by Diana Currie
I smiled and turned my head to look into his eyes. “Now that I think about it, I’ve been dreaming about you for a very long time but the reality of being with you far surpasses my wildest fantasies.”
He chuckled. “You give me too much credit, Hannah. I’m a much better person because of you. You mean everything to me.”
I felt like protesting his words; telling him that he has been perfect since the day I met him but instead I decided to say nothing at all. I rolled onto my side and gently pushed Shane onto his back as I slid over him. Holding myself above his body on hands and knees I stared deeply into his eyes.
“Shane, how far into the woods would you say we are?”
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “At least a half mile. Why?”
“So the chances of other people wandering through here are low?”
“Yes,” he said slowly starting to see where I was headed.
I spread my knees further apart so my hips lowered to his and lightly pressed myself against him. “I’ve heard that men always say the first few months after they propose is when a woman is most eager to have sex,” I said suggestively.
“Hannah, you are already eager to have sex most of the time. In fact I might use the word insatiable to describe you,” he teased.
“But I can already feel it working, Shane. Call me your fiancé,” I whispered pressing my hips more firmly to his. I could feel him growing hard through our jeans.
Shane’s hands threaded into my hair and brought my face down to his. He lips caught mine in a searing kiss. I broke away first, gasping for air. “God, Hannah. You’re my fiancé,” he breathed his voice heavy with implication.
“Make love to me,” I begged pressing my lips to the stubble on his cheek; leaving a trail of kisses down his neck.
Shane didn’t have to be asked twice. We removed each other’s pants quickly and proceeded to make love in the middle of the wooded forest behind our high school. The trees provided great protection from the hot rays of the sun and it seemed like the mosquitoes stayed away that afternoon just for us.
I woke up sometime later and noticed the sparkle of my engagement ring. Shane was next to me and there was a light blanket covering us. The sun was no longer overhead and it felt like late afternoon at the earliest. Shane’s arm was resting across my stomach and I gently nudged him awake. I couldn’t believe we’d fallen asleep… half dressed… outside in the forest. Though I certainly remembered how we’d become so exhausted.
“Hey,” Shane groaned as he looked around trying to get his bearings.
I was busy searching for my jeans but paused a moment to give him a smile and a kiss. After we dressed and packed up our basket Shane pulled me into his arms for a long hug.
“What time is it?” he asked once he released me from his strong arms.
I pulled my cell phone out of the backpack. “4:30,” I answered.
“Crap. I can’t believe we’ve been here so long.”
“What’s wrong, Shane?” I asked.
“Colin and Elise might be getting worried about us. I told them we’d be home earlier than this.”
“Well then give them a quick call and let them know we’re safe and on our way,” I suggested.
Shane nodded and pulled his phone from his jeans quickly dialing his parent’s home number.
“Hey, mom, it’s Shane,” he said into the phone. “Yes, we’re fine. We made a stop on our way. Yes, I did. She said yes.” He turned to wink at me. “Thanks, mom. Yes, we’re getting back on the road now. Okay. Bye.”
He hung up the phone and ran his hand through his tangled sex hair.
“Is everything alright?” I asked. He usually did that hair thing when he was nervous.
“Uh, yeah. She says congratulations. She wants you to stop by before I drive you home to Lenny’s,” he explained warily.
“So? What’s the problem with that?” I asked confused.
He chuckled. “Our clothes are covered in muddy stains and your hair is a mess. You’ve got that freshly fucked glow,” he said smirking.
“Hmm, I wonder why that could be?” I mused playfully. “You worry about getting us back to the car and I’ll fix my hair with the brush in my suitcase. And I think the glow you’re referring to could also be explained by how incredible happy and in love I am right now.”
Shane stepped toward me and planted a long deep kiss on my lips. “Then I must be glowing too,” he whispered.
I smiled and nodded. “You are.”
Shane impressed me by not getting us lost in the woods. We made it back to the car with no trouble. I was thankful too because the sky was darkening and it looked like rain. I fought with my knotted hair almost the entire ride home. As we pulled up in front of the Decker’s house I started counting cars. There were far more vehicles outside than there were people who lived in that house.
“Who’s here Shane?”
