Michael's eyebrows lift in surprise, "Really? My mom?" He makes a little hrumph noise as he glances toward the front room where we both heard the entire family go out the front door long ago. "I wonder why she steered you toward Mom instead of just telling you I was asking about you myself."
"Because that woman knows her way around getting a couple of stubborn fools to think it was their own idea to fall in love."
Georgia's voice interrupts, scaring us both and making us jump before we realize that she's standing outside the kitchen window on the back porch.
"Michael," she taps agaisnt the screen, "could you grab that pitcher of iced tea from the fridge, we're getting awful thirsty standing out here waiting for you two to make up."
"Uh," Michael turns toward his mom and then looks down at me with a grin, "yeah Ma, sure."
"How long has she been standing out there?" He whispers quietly in my ear before grabbing the tea out of the refrigerator and sliding open the screen on the window to hand the pitcher to his mom.
"Glasses," Georgia says sweetly, pointing toward a cabinet.
Michael looks at me as if he's waiting for me to answer him. I just shrug. I have no idea.
"Sweetheart," Georgia takes the stack of plastic glasses that Michael hands her and turns her attention to me, "Are you still planning on bunking with us or should I go ahead and have Jeremy put your things in Michael's car?"
"I got it, Mom," Michael winks at me as he heads toward the front room where Jeremy dropped my luggage.
"Told you it'd all work out," Georgia tells me from the window as soon as Michael's out of ear shot.
She's taking the pitcher of tea and glasses out to the rest of the clan sitting in lawn chairs under a leafy tree in the back yard, leaving me alone in her kitchen to think about how fast things came together.
Almost as if she had it planned this way.
I have a little laugh in private. She did tell me it was all going to work out. Come to think of it, she and Raven both told me it was going to work out.
I watch through the window as Michael makes hauling my suitcase and carry on bag look effortless as he rounds the corner of the house on the wrap around deck and heads toward a car that I can barely see the back of on the far side of a barn across the property.
No wonder Jeremy and Kristie didn't know he was here when we pulled up.
Kristie had already prepared me on our way out here that no matter what happened, there was no way I was going to get out of dinner with the family tonight.
I might as well head out there and get some of that iced tea before it's gone, I figure.
No matter how much I'd rather be getting in Michael's car with my things and sneaking off to be alone with him.
Michael
"That's everything," I tell Alicia as we stand among the boxes in the living room of my new apartment. "Now all we have to do is unpack it all and figure out what we're keeping."
Alicia wanders out from the master bedroom, past me, and out to the balcony. "We're going to need a lot of stuff if that's all you own," she teases, waving her hand at the modest pile of boxes that hold all my possessions.
"I figured you had enough furniture to fill the rest of the place up," I tell her, catching her by the waist and drawing her in as she heads back inside.
It took 6 months to find a job out here and I've been on the waiting list for this apartment almost as long.
The good news is that that gave me and Alicia half a year to get used to the idea that once I moved out to the Bay Area, it'd be official. We wouldn't just be a cross-continental fling any more, we'd be starting the next phase of our relationship, the one where we finally get around to making our moms-- and our match maker-- proud.
Alicia and I agreed that she'd keep her apartment for a little while longer, give us time to get used to seeing each other every day before she moves into the new place with me.
I'm all about taking it slow, but it's not going to make any difference and I didn't need 6 months to know that.
"Hey," I cup her chin gently in my hand and turn her head away from the kitchen that she was headed toward when I pulled her into my arms, "I almost forgot, there's one more box."
Alicia's eyes dart around the pyramid of cardboard taking up one wall of the front room, "Only one?" She laughs.
I didn't keep most of the furniture in my place back home. I know what Alicia has in her apartment and I figure we'll buy the rest of what we need together.
"Yeah, just a small one," I tell her.
She takes a step back as I let go of her, her eyes searching the empty apartment, not paying attention to me at all.
Maybe that's why she's so surprised when she turns back to see me on my knee in front of her, or maybe she really wasn't expecting this.
Alicia's eyes go wide as I pull the little velvet box out of my pocket and hold it up.
"That's a really small box," she whispers, her voice a shaky but valiant attempt at humor.
She's not the only one who's nervous.
We talked about this a few times, but it got put on the back burner when I got the job and started the move.
"It's got the biggest thing I have in it though," I try to laugh as I pull the lid back on the hinge.
