by Haley Travis
I froze, surprised that he wasn’t going to back off.
“Brynn, please, may I kiss you before I lose my mind?”
I’d barely nodded before our lips touched. Pulling me onto his lap, he held me close, his mouth warm on mine as my hands slid around his shoulders.
“I’m nowhere near perfect,” he murmured, unzipping the back of my dress so that he could rub my back. “But I’m going to try very hard to be the absolute best for you.”
“Even when I yell at you?”
“Yes,” he said with that grin that made my thighs press together. “I want you to yell at me. Whisper to me. Share anything and everything. Just never stop talking to me, okay?”
I nodded as he kissed me so hard my breath became ragged. When he finally pulled away, placing his forehead to mine, I felt reborn.
“I’m going to prove myself to you every day, sweetheart,” he said softly, sitting up and taking a box from his pocket. “You’re mine now, but I’m still going to work hard to deserve you.”
Owen placed a dark velvet rectangle in my hand, and I was instantly relieved that it was too large to be a ring box. Lifting the lid, I saw a delicate chain that held a small round locket. He took it out, opening it with his thumbnail to show me a still photo from when we were dancing at the bowling alley.
On the other side was a pink glittery heart that read, “Brynn and Owen.”
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, but I wasn’t sure what else to say.
“I was thinking that we could change out the photos monthly,” he said matter-of-factly, as he studied my eyes intently. “I want to take photos of us together all the time, and we could change the colors of the heart every season, maybe.”
He fastened the chain around my neck, as my fingers fluttered at the small golden circle against my throat.
“I’m never going to change my mind about you, Brynn,” he said softly. “But we can take our time if you’d like. We don’t have to rush into anything. Just stay with me, and be my girlfriend. Please?”
Nodding, I swallowed hard, trying to find my voice. “Just don’t change your life for me,” I said, spitting the words out quickly. “I don’t want to be responsible for any major life changes. I don’t want you to do anything because of me, then regret it later.”
“Deal. I’ll just find tons of work at your company so that we can collaborate all the time. How’s that?”
I answered him by leaning in to glide my lips seductively against his.
“Is that a yes?” he murmured. I nodded quickly.
“I think I like it when you express yourself through touch instead of words,” he whispered. “Tell me more.”
Unbuttoning his shirt, I placed my hands on the center of his chest, staring into those deep eyes that made me tingle with infatuation.
“I’m hearing you say that my body belongs to you,” he said softly. “Yes, it does.”
Leaning in closer, I kissed along his collarbone, loving the shudder that ran through him. His hands slid up to cup my breasts through my thin t-shirt, his thumbs flicking over my nipples until I gasped softly.
“I’m hearing you say that you need me to kiss you everywhere,” he murmured.
Kissing up the side of his neck, I whispered in his ear, “I need you to make love to me.”
This time the shudder made his shaft dig into my hip. “Your wish is my command, sweetheart. Always.”
As he picked me up and carried me to the bedroom, I felt every last worry fade away. We were real. We belonged to each other. And if he was this infatuated with me, I’d be able to hold his interest for quite some time.
14
_____
Owen
Brynn was mine. Completely. I’d never felt this happy and satisfied in my life. Yet when I slipped her shirt over her head, then pulled off her pants and underwear, I realized there was so much more to come.
She was so gorgeous – every curve of her soft, sweet body more delicious than the last.
Dropping my clothes in a messy heap on her bedroom floor, I stared at Brynn laid out on her bed, biting her lip while she looked up at me. Settling over her, I pressed as much of my skin as possible against hers. My lips trailed up her throat, her pulse fluttering.
Her hands tightened around my waist, stroking my lower back as I coasted my thumb around her nipple. Her breath was already raspy, her eyes huge as she shifted under me, pulling my length between her thighs.
Brynn caught my mouth against hers, holding me tight as we kissed. Her hips wriggled under me, as my pulsing cock wedged up against her wet little opening.
“Is that what you want, sweetheart?”
She nodded vigorously, her head rolling back as I bent down to lick and suck her breasts until she trembled.
Spreading her thighs wide with my knee, I caught the flash of lust in her eyes. Reaching down, I rubbed the tip of my length in gentle circles around her clit, feeling it swell from my touch.
“Tell me what you need, sweetheart.”
Gently slipping a finger inside her, I loved how wet and ready she was for me.
“Yes,” she moaned softly. “More.”
“That’s it,” I breathed against her cheek. “Every time you want something, you just tell me.”
Her hands gripped my ass hard as she pulled our hips tightly together. “Please,” she whispered. “I need you.”
