by Stacy M Wray
They both shrug and my dad says, “Just putting it out there.”
Braden surprises me by saying, “Don’t worry, Tom and Dana. I’m sure you’ll be grandparents one day.” He winks at me and takes a bite of his sandwich.
Well, at least I know he wants kids…he’d make such a terrific father. They will learn all about camping and fishing, anything to do with the great outdoors.
As he talks to my dad, I watch him without him knowing. This man has proven he will stop at nothing to make sure I’m happy.
He doesn’t realize he does this every day simply by loving me.
* * *
Braden and I are both tired from traveling but we agreed to have dinner with Jeremy and Rachael since tomorrow night’s their rehearsal dinner and the night after they get married. So since it’s the only window of time to spend with them, we head upstairs to take a short nap.
“What time are we meeting for dinner?” Braden asks me, shutting the door behind him.
I kick off my shoes and toss the comforter down. “At seven o’clock at that new Italian place on Klaven Street.”
He looks at me with furrowed brows. “We’ve lived in California for years now, Karma. How would you know about a new restaurant?”
I shrug and say, “My mom. She tells me all of that stuff when I talk to her.” He shakes his head and climbs into bed. “You’re okay having dinner, aren’t you?” I ask, lying down next to him.
“Sure,” he answers, “why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well, you haven’t always been a huge Jeremy fan. Just making sure.”
He pulls me into his side and tucks me under his arm. “Well, Jeremy’s got his girl and I’ve got mine…nothing to be worried about anymore, right?” He kisses me on the head and sighs. “Besides, he’s been a great friend to you…I see that now.”
I tilt my head and look up at him. “You never had anything to worry about to begin with,” I tell him. I think about Jeremy getting married and my thoughts pop out of my mouth. “I have a hard time envisioning Jeremy married.”
Braden sighs and I can tell it’s his tired sigh. “Then don’t envision it.”
I nudge him hard in his side and he laughs. “It’s just I’ve only known him to be a hook-up kind of guy. I was so shocked when he told me he had a girlfriend, let alone he was getting married.”
“I need for my girlfriend to stop talking about Jeremy so I can get some sleep.” He tickles me, and I about fall off the bed, attempting to escape his wiggly fingers.
“Stop it, Braden,” I say between giggles. “You’re going to make me pee my pants.”
“Okay. Okay. Come here,” he says. I hesitate, not trusting he won’t tickle me more. “I’m not going to tickle you. Come here.”
I scoot over and snuggle with him, slowly relaxing with the rise and fall of his breathing.
I still can’t picture Jeremy married.
Arriving at the restaurant ten minutes late since I had to do some last minute ironing, I apologize as soon as we get to the table, taking full blame.
“It’s no problem,” Jeremy says, as he stands up to hug me. “We just ordered drinks.” He says into my ear, “It’s great to see you.”
I pull back and smile at him. “You, too.” I look over at Rachael and she has her arms out for a hug also. Looking over her shoulder, I see the guys shaking hands and I grin at how far they’ve come.
Jeremy introduces Rachael to Braden, and we all take our seats as their drinks arrive. Braden orders drinks for us as I watch them together. They are quite a handsome couple.
“So…Jeremy, where are you guys going on your honeymoon?” I ask him.
Looking at his bride-to-be, he says, “We’re going to be driving to Cape Cod.” Rachael looks a little embarrassed. “Rachael is deathly afraid of flying and she’s always wanted to go there.”
“I didn’t know that about you, Rachael. I hear the beaches are great out there. Besides, the road trip is half the fun.” I glance at Jeremy and smile.
“Speaking of road trips, I found the DVD you made when you and Jeremy took yours. Very entertaining – had me in stitches at times,” she tells me. She glances at Braden and says, “Did you see it, Braden?”
He clears his throat, saying, “No. I didn’t even know it existed.” That’s a part of our lives we don’t like to revisit so he wouldn’t know anything about that. Braden has since shared with me that he is embarrassed by his selfish behavior back then so, no, we don’t talk about it.