Alicia gives me a smirk and I know what she's going to say, but I can't keep joking right now. Right now, I need her to understand just how big this little box is.
"Our future," I whisper as I take her hand in mine and get back up on my feet. "It's got our future in it, Alicia."
She isn't saying anything and I'm not sure that's a good sign but she does gently take the ring between her thumb and forefinger and lift it out of its resting spot inside the box.
"I know neither of us are in a hurry," I tell her softly as I shove the box back in my pocket and take the ring from her, "but I think we both know this is where we want to end up, right?"
I slide the ring up her finger as she holds her hand out for me.
"Alicia, please tell me you plan on marrying me...someday?"
The smile spreads across her face and doesn't stop until it become a laugh, "Michael! Of course I'll marry you...someday," she answers as her arms circle my neck.
"Someday soon?" I press my luck as I lean in to kiss her.
"Someday soon-ish," she promises.
Her lips press to mine and something in her kiss tells me I won't have to wait long.
Engagement announcements and wedding plans will have to wait till later, however. Right now Alicia's got her beautiful tits pressed against my chest, her hands finding their way down between us till they land on my crotch.
I can't decide between groaning at the feel of her touch against my cock that's been aching to get back inside her since I arrived in town this morning, or a gentle laugh at the way her needy fingers tug at the waistband of my jeans as she starts undoing buttons.
There's no furniture in the whole place. I haven't even unpacked a box of bedding yet, but that doesn't matter. We're going to christen this place right-- starting in the master bedroom.
Alicia squeals lightly as I sweep her into my arms and carry her through the door to the big empty room that's going to have our bed in it very soon.
Then she giggles as her ass hits the carpeted floor where I lay her down.
"I think we'll put the bed here, what do you think?" I say as I begin unbuttoning her blouse.
"Mmm," she murmurs agreeably as she tries to pull my shirt over my head, "this seems like a good place for the bed."
I let her win, yanking my t-shirt off and tossing it against the far wall before I resume my work on the tiny buttons on her blouse that are about to get a lesson in who's in charge if they don't start cooperating with me.
"Maybe we'll put the clothes hamper over there," she says as her fingernails rake lightly over my chest, making me forget my patience with her blouse.
"And maybe I'll keep a sewing kit in the drawer of the nightstand on my side of the bed," she laughs as her buttons pop off
her blouse in a spray of tiny beads.
I mumble in agreement, my mouth full of her breasts as I continue my fight against her clothes.
She met me here from her workshop, she's dressed for work not for helping me move boxes. The fragile silk blouse is soft under my hands and I'd feel bad for snagging it against my callouses if I didn't love the way it feels as it slides over her body and off her shoulders.
Then the lacy little bra that's been holding her breasts is off and my hands are wrapped around those firm mounds of flesh while I roll my tongue over each coral nipple till they're both standing tall and proud and Alicia is quivering under me.
I love the way she responds to me, her body soft in my grip and her back arching to press against me as I make my way down her stomach and start a new wrestling match with the slacks she's got on.
Alicia
I'm never going to complain about Michael's obsession with my breasts. The way he palms them in his open hands and then kneads his fingers into them while his mouth manages to pull each nipple to firm attention drives me crazy. I never knew my breasts were that sensitive before.
We haven't seen each other for too long though and today neither of us are taking our time.
Michael's mouth is impatiently waiting for my pants to get out of its way. After loosing several buttons to his hurry, I'm quick to help him out by undoing the hook and eye fastener on my pants and then shimmying out of them with his help.
I want to return the favor, but he's between my legs before I can reach for his jeans.
The weight of his arms pins my thighs to the floor as his fingers caress me through the lace panties that he hasn't done away with yet.
His fingers draw over my mound and down along the seam of my sex till they slide beneath the lace and dip lightly into the wetness pooling against the fabric.
My back arches and my hips rise off the ground as his mouth presses against the lace and breathes hot against the place that needs him most.
"You shouldn't run around in wet panties," he tells me. "You'll catch cold."
He pulls the lace aside and let's his fingers move in long, slow strokes between my folds till they're coated with my juices and then he slips first one and then two fingers inside me.
Cold is the last word I'd use to describe what I'm catching.
Suddenly my panties are sliding down my legs and being tossed aside with the rest of my clothes. Michael's mouth presses against me and I move to spread my legs wider to give him better access.
His tongue circles my clit and just when I think I can keep time with his rhythm, it flicks over the sensitive nub and I feel my world come undone.
