by E. H. Lyon
Stepping closer to her, I study her face. Nothing. I get no indication. Nada.
“What would you have said?” I ask softly, and I can’t help it, I let my hand find her hair.
A cheeky grin forms on her face. “That I figured you would have asked me to marry you then. It isn’t a big shocker.”
My face gives her a puzzled look. Have I gotten the magnitude of this all wrong?
“It’s a no-brainer, Jake. You’re an honorable guy, and you asking me to go away with you for a special trip when I was going to have your baby, well, the writing was on the wall. It’s not a shocker, but hearing it now… it’s the confirmation of what I always wondered. It’s also a reminder of what didn’t happen. I just needed some air to take it in.”
“I wasn’t going to ask because I was an honorable guy. I loved—I love you,” I remind her. Her fingers run along my arm.
“I know. I know, because I loved you too.” Her mouth hitches to the side.
Blood begins to rush at high speed in my veins.
“I love you now too, in case you were still wondering.” An almost fun yet warm smile flashes to me as she says that.
“I’m scared,” she begins. “I keep thinking you might change your mind or that you’ll wake up one day with resentment that I walked away.”
“I’m not letting you leave again.”
She nods slowly. “I think I understand that now. We have nothing to hide, and we have our closure about what happened. You’re right. We both made mistakes. But I am tired of letting guilt overcome me. I’m going to let it go. Look where we are now, Jake. A good place. Our road led us to a good life. I only want to try again and focus on the future.” Her wry smile does not leave her. She tries to catch my eye. “You’re in that future, in case you were wondering that too.”
Our eyes hold, full of hope. “How do I look in your future?” I ask, stepping closer.
“Well, it’s a long future,” she tells me as my hand moves down her face.
“Yeah? What else?”
“You’ll be in bed a lot… but not to sleep.” Avery gives me a sexy smile.
My hand glides slowly through her silky hair. “Lucky me.”
“My guess is I’ll be lucky too. Since we will talk a lot, go for lots of walks, romantic dinners, try for a baby—”
“Lots of babies,” I correct her as I begin to pull her head towards me.
She smiles. “Lots of babies. You’ll never run away or let go. I’ll never run away or let go. We will be really happy.”
In record time, my lips find hers for a deep kiss, a melting kiss. Entirely greedy and so hard that it may just bruise her lips. Only when I pull away do I remind her, “I love you.” My finger goes under her chin and I tip her head up for her eyes to look at me. My hands cup her face, and her hands hold my arms.
“We’re okay, Jake,” she murmurs.
She pulls away gently and looks at my left wrist, bringing it up to her lips, then letting a finger brush along my ring finger.
“The ring… ask me one day.” It’s a fact she states with the corner of her mouth forming a grin. “It’s a nice ring you picked too.”
“I will ask you one day. Soon. It will be right.”
“I’d like that.” Her smile grows.
My hands find the sides of her body and I guide her to stand so her back is against my front. We’re facing the mirror, looking at each other through the reflection.
“I’m yours. I only want to be yours,” she tells me softly with purpose as our eyes meet in the glass.
Her look turns to lust and my face turns to an image of thirst.
My arms wrap around her as my mouth finds her neck with my lips placing a firm kiss on the place where her neck and shoulder meet.
Looking at each other in the mirror, we watch as I grab her hips and drag them back. Her arms straight ahead and hands firm on the sink. Quickly, I shimmy her dress above her waist and pull her underwear down to the floor that she steps out from. My towel disappears in a swift move.
My hands move to the top of her dress and bring the top halfway down as her perky breasts come free with hard red buds. Pressing into her back, my hands cup her breasts and tug her nipples as she lets out a moan. We continue to watch through the mirror.
Releasing a breast, my fingers slide down to her silky slit to check, and she feels eager. Grabbing my cock, I quickly find my way into her. Need spiraling below my navel, this is going to go fast and hard. There is a reason for this round, a point to prove. A confirmation to make.