“I’ll have to show it to you sometime,” I tell him and he nods his response.
“How’s Stella doing? You guys still keep in touch?” Jeremy asks me.
A heavy sigh escapes me. “Not like we used to. She’s so busy with her political career. We just sort of ping emails every now and again.”
“That’s too bad,” he says, “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It is what it is, I guess.”
The waiter comes and takes our orders. Just as he’s left the table, Braden’s cell phone rings. He looks at the screen and says, “I need to take this.” He then says to Jeremy and Rachael, “Excuse me.”
“No problem,” Jeremy tells him. When Braden is out of earshot, Jeremy says, “You look happy.”
Smiling at him, I say, “I am happy. We’ve been living together for a few months now and it just feels right, you know?”
He shakes his head and says, “Never could have called that one. I can’t believe you two are back together.”
“I think it’s a great story, Karma. Good for you two,” Rachael tells me.
“Thank you,” I tell her. “We have quite a history.”
Braden comes back to the table and sits back down. “Everything okay?” I ask him.
He takes my hand and says, “Everything’s great.” He kisses the back of it and winks at me.
The rest of the evening is filled with great food, more drinks and Rachael and Jeremy reminisce about their days leading up to their walk down the aisle.
Braden’s in a great mood and it’s so good to see him and Jeremy being so friendly. It has me looking forward to the wedding.
* * *
The soft, warm glow of the candlelight sets a beautiful ambiance for Jeremy and Rachael’s wedding vows. My heart swells with happiness for them, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about this for myself someday. Doesn’t every girl do this at a wedding? Especially when her special someone is seated right beside her?
“You may kiss your bride,” the minister says to Jeremy, and I see him smirk before he wraps Rachael in his arms, dipping her slightly, as he seals their special day.
“May I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Weaver.” They begin their march back down the aisle, Jeremy winking at me as he passes. Soon after, his sister Karly makes her way down the aisle looking so much more grown up since the last time I saw her. She’s developed into quite a beauty.
I’m so glad I was here to witness this for one of my best friends. It’s hard to believe we’ve been friends ever since my senior year in high school; we were such an unlikely pairing.
Braden turns and asks, “Where’s the reception?”
“It’s at the Grande Festa. One of Rachael’s relatives works there or something.” He nods and we wait for the ushers to signal we can leave our seats and greet the newlyweds.
On the way to the reception, I say, “Didn’t Rachael look so beautiful? I think it’s impossible for brides to look bad on their wedding day.”
Braden nods, saying, “Yes, but I couldn’t help but picture someone else in a wedding gown.” He glances at me, lifting his brow.
My stomach flutters at the thought and his comment warms my insides. I never knew Braden thought about such stuff.
“Was I just as beautiful as Rachael?” I tease.
We’re at a red light and he leans over and kisses me, cradling my face in his hand. “Oh, even more so,” he says against my lips. “And the groom I was picturing couldn’t wait to slip the white g
own off of his beautiful bride.”
This makes me laugh. “Oh? Do you think Jeremy thought that the whole time he was up there?”
“Oh, I’m sure of it. Just like I’m thinking about it right now.” He skims his fingers up my thigh, pushing my dress up.
The car behind us honks as we realize the light has turned green. Braden laughs and says, “To be continued…”
There’s quite a few cars in the parking lot already as we arrive at the reception. As soon as Braden opens my car door, he takes me in his arms and says, “Please tell me we aren’t staying long. I can’t quit thinking about taking this dress off of you,” he tells me, tugging gently at my neckline.
My hands slide into his hair, pulling him towards me so I can kiss him. He responds by plastering his body against me, deepening our kiss.
Pulling away, he says, “If we aren’t going home right now, then we need to stop if you expect me to walk in without tented pants.”
I stifle my laugh and say, “We are going in there, Braden. Come on,” I tell him, taking his hand.