“Oh no,” he replied. “I should have known my mother would have told her...”
I looked at him in confusion. There was a repentant look on his face.
“Ally,” we said in unison.
“Oh, my God. That’s Nancy’s car. And Rachel’s parents’ is that black Mercedes,” I said horrified. “How did she get everyone here so fast?”
“I’m afraid I might have let it slip I was proposing to you today,” he said cautiously. “She probably made all the arrangements yesterday.”
“Oh my God,” I repeated.
We stepped out of the car and walked hand in hand up the front steps of the porch. Shane cupped my cheeks with his hands and placed a soft soothing kiss on my lips. He knew I wasn’t looking forward to this.
“Ready?” he whispered.
I sighed and pulled him closer for another kiss, not ready for our own private celebration to end. My lips moved with his and soon felt my skin heating up wherever he touched me. I tightened my grip on his back and reached up on my toes to taste his earlobe with my tongue. Shane held me close and the beginnings of an erection began pressing against my thigh. He pulled away from me gently trying to stifle a laugh.
“Insatiable,” he mumbled under his breath. I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help smiling.
Shane smoothed my hair down and kissed the tip of my nose before swinging the large front door open. There were even more faces in the room than I’d feared and I squeezed Shane’s hand tightly. Ally ran up to us first, congratulating and hugging us at the same time. Everyone else in the room approached to do the same and I eventually felt Shane’s hand slip from mine as our friends and family effectively separated us.
My dad found me soon after and had a definite pout on his face. We hugged awkwardly and I showed him the ring. He told me how nervous Shane had been when he stopped by the house the day before and said they had a real nice chat. Lenny chuckled.
“You didn’t give him a hard time, did you?” I asked.
He ignored my question. “Shane mentioned New York. He said you’ve agreed to join him there if he’s accepted to graduate school?” Lenny questioned.
I swallowed thickly. “Yeah, NYU is where he wants to go. I agreed to find a job there after graduation while he finishes school,” I admitted. “I know it’s far away, Dad, but-“
“Shane said he wanted to make an honest woman of you before asking you to move to another state with him,” Lenny interrupted. “You found a good man. I’m happy for you, Hanny.”
I thanked him and wrapped my arms around his waist for another hug. We talked a little more before I was whisked away by Ally for a champagne toast.
By the time I’d finished chatting with Rachel, Colin, Elise, Casey, and Nancy I realized I’d completely lost sight of Shane. I was growing tired of being the center of attention and needed him. From the hall it was clear he wasn’t in the kitchen or the dining room. I did see Ethan who was piling another plate high with food from the buffet. I made my way to the Decker’s living room but again didn’t see Shane anywhere.
I refused to believe h
e would actually hide upstairs in his room during his own engagement party and leave me down here to face all these people. I was about to hightail it up the stairs to drag him back down when I caught a glimpse of auburn hair over by the piano. Jack was standing there blocking my view of the bench. I walked over to where Elise was leaning against the wall by the fireplace and finally found my fiancé.
Shane was hunched over his nephew holding both the baby’s hands in his. Adam was standing on wobbly legs trying to take a few steps. I noticed Jack encouraging his son to walk towards him using the piano bench for support. Shane let go of Adam’s hands as they securely grasped the bench and he slowly inched his way down the length of it to his father. Shane’s smile was beaming as he clapped his hands for his little nephew.
“Isn’t that the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?” Elise asked me when she noticed I was staring in the same direction as her.
“It really is,” I replied. I wasn’t sure if she was referring to one of the boys specifically or the three of them together. Adam and Jack were cute by my estimation, but Shane was looking about the sexiest I’d ever seen him. Second only to that lust filled gaze he gives me right before we make love. Seeing Shane with the baby always made me want to jump him and this was no exception.
“Shane’s going to make a wonderful father someday,” Elise commented.
I nodded. “He has so much fun playing with Adam.”
“Have you two discussed children?” she wondered turning her head to look at me briefly.
“Yes. We both want a big family,” I replied. “I didn’t like growing up an only child.”
Jack kissed the top of Adam’s head and walked away towards the kitchen leaving Shane alone with him. Elise and I watched as Shane placed the baby on his lap and let him bang on the piano keys.