Pushing hard into her, I find her depth before moving in and out.
Pulling her hair gently to bring her upper body up and pressed against my chest, I whisper into her ear as we watch. “Together. No other way. Together.”
Her eyes have a sparkle of approval, and with that, I let her fall forward again. I lean forward so our fingers can interlace, as I press my body tightly against hers as I go deep and hard. It quickens and we’re both letting moans, sighs, and cries escape us as we watch ourselves in the mirror.
Eventually, we both release and pant.
I stay in her as I fall to resting on her back and our fingers stay interlaced. After a moment, I pull out and she turns around, looping her arms around my neck and going up on her toes to kiss me deeply on the lips.
Sitting on the edge of the vanity, her legs wrap around my waist. Very easily, I could slip into her again. But instead, I just want to look into her eyes and say nothing.
After five minutes of staring at each other, stroking each other’s cheeks with the occasional kiss on the lips, I carry her to bed where we spend the whole night entangled in each other.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Avery: 2 months later
“Great. Thanks, Avery,” says the photographer as he looks at the shots on the back screen of his camera.
Stepping away from the display of cakes, I’m happy that it’s finished, because an hour of photos of Smokey Java’s, with me staged against trays of cakes, is enough to send me eating raw cookie dough from a bowl with a bottle of strong liquor in my other hand.
“You still need Tank?” Nate asks, as he is letting us borrow his dog for photos with baked dog treats.
“I don’t know, maybe ask the photographer. Really appreciate this, Nate.”
“No problem. My guy is a model,” Nate says as he’s on one knee and he rubs the dog’s head.
“Do you mind if we do the interview now?” Dana the reporter asks. She seems like she’s Jake’s age, with dark hair and a sweater fit for a librarian.
I nod yes. “Of course.”
Abby, who has been watching, quickly grabs my arm and pulls me to the side. “Come on, Avery. You got this. Just smile a little bit longer. I think it will be worth your while,” she reassures me.
I give a nod of agreement and let my hand straighten my olive-green dress that is long and has straps, with sandals and accessories that honestly tip me to the edge of bohemian.
Adjusting my stance, I walk confidently to the table with the reporter, sitting down, and I offer her the tray of different baked goods.
“These are good,” Dana remarks as she eats a chocolate chip cookie.
“Thanks.”
“So, if you don’t mind, I have some questions about the business and then a few personal questions, if that’s okay?”
Business, fine, but unless the personal questions are about my preference of yoga or Pilates, then I am not a fan. But I will push through, it’s for my business. So, I throw on my best professional smile.
After a few questions about re-inventing the menu with new recipes, moving from San Francisco and starting a dog treat line, Dana, who seems decent, switches the topic.
“I was wondering what you do in your spare time. Hobbies?”
Okay, that seems like a fair question, nothing too earth-shattering.
“I try and go to yoga classes and I started trail running since my boyfriend is a trail runner,” I explain, and realize t
hat I mentioned a boyfriend, and also that there is a big grin slapped across my face.
“Do you have a dog, since you also make dog treats?” Dana asks as she checks her phone is still recording.
I take a sip of my coffee. “No dog. We only have a goldfish,” I shrug. It’s our goldfish, because I moved into Jake’s as soon as I could.
“We? Oh, so it’s serious with your boyfriend?”
Whoa, now she’s crossing the line into too personal. My warrior woman is coming out, yet I can’t help the wide smile spreading across my face yet again. “Yeah, we are.” It sends warmth and happiness through me.
Dana picks up on this and smiles. “Sounds like a good life. Okay, Avery, we’re done. Thanks so much for doing this.”
“No, thank you, and if you need anything else then let me know.” I smile and show Dana out.
When Dana and her photographer are gone, I turn to Abby and Nate. “I need alcohol.”
“Good thing I know a good bar,” Nate grins.
