend. Tomorrow is just for you. Promise.”
She pulls me into a bear hug and squeals, making me smile and remember our crazy college days like they were just yesterday. It’s amazing how much growing up we’ve both done since this time last year.
The night goes off perfectly and, when it ends, I’m ready to get this weekend over with. I’m so excited and happy for Annaliese, but I just want to start my new life with Benton. All of my shit is currently in boxes in storage because we still haven’t had time to properly move anything. I’m ready to move on.
“You wanna take a walk?” Benton asks on our way to the car. It’s dark and late, but knowing I don’t have a crazy person out for me makes me more willing to spend time in public, even if it is the middle of Chicago in the middle of the night.
“Sure,” I say smiling. He takes my hand and leads me on a walk. Before I know it, we’re in the last place I ever imagined we’d end up.
The building we first met at: my old apartment complex.
“Benton, what the hell are we doing here?” I ask, suddenly confused and worried he’s going to tell me to move back in here. What if he pulled strings and got me my apartment back? I can’t… he doesn’t want me? “Are you telling me to move back in?” I whisper, eyes wide, staring at him as he grins at me.
“Relax, babe.” He pulls out a black tie from his back pocket and smiles. “Sorry, but I have to.”
“Over my eyes?! What the hell, Benton?” I huff when he wraps the tie around my face. “I’m gonna fall.”
“I’ve got you,” he says, taking my hand and leading me inside. I didn’t live in this building too long, but I remember it like the back of my hand. He’s taking me to the roof.
The roof?
“Okay… so I have to take this off, but I need you to promise to keep your eyes closed. Can you do that?” His breath on my ear, I feel the heat pool between my legs at his proximity. I nod my head silently and, as he slips off the tie, I squeeze my eyes closed, keeping to my promise.
I don’t know how long I stand there, and I try to use my other senses to figure out what’s going on, but I get nothing. I never really knew this building had a rooftop where people can go and hang out at… probably because I never tried having many social gatherings.
I’m not a huge fan of crowds.
“Okay,” I hear him say from somewhere nearby. “You can open your eyes.”
I take a breath and slow open my eyes to reveal what he seemed so weird about tonight. Everywhere there are lanterns strung, lighting a path to Benton. My Benton.
“What is this?” I whisper as I slowly make my way to him. As I pass by a lantern, I notice they aren’t just paper lanterns. They have images on them.
Images of me. Images of us. Pictures I never knew he took cover each paper lantern. He had these made?
When I look up at him, he’s smiling gently, watching my reaction to his obvious love for me.
“These are beautiful,” I whisper, walking by a lantern scattered with images of Hannah and I. Candid pictures I don’t remember him taking.
“They are how I see you, Gabby. Every image on these shows you how beautiful you really are. You don’t see yourself like I do. I see a beautiful, strong woman who loves the people closest to her unconditionally. I see a woman with a broken past, but not a broken woman. I see a strong fighter, not a weak girl.” He smiles his famous smile, and I see a slight twinkle in his eyes.
At this point, I’m not entirely sure what to think of this whole thing. Am I being proposed to, or is this is a romantic gesture for him to show me how much he really loves me?
“Gabby, I love you.” His hands come around my face and he kisses me gently and quick.
“I love you too, but I don’t get the rooftop… Benton, I hate heights,” I whisper, flicking my gaze
over to the side rail that’s way too close for comfort.
“I know,” he grins. “Gabby, I trust you with my world. I’ve never been afraid that you’re not going to take care of my child, and I can’t stand it when you aren’t with me. Even at work, I find myself getting upset that you aren’t there with me.” He chuckles and shakes his head. “Before we go on, though… I have to admit something. You’re not going to be happy with it, but I can’t see us going on with me keeping something like this from you. The reason I’ve been so distant and tired this last week is because I’ve been pulling split shifts with work. I’ve actually taken a lot of time off-”
“What?” I blurt, cutting into his speech. I knew something was up, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. He wouldn’t go through all this trouble to set this up for me if he were telling me he’s been cheating. No… I know he loves me, but I’m afraid what he’s about to tell me is going to crush me.