I wouldn’t have guessed that I could get any harder, but Brynn begging for me completely did me in. Rubbing against her a few more times, I removed my finger and began to ease my thickness inside her soaking tunnel.
We shifted, her hands around my neck, my arms around her tightly as she lifted her hips, pulling me in. Then I rolled so that she was on top of me.
“Take whatever you need,” I urged. Bringing her breast to my mouth, Brynn cried out as she slowly lowered herself onto my cock.
I loved how deliberate she was, spreading her knees on either side of my hips, settling down as she got a feel for this position. Gripping her soft thighs, my hips pressed up to meet her as we both worked my length steadily inside her.
She was absolutely gorgeous as she closed her eyes for a moment, letting her body open for mine.
Brynn pulled her breast from my lips, replacing it with her mouth as she kissed me with such fire my hips clenched. Her tongue slid against mine as our bodies found a rhythm together. Stroking up into her softness was intoxicating, as we moaned together.
Her hips shimmied, then I felt her reach down to spread her wet folds open so that her clit was brushing against me with each thrust.
“Tell me what you’re feeling, sweetheart.”
As her thighs tightened, propelling us faster, her sexy smile was adorable. “Powerful,” she giggled. “This feels amazing.”
Taking her hands, I placed them on my chest to help her straighten up, riding me as her mouth fell open with a gasp. Her tight, wet pussy clamped around me as she cried out, “Owen...yes...”
Brynn’s face flushed slightly as she came, bucking up and down on my length. Grabbing her ass firmly, I thrust up into her, the pulsing of her heat around me bringing me straight to the edge.
Growling her name, I came so hard the world blurred, only Brynn’s beautiful face in focus as I exploded inside her, filling her completely.
“Oh god, yes,” she cried, leaning back down to kiss me as we quivered through the aftershocks of the most perfect climax ever.
Holding her snugly against me, I murmured, “I love you so much, Brynn.”
“I love you too,” she whispered. “I’m sorry that I was so scared.”
Giving her a squeeze, I said, “You feel every way you need to feel. I’ll always be here. Just please talk to me when you’re scared or upset. ”
“Deal.”
Her head rested against my shoulder for about ten seconds before she perked up again. “The documentary looks incredible, by the way. We could have it done in a few days if we–”
Giving her butt the tin
iest smack, I interrupted with a kiss. “This is not working time.”
“Sorry,” she giggled. Then she pushed up on her forearms to look me in the eye. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”
“Never, sweetheart,” I murmured, gently stroking her back. “You’re mine. I’m yours. Everything else will straighten out as we go.”
Brynn kissed across my forehead, then pressed her lips to mine. She rolled to her back, pulling me on top of her, telling me without words precisely what she wanted next.
EPILOGUE ONE
_____
Brynn
* Ten Months Later *
Walking into the tiny theatre, Owen was already apologizing, as he always did when he took me to independent films. It was often things like, ‘I’m sorry this is in French, but it’s subtitled’. Or, ‘I’m so sorry this is about antique pottery, but it won an award for the coloring’.
This time, as we quickly found seats in the middle since there were only twenty people in the already darkened theatre, he whispered, “I’m sorry, this might not be very interesting to you.”
“Which one is this?” I murmured as we settled into the plush old seats. “Something about innovation?”
“It’s about technology and inventions, featuring Philip Diehl, the inventor of the ceiling fan.”
Looking over at him with a smile, I squeezed his hand. “I’m sure it’ll be wonderful.”
It didn’t matter what we were watching, as long as my adorable boyfriend was beside me. It was admirable how he was always looking for inspiration, always checking out new styles of films.
Owen’s freelance career had taken off and he was incredibly busy with new clients now, but he was still determined to hone his craft at every opportunity.
The lights darkened even more as the screen brightened, but instead of a logo for a movie, it showed feet shuffling back and forth.
The camera panned back to show the silhouette of a couple dancing. Even from the outline of their bodies, it was clear as the woman looked up that she was infatuated with this man. As he looked down at her, gently tucking a long strand of hair back over her ear, the light caught his eyes for just a flash.
It was us.
More shocking than seeing ourselves on screen was the realization that Owen was in love with me at the bowling alley that night. Even with the retro grain effect on the footage, it was clear as day.
A fifties song played faintly in the background, then a soft voiceover began, as Owen held my left hand.
“Brynn, our story is timeless. We met, we fell in love, and we realized that we were meant to be.”
A collection of photos and video clips from the past ten months began layering over the screen in a soft montage. Glancing at Owen, he simply smiled, and nodded toward the screen for me to pay attention.