“Come on, something tells me it’ll be a good time,” Abby smiles at Nate as she interlaces our arms.
We walk down the sidewalk to Matchbox, with Nate’s dog Tank running ahead of us.
Arriving at Matchbox late on a weekday afternoon, it’s not too busy. We head straight to the bar while Nate goes behind the counter to prepare us a drink. I lean against the bar to take a breath.
Abby starts to ponder. “Remember how Lucas and I tried to set you up with Jake, but you always said you weren’t interested because his name is Jake? Something about been there, done that, etcetera.”
“Yes, and?” I ask.
“So, there is a Jake we know, and we think you will like this Jake,” Lucas says as he comes and drapes an arm around Abby. I study him. He’s grinning a far-too-coy smile. Catching Abby beaming in the corner of my eye, I begin to realize that I should play along.
Shifting in my chair, I cross my arms and smile at Lucas. “Oh yeah? And why is that?”
“Pretty positive he isn’t a stranger to you.” Lucas grins.
“Oh yeah?” I challenge.
“Yeah. I would definitely say he’s more than a stranger,” he affirms again.
“In fact, he will probably be your husband,” that all-too-familiar voice says from behind me.
My heart bounces in excitement, my stomach twirls like a merry-go-round, and my face is probably a mixture of a smile and tears forming. Turning around, I see my future in front of me.
There is Jake, who must have come straight from work, in his three-piece suit, on one knee with a bottle in hand, his charming smile on display.
“Hope you don’t mind, I know you wanted me to wait with a bottle of wine after your interview, but I found this great bottle of mezcal,” he states with delight in his voice.
My smile overtakes my face as I walk towards him slowly. When I reach him, I go to clutch his hand with the bottle that is the new Matchbox brand, which he did end up investing in. It’s then that I notice there is a ring attached to the bottle by a little red string.
There is a pause as I look into his eyes.
“I would say there’s no probably about it. You will be my husband.” It comes out sentimental, as my gaze locks with his.
“So, you’ll marry me?” he asks with a knowing grin.
I nod yes as tears floods my eyes. He gets up off his knee, his eyes never leaving me and my hand never leaving his.
“Yeah, yeah, I will.” Before I can process anything else, he pulls me into an embrace to kiss me deeply and passionately as he twirls me around.
Applause erupts from the people in the room. Abby and Lucas stand in a side hug as they watch us. Nate is by the door giving his dog a treat, with Leo’s sister Melanie arriving behind him, and I wonder if the magic of Matchbox will send them down the same path as the rest of us. Jess, Leo, Max, and Harper are all clapping and must have been sitting at a table in the corner the whole time. Stella is jumping up and down, as Becca watches on with tears.
When I look back at Jake, we enter our own world again.
“You are sneaky.”
“It’s not too soon?” he asks.
I grab his wrist and slowly kiss his pulse next to his watch, letting my eyes look at him.
“No way. I have loved you for more than five years. And now that we got our again, I know. I know this is supposed to be,” I remind him.
He grabs my wrist and kisses my pulse.
“I love you,” he tells me.
“I really love you.”
After pulling away from another kiss, I look at him with mischief in my eyes. “So, do you have some ideas of what to do with this bottle of mezcal?”
He gives me a smoldering look. “Many ideas, and something tells me our minds may have something in common,” he warns, as our foreheads touch.
“Think we need to try that night with mezcal on the kitchen counter again,” I urge.
He mutters something indescribable through his teeth and nibbles my ear, moving down to my neck.
“We will try many things,” he warns with a devilish grin.
Epilogue
Jake: A while later
Wrapping a towel around my waist, having just taken a shower after a long day in deposition for a client, I emerge into the bedroom. As soon as I see the sight in front of me, I know there was no point of having a towel, because this towel is only going to come off. My eyes roam my wife who is lying in the middle of the bed, waiting for me in lingerie that I picked out: a red satin dress that barely covers her.