I opened my heart, and he’s about to destroy it.
“Don’t get worked up… I just… shit,” he huffs, backing away from me and dropping his hands. “I saw your reaction to the news about your mom, I know what she did to your past… I couldn’t have that again. Gabby, I followed you and Hannah each time you went out this week-”
“You what?! Benton, that’s crazy!”
“I trust you, Gabby. I do, with my entire heart, so don’t think this is about me not trusting you. It’s about me not trusting other people out there and not being able to live with myself if something happened to either of you two because of someone else’s crazy.”
“Benton, I-”
“I’m not telling you to start a fight, or to tell you I don’t love you, or any of that. I love you. I love you so much I’d die if anything happened to you.”
“Don’t say that,” I whisper, still trying to accept the fact that he followed us.
I feel like I should be angry with him, but I know he trusts me, or else he wouldn’t have left Hannah with me. I actually feel more loved… more cherished. He’s been putting himself through hell this week just to keep us safe. He’s no knight… and there’s no shiny armor or expensive cars or mansions in the country… but he’s mine and he’s perfect.
“I want to show you something,” he says, holding his hand out.
He’s going to walk me to the edge. I know it. I can’t do it. I can’t walk to the edge of this rooftop. I don’t even know why this rooftop. I don’t understand what’s about to happen, but I can’t do what he wants me to do.
“Gabby,” he says, breaking into my mental breakdown. My eyes flick to his, and I see the glisten in them again. He’s grinning and holding his hand out still, waiting for me. Can I do this? What if I fall? What if the balcony collapses and he falls? I can’t live without him? “Gabby, do you trust me?”
“Yes,” I whisper without hesitation.
“I won’t let anything bad happen to you, Gabby. Please….” He’s begging me silently to trust him.
I do trust him. He wouldn’t ever put me in danger.
I hesitantly take his hand, and he releases a breath I didn’t even know he was holding. My heart is racing, but I slowly make the steps it takes to get to the banister with him.
“Look down,” he whispers, noticing I won’t take my eyes off him.
“I can’t,” I whisper. He smiles sadly, then leans in and whispers in my ear. “I need you to trust me that nothing bad will happen. I just need you to look down.” His breath is hot on my skin, making every part of me tingle for him.
I do trust him. He wouldn’t put me in danger.
I nod and muster up a courageous smile, then turn my head gently and peek over the edge. What I see takes my breath away.
“Oh my god, Benton,” I manage, feeling the tears well in my throat. That knot that I felt because of fear is now there because of pure happiness and love. Spelled out on the sidewalk below in glowing candles are the words “Marry Me, Gabby.” Holy shit!
I turn to face him, his face is beaming, and he’s holding out a little black box.
Holy fuck.
“Gabby Rosdale, I love you more than life itself. I can’t live without you.” He opens the box revealing a diamond ring, sparkling from the lights hanging above us. “Bad things happen, Gabby. Life is random, but love is true. I’m sticking with you through this, thick and thin. We’ll figure this out together, day by day… but I know I need you there with me. Throughout the beautiful times and the ugly.”
“I can’t believe you did this,” I whisper, looking all around and taking everything in. “How long… How did you?”
“Gabby, I’m standing here asking you to marry me and you’re worried about how long it took me to plan this?” He’s smiling, and on the verge of laughter. Cracking a smile, I lock eyes with him and see the man I fell in love with. Under all the drama we have in our lives, all the sadness and heartbreak, we still have each other. I love him.
“Well… I mean you didn’t really give me a choice when you stole my heart, huh?” I smile, raising an eyebrow at him.
“So, that’s a yes?” he asks, grinning and still holding my beautiful ring.
“Absolutely,” I whisper.
“Then, I do believe…” he starts, pulling the ring from the slot it was resting in. “This is for you.”
The ring slides on with ease. A perfect fit.
Just like us.