Elise sighed, her eyes on her son and grandson again. “Once upon a time Colin and I hoped to have more children. It haunted me for years that I couldn’t give him the family we both wanted. But now I see just how blessed we really are. Shane and Ally were the most wonderful additions to our family. God’s also brought us Casey… Jack and Adam… and now you, dear,” she said smiling. “I’ll be so proud to call you my daughter in law.”
I grinned and felt my cheeks turning pink from her kind words. I was surprised Elise opened up as much as she had. “Thank you, Elise. I’ve always thought of you as a second mother,” I said honestly.
She hugged me and dabbed her eyes with a napkin. “I better go see if anyone needs a drink.”
Once the food had been eaten and the wine drunk I was getting sleepy. I’d talked to practically everyone I knew and still needed to call my mother in the morning. Nancy offered to drive me home since they were taking Lenny back to the house anyway. I accepted their offer though I wasn’t ready to leave Shane yet. Then again, when was I ever? I grabbed his hand and towed him up the stairs to his bedroom so I could say goodnight in private.
As soon as I had closed his bedroom door Shane pressed my back up against it firmly. His hands were on either side of my head; fingers threaded in my hair as his lips found mine. I moaned as his tongue slipped between my lips and explored my mouth. I kissed him feverishly, my hands gripping his ass, pulling him closer.
“God, I want you,” he groaned as his lips moved to my neck.
“Now who’s the insatiable one,” I teased.
Shane growled and thrust his hips forward against mine proving me right. I racked my brain trying to remember why we’d come upstairs in the first place.
“Nancy is taking me home since they drove my dad here,” I explained.
Shane didn’t stop his assault on my neck.
“I brought you up here to say goodnight in private,” I added.
Shane moaned “mm hmmm” against my skin as his lips trailed along my collarbone and up the other side of my neck.
“Shane, please. Say goodnight to me before I rip your clothes off,” I begged.
That did nothing to quell his desire. I slid my hand around to the front of his jeans and cupped my hand over him. He moaned. I wanted so badly to continue but I knew our family was waiting downstairs probably wondering where we had gone.
“I’m leaving now, Shane. I’ll call you tomorrow when Lenny leaves for work. I’ll expect you to come over immediately so we can pick up right here, okay?” I gently pushed my hands against his chest to give us both a little room to breathe.
“I hate saying goodbye to you,” he grumbled. “And summer break has only just begun.”
“I know,” I whispered. “Just think about how it’s our last one in separate houses.”
I kissed Shane’s cheek and ran my hand through the hair at the back of his head. My lips slowly found his and I was careful to give him only chaste kisses.
As we said good night to one another I realized that goodbye’s like these were now numbered. In a little over a year I would say goodbye to him one final time the night before we married and then I would never have to be apart from him again. I could picture us together next summer graduating from the University of Delaware, having our wedding, maybe enjoying a honeymoon somewhere warm and sunny, and then making the move to New York City in time for Shane to start his graduate program.
We’d find a tiny little apartment to share while he studied and I started my first real job. We’d see Andrea and Steve on weekends and spend any other free time exploring the city. There was so much to see in New York I could imagine living there four years and still not experiencing it all.
What our future would look like beyond those next few years was already crystal clear in my mind. Our house was located somewhere in southern Jersey and would be large and white with blue shutters on the windows. Shane would mow the grass on weekends and I’d watch from the kitchen window. The kids would be running around the house playing and fighting just as Shane had once described to me. We’d tuck them in their beds and hopefully find some time to spend together after each long and tiring day. We’d spend lots of weekends in Pittsgrove so Elise could have the house full of family again. In the summertime we’d vacation to Baltimore to visit Grandma Janet. Shane would teach the kids to play piano and I’d show them how to cook. We’d raise our children together and watch them grow up, leaving our home one by one to start their own lives. Once the kids were gone Shane and I would sit in front of a warm fire each night and read to each other.
It was the same picture I drew in my mind for Shane and me when I was just sixteen years old. I thanked God I’d never given up on my once seemingly impossible fantasies because here I was six years later to find them all coming true.
The End