He moans his protest but walks willingly beside me. “I hope there’s a bar at least,” he says.
“I’m sure of it,” I tell him. We walk to the entrance and Braden opens the door for us. Music filters down the hall from the reception area. “Let’s go have some fun.”
We stay longer than planned because it took the bride and groom a while to arrive due to pictures being taken back at the church.
After all of the customary rituals have been performed, they start in on the dancing. Feeling a little nostalgic, I lean into Braden and say, “Do you mind if I ask Jeremy to dance?”
He smiles at me and shakes his head, “No. You go right ahead.” Pulling me in for a kiss, he smacks me on the behind as I leave the table, causing me to jump a little.
Jeremy dances with a young girl, probably one of Rachael’s nieces, when I tap her on the shoulder. “Mind if I dance with the groom?” I ask.
She giggles and gives me his hand. “He’s all yours,” she states, skipping away.
Jeremy pulls me in close and we start to slowly move around the dance floor. “Thanks for coming. It means a lot.”
“Oh, Jeremy. I wouldn’t miss your wedding for anything.” I feel emotional, like I’m losing my best friend. I know that’s ridiculous, but I can’t help it. “Things are so different now…you’ve got Rachael and I’m back with Braden…I miss when it was just us.” I quickly realize how that sounded and add, “Not that I would change any of that…you know what I mean.”
He chuckles in my ear and says, “Yeah…I know exactly what you mean. I miss us, too, Hippie Girl.”
I laugh and say, “I even miss you calling me that…”
“We’ve had a lot of fun. And some bad days, too. But we got through them, right?” I nod and he says, “Our friendship doesn’t have to end just because we fell in love with other people, Karma. We’ll just include them.”
The song ends just as I flick my finger at a runaway tear. Jeremy wipes the trail it left and kisses me on the forehead. “Time to make new memories.”
Braden shows up at my side and Jeremy hands me over to him. “Take good care of her,” he says to him.
“Absolutely,” Braden tells him, sticking out his hand. Jeremy’s grasp is tight and Braden’s face is suddenly serious. “Thanks for being there for her when I wasn’t. I’m glad she had you.”
Jeremy sports his classic grin, saying, “It wasn’t so bad. She kinda grew on me.”
Rachael approaches us, wanting Jeremy to meet some of her distant relatives. We hug them goodbye and make our way out to the car.
Braden’s holding my hand and our walk is quiet. “You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah…I’m good. I’m just trying to get used to this grown-up way of life. There’s so much change involved.”
He laughs and pulls me under his arm. “Not all change is bad, Karma. You should know that better than anyone.”
Looking up at him, I realize how damn lucky I am he’s here with me. I feel so comfortable with him and could share anything with him and not be judged. Braden is my rock now, and I wouldn’t change that for anything.
“I love you…so much it hurts sometimes,” I tell him.
He smiles that smile he only saves for me. “I know exactly what you mean. I love you, too, babe.”
And now it’s time to go home. I believe he mentioned something about getting me out of my dress.
chapter thirty-six
September 2013
We’ve just finished a nice family dinner together since this is our last night in Colorado Springs before heading back to L.A. in the morning. Mom and I have just put the last dish in the dishwasher when Braden comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, and says in my ear, “You done in here? Because I believe you and I have a sunset to chase this evening.”
My mom grins at us and says something about needing to water the plants out back.
I spin around in Braden’s arms, thrilled to be doing something that we used to do all the time. “That sounds like a great idea. Let me grab a jacket.”
When I get back downstairs, Braden’s still in the kitchen waiting for me. He opens the door and we walk out to the garage and get in my mom’s car; the same one we’ve borrowed the whole time we’ve been here.
Pulling out of the drive, we head down the highway and I can’t help but smile when I figure out where we’re going. He must watch my face and says, “I know you know where we’re headed but don’t say anything…just humor me.”
Biting my bottom lip to keep from laughing, I tell him, “It’s kind of obvious, Braden…but okay.”