Yet, I was not expecting this.
Avery gives me a seductive smile and lays her arms above her head on the bed.
“What are you doing?” I’m intrigued as I crawl on the bed on all fours, immediately coming to kiss her stomach and let my teeth capture the fabric between my teeth.
“Thought we could discuss a new merger,” she teases.
“Ave,” I warn.
In a quick movement, she pushes me to lying and straddles me.
“I got the all-clear. We can have crazy amounts of sex again.” She is dead serious as her mouth goes to my chest, covering me with little butterfly kisses.
“Yes, because our son will most definitely sleep normally so his parents can have a marathon of sex,” I say sarcastically.
After getting married not long after I proposed, we decided to try for a baby. It went quick, and while we were both nervous at the start of the pregnancy, our anxiety eased the further along we went. We even did one of those labor and parenting courses with Jess and Leo, who were also expecting.
It has been six weeks since our little boy, Finn—named after my grandfather who passed away shortly before his namesake’s birth—joined the world, and life has been changed.
“So, we will have to get creative. That’s never been a problem for us.”
“You are something, you know that?” I smile as I grab her and flip her, so she is lying on the bed underneath me.
“We will have to be fast all the time,” she pouts.
“But more frequent?” I give her a challenging face.
“Whatever you say, just please, I need you in me,” she begs as her legs wrap around me.
I’m not denying this woman a thing, not since she has made me the happiest man on earth.
I give it to her tenderly, as it’s her first time since the birth. She moans into my mouth to try and not wake anyone in the house. Being quiet is a new criterion for our nights together. We sink into the middle of the bed, entangled in each other.
And we fall asleep.
…for a solid two hours before our son woke for a midnight feed.
The next morning, it’s luckily Saturday. Not that it means much anymore, as either way our human alarm clock wakes at five A.M. But after going for a run, I return to a picture that makes the sleepless nights rewarding.
Avery has Finn in a wrap around her front as she cooks breakfast for us, the smell of fresh coffee filling our house. The little guy nor
mally takes an early morning nap in the wrap, which means Avery and I can have an easy relaxed breakfast together, as she is on maternity leave and trained someone to handle the bakery while she’s off.
I kiss her cheek as she puts toast on a plate.
“Hmm, you’re sweaty,” she says as she walks to the other side of the kitchen island.
“Yeah, I’ll shower after breakfast. Lunch with everyone is at 1, right?” I mention as I pour myself some coffee.
“Maybe if our son cooperates, then I can lay him in his bed and join you in the shower.” She cocks a brow my way.
“I like your thinking,” I confirm with a grin.
“Yeah, lunch is at 1, at Max and Harper’s house. I’m kind of hoping Max had his mom cook some food. Harper’s cooking is a little shaky at times.” Avery has a cartoonish face and I love her honesty.
“It’s okay, you’re bringing dessert, so least we know we’re all safe with that.”
Sitting next to her on a stool at the counter, I grab a piece of toast. My phone vibrates on the counter, and I quickly glance to see a text message from my sister that makes me laugh before I type back.
“Be nice,” Avery warns me with glaring eyes.
“What? After years of her hounding me in my romantic life, I can repay her in full as she re-enters the dating world.” I move my phone away and look at Avery. I admire the view of her looking down at our son with a radiant smile and soft eyes. Her hand with our wedding ring on it holding Finn’s head who is sleeping peacefully.
“You look really happy today,” I reflect.
She leans to the side as I wrap an arm around her and she buries her head into my chest. “I am. We finally get to have fun in the bedroom again. I have a husband, and we made a beautiful baby boy. How are you feeling today?”
I kiss her forehead. “Pretty damn good. We got our again, and we ended up where we were always meant to be.”
Her mouth hitches up as she grabs my wrist with my watch, bringing my inner pulse to her mouth for a soft tender kiss.
“It’s never going to change again,” she reminds me.