Kissing me gently, he seals the night in the most perfect way possible. I’m not sure how he was able to orchestrate all of this, and I don’t know if I want to know. I’d rather keep it all a secret, and not kill the romance of it. I don’t care how he did it. I just love that he did… and he did it in the most romantic way I could have thought of. In the first place he ever laid eyes on me, showing me that trust is a huge thing in a relationship. We trust each other, and that matters the world to me.
RUN
Gabby
I’ve been doing this for a week already, but waking up next to my fiancé is something I’ll never get used to. However, his rock hard body and morning wood are something I can definitely learn to live with. Each morning since he proposed, I’ve made sure to start the day off right. His body must be getting used to this, because he’s rock hard and still fast asleep. Grinning to myself, I snake my body under the covers and take him in my mouth, slowly, all the way back. Hearing his moans makes me wet immediately, and it’s only a few pumps before he’s fully awake and cursing, hand on my head over the covers.
“Fuck, baby,” he moans as I swallow him. I love pleasing him, and surprising him like this in the morning is the absolute best. “God, Gabby, I’m gonna come,” he groans.
Pumping harder and faster, he tenses and I suck as hard as I can as his orgasm explodes in my mouth. Making sure I swallow every last drop, he’s practically pushing me off of him with laughter by the time I’m done playing with him.
“Damnit, woman,” he grunts, pulling me up to kiss him. “I could get used to waking up like that.” He slams his lips to mine and kisses me. “I’m gonna be late to work,” he whispers between kisses. “But I don’t fucking care.”
Flipping me over, he takes his time kissing down my body. When he comes to my belly button I can’t help but laugh when he starts licking around it, the dips his tongue in. Fuck, that’s hot.
Making his way lower and lower, he takes his time getting to my core, now soaking wet with need. Slipping his fingers in with ease, I moan as he takes my clit in his mouth and starts nibbling on it.
“Oh, fuck,” I gasp as one of his fingers travels south to my ass and slips in. “Shit shit shit,” I murmur over and over as he starts playing me.
“Like that?” he asks between licks of my clit. He starts biting my inner thigh as his fingers twist up and I lose it.
“Shit, yes,” I pant as he gently pulls it out and pushes it back in. “Fuck, Benton, don’t stop.” I gasp when his teeth come around my tight nub, sending waves of pleasure through my entire body.
“One day, I’ll ha
ve this fucking ass, baby,” he growls, licking and groaning. Shit, that’s so fucking hot. Goddamnit, this man.
“FUCK!” I scream, bowing my back off the bed. The minute he notices my orgasm starting to rip through me, he pulls his finger out of my ass which sends off another wave of pleasure through my body. “Holy shit,” I groan, coming down from the intense orgasm. “Fuck me,” I gasp. Shit.
“I’d love to, but now I’m really going to be late for work,” he stands and winks at me and my vagina is automatically ready for him again. How can one wink do that to me?!
“Fine,” I huff. “Tonight… I’m holding you to it.”
“Oh, you’ll be holding something tonight… that’s for sure.” Grinning, he slips into the bathroom right as I throw the pillow at him.
Jesus, I love that man.
By afternoon, Hannah and I have run all over the city to change addresses, fill out paperwork, and get things finalized with my move to Benton’s. He keeps telling me to call it home, but until everything of mine is where it should be, and I’m no longer living out of a box, it won’t seem like my home.
Hannah’s crying and I’m trying to get her and the groceries in and out of the hallway before someone on the floor gets pissed that we’re making so much noise. Apparently, these walls are paper-thin… or so says our neighbor whose bedroom backs up to our bathroom.
Grinning, I remember that morning in the shower all too well. He’s so attentive and loving. His hands take what they want and give what I deserve and then some. He’s the best I’ve ever been with, and will ever be with. I still can’t believe this ring, but he’s convinced he wasn’t going to buy anything less.
I guess it’s time for me to start planning the wedding… my wedding! Holy shit, I’m getting married!
“Hannah!” I squeal when it all clicks. “Oh, how awesome! You can get a little dress, and, oh my gosh, this is so awesome!” We dance around the kitchen, momentarily forgetting the groceries waiting on us.