“The amount of love I feel for you couldn’t be expressed in a thousand documentaries,” the voiceover said. “So instead, I chose a stone that is approximately a billion years old, combined with a huge request.”
The photos stopped moving on a picture of us in a park from just a few weeks ago. We’d asked a passing jogger to take our photo, and somehow the colors of the sunset behind us looked like a movie during a dream sequence.
“There is only one woman in the movie of my life, Brynn,” Owen’s voiceover said softly. “Will you marry me, and be my leading lady forever?”
I turned to him as he slipped a large diamond ring on my finger. “Will you marry me?” he repeated, staring into my eyes.
Swallowing hard, my breath was shaky as I nodded. “Yes.”
He kissed me gently as fireworks exploded on the screen, and the lights went up, along with applause and laughter. Spinning around, I saw that the only people in the theatre were friends and coworkers.
He’d arranged all of this for me?
A single tear slipped down my cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb. “I love you so much, sweetheart. I’m going to do everything I can to be an incredible husband for you.”
“You’d better,” Jenna laughed from two rows behind us.
“Yeah,” Corina agreed. “No pressure or anything, but we’ll be supervising.”
I held up my hand to show them the ring, using it to block our faces as I kissed Owen again. Several camera flashes went off as he began to laugh against my lips.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he murmured, “We can catch up on the kissing part later tonight.”
He pulled me to my feet as everyone around us cheered. Owen led me to the open area in front of the screen, which now read, “Brynn & Owen,” inside a huge sparkling heart.
“You’re lucky I said yes,” I laughed. “I wouldn’t want to have ruined the integrity of your movie.”
“I would never have done it in public if I wasn’t one hundred percent sure,” he said, wrapping his arms around me as everyone took photos.
Champagne and a tray of cupcakes appeared, as soft party music started.
“An engagement and the party in one,” I said, nodding my approval. “Very efficient.”
“We know how you appreciate multitasking,” Corina said, as she and Jenna came over to hug me and admire my new ring.
Owen’s friends congratulated him, as I was passed around being hugged by everyone in the room. My boss, Jonathon, appeared out of nowhere to give me an awkward hug while saying he’d pull strings to get whichever wedding venue I wanted.
My friends were all delighted, and I was particularly touched by how sweet Owen’s friends were. His college friends offered to help with the wedding any way they could. His video production buddies volunteered to shoot our wedding video.
Joe even wrapped me in a bear hug, promising to keep their mother from taking over. He had apologized to me months ago, and although I didn’t particularly like him, we could get along well enough.
I hadn’t even thought about meeting Owen’s parents, or planning the actual ceremony. Everything was happening at lightning speed.
Owen slipped his arms around me from behind, holding my back to his chest. “Thank you so much, everyone. I don’t want to overwhelm Brynn with too much at once, so I promise you, as soon as we figure out what sort of wedding we’re having, we’ll call in reinforcements.” His lips brushed the top of my hair. “Or should I say, as soon as Brynn decides.”
Turning slightly, I stretched up to give him a tiny kiss. “Event planning is the easy part for me, remember?”
“We’ll be helping you, of course,” Corina laughed, as Jenna nodded.
“I like your friends,” Owen whispered loud enough for them to hear.
“I like yours, too,” I grinned.
Our lives were so entwined now that getting married was undoubtedly the most logical step, but it still seemed fast.
“Were you surprised?” Owen asked, “Or disappointed that we didn’t get to learn about the invention of the ceiling fan?”
Laughing, I turned to circle my arms around his neck. “I was surprised, and it was perfect.”
“You’re perfect,” he murmured, kissing under my ear. “And I need to lock down my sweetheart so that you know I’m never going to have eyes for anyone but you.”
“I love you,” I said, not even embarrassed that there were people around. “I belong to you.”
“I belong to you, sweetheart. And I love you so much.”
EPILOGUE TWO
_____
Owen
* Eight Years Later *
Entering the huge family room was now like walking into a cross between an art studio and a film set.
Paints and papers took up the whole work table. The coffee table was covered in little brick sculptures. In the corner, a pink sheet and a tall lamp had become a tent. Another table at the end of the room had a blanket over it, and light and music were spilling out from underneath.
Sure enough, my six-year-old son had Brynn’s phone in his hand, shooting a video of his sculptures.
It was incredible to see such a small child
so focused as he panned up the edge of the building and then zoomed in on a plastic penguin standing on the roof.
My beautiful wife came into the room and placed her hands on her hips in mock anger.
“How am I supposed to ask your dad what he wants for dinner if I can’t text him?” she asked in her best exasperated mother tone of voice.