It’s not long before he pulls into the parking lot of the Garden of the Gods. He looks at me before he gets out and says, “Figured it out yet?”
I shake my head, loving how playful he’s being right now. “Can you give me a hint?”
Leaning in, he gives me a chaste kiss and says, “Come on, smartass.”
I get out and meet him at the back of the car where he grabs the blankets he must have stashed earlier. “Someone thought ahead, huh?”
Grinning at me, he says, “I’m always thinking ahead, Karma. You should know that by now.”
He takes my hand in his and we walk along the path, to a spot we like to think of as ours. Laying the blankets across the smooth, flat surface of the rock, Braden sits down and then I sit between the V that’s he’s created with his legs, my back leaning against his chest.
With his arms wrapped snug against me, our cheeks press against each other as he rests his chin on my shoulder. “Just like old times…” he says. “This feels so right.”
I look out into the vastness before me, surrounded by the beauty of the red clay formations and the early makings of the sunset, streaks of orange and pink highlighting the earth below.
We don’t speak for a while…no words needed.
Finally, Braden breaks the silence. “I want to watch the DVD of your road trip.”
My eyes get big. Trying not to sound surprised, I say, “Okay. We can watch it sometime when we get back.” My curiosity finally getting the best of me, I ask, “What made you say that?”
“I need to see the you that you needed to be when no one else was looking…I have always been jealous of Jeremy for getting to witness that. At least I can get an idea from watching the DVD, right?”
I place my hand against his cheek, feeling the stubble that’s formed over the last few days. “Are you sure? I always thought it might be painful for you since that trip caused so many problems.”
He shakes his head and says, “No, Karma, that trip didn’t cause the problems – I did. I couldn’t see past myself. I always thought I was good at putting you first…I had no idea how selfish I actually was until I had all those years to think about it. And I did nothing but think…and regret. I don’t think I ever forgave myself for how I treated you when you were trying to explain to me about Brooks.”
His
eyes shine with moisture, his past behavior eating at him. “Braden, please…you’ve got to let that go. It’s the only way we can move on.”
He nods. “I know…that’s why I need to watch it. Think of it as a mild form of therapy.”
I smile at him and say, “Maybe. I’d be happy to show it to you.” He kisses me tenderly, gently swiping his tongue across my lips, gaining access. A slow, delicious ache builds between my legs. It never ceases to amaze me he can achieve this with just a kiss – no touching involved.
Braden breaks the kiss and looks up. “Look, Karma.” I turn towards the west where the sun dips down past the rocks, casting a warm glow all around us. It almost takes my breath away.
Braden holds me tighter and I feel his lips hover next to my ear. “Marry me,” he says, his voice low and raspy.
Whipping my head around in shock, I say, “What?”
He huffs out nervous laughter. “Marry me, Karma. I’ve loved you for so long and it only got stronger when we were apart. I need to know we’ll be together always.”
A million things run through my mind, making me feel dizzy with emotion. But there’s only one word standing out in all the commotion in my head and that’s a big resounding yes! “Oh my God, Braden…yes, I’ll marry you.” I throw my arms around him, pressing my lips to his.
Braden pulls back and says, “You have no idea how happy you’ve just made me.” He leans back and shoves his hand in his pocket, pulling out a tiny, black velvet pouch. “I can’t ask you to marry me without a ring,” he says. “I guess I did this all backwards.”
I’m even more shocked he has a ring in his pocket. I had no idea he was even thinking about a marriage proposal. My head’s spinning but I’m not complaining.
As soon as he takes the ring from the pouch, I gasp at its beauty and he decorates my finger. The fit is perfect. “Braden…I… I love it. And I can’t believe the fit.”
Smirking, he says, “I took one of your other rings and matched the size.”
I hold my hand out, loving the way it’s not too showy and exactly my taste. But Braden always pays attention to small details…he’s always been especially good at that.