"God I love it when you come for me like that." His words are a soft breath against my belly as he kisses his way back up my body. "I love everything about you, Alicia," he tells me when he's eye to eye with me. Then he catches my lips with his before I can answer.
He settles his hips between my thighs and I spread my knees wider for him, eager to make space for him as I feel the slick tip of his hard cock find my entrance.
I start to tell him I love him too but the words become a gurgled moan as he slides into me in a smooth thrust. And then I forget how to make more words.
My legs wrap around his waist and his hands slide around my back, lifting me away from the coarse carpet under my back as his thick member pushes into me till he bottoms out and I gasp at feeling so full.
When he pulls back it leaves an emptiness behind that I'm desperate to have filled again.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I realize this is the first time we're not using a condom. I can feel the heat of his flesh as he moves inside me and the ridges of his shaft dragging along my walls feels intensely erotic.
I forget worrying about the potential for rug burns as our pace quickens and I frantically meet each of Michael's thrusts.
Maybe it's the excitement of knowing that he's really here in California now, or knowing that this will be our apartment soon-- or knowing that he's mine.
I see the ring on the hand that's gripping Michael's shoulder and I'm surprised it doesn't look foreign. It doesn't feel too tight or too heavy or too constricting. It feels natural and catching the glimpse of it on my hand at this exact moment does something unexpected to me.
I'm engaged. The thought slams into my head and then travels through me like a lightening bolt. After that there are no more thoughts, just the feeling of Michael thrusting inside me as I feel my body tighten against his and I drop off the edge of reason.
When we've both caught our breath and Michael has his arms wrapped tightly around me as he dozes lightly where we're still lying on the floor of the empty bedroom, I stare at the ring on my hand.
I'm not just engaged, I'm in love. To a man who's in love with me too. So in love that he just moved 3,000 miles for me without knowing for sure whether or not I was even going to accept this ring yet.
Now that he's here and this ring is on my finger, I'm surprised at how right it all feels. How much I'm looking forward to moving in here with him. How ready I am to leave all that independence I thought I wanted behind and starting our lives together.
I still have my independence, I realize. That's the beauty of finding the right man I guess; Michael doesn't want to take my life away from me, he wants to share it with me.
I snuggle closer into Michael's arms and they tighten instinctively around me as I close my eyes and give in to the temptation of a little nap myself.
Later, we'll get back to unpacking his things and I'll introduce him to my favorite pizza delivery place while we discuss moving my things over and maybe deciding on at least a preliminary date for this wedding.
Suddenly I can't imagine putting it off too long.
Epilogue
5 Years Later
Michael
"Thank God the move worked out."
I hear Al tell her mother from where I'm standing in the kitchen of our new home.
"That apartment was way too small for 3 of us, let alone 4."
She's right about that.
We lived in that one bedroom apartment in the city for 2 and a half years-- till Zoe was 8 months old-- and then we had to get serious about finding a bigger place.
Fortunately, we were able to find the perfect house just south of the city. Alicia has an easy commute to the shop and I had no trouble finding a new job close to home.
I was surprised when Alicia decided to move in with me just a few weeks after I moved to the city. I was even more surprised when she said she wanted to start planning the wedding right away, but I sure as hell wasn't about to try to talk her out of it.
Hell no! As soon as she agreed to give us a chance, I was all in. Getting my ring on her finger was a big achievement, I wasn't going to push my luck by expecting her to set a date for the wedding any time soon after that. I was ready to settle in for a long engagement.
Thankfully, Al didn't torture me by dragging it out. We got married a year after I moved to California.
Her design business really took off. It wasn't even one of the clients she expected it to be that launched her name. It was one little home town thrift store up north that turned out to have a hell of a social media following.
The place documented the remodel through the whole process and ended up driving the world to Al's doorstep.
Which was why I was so surprised when she started talking about babies before we'd even had our first wedding anniversary.
Hell! Another thing I wasn't about to talk her out of!
Zoe came along right after we started trying, which might have been a shock to my wife. She was expecting it to take a lot longer to get pregnant.
We were just starting to talk about a pet for Zoe-- like a dog or a cat-- when Al told me we needed to start talking about a sister or a brother for her instead.
I pour a glass of white wine for my mother-in-law and drop a slice of lemon into a glass of water for my wife before carrying the drinks out to join the family on the pat
io.
"Thanks, Baby," Al stretches up to kiss me as I bend to hand her her glass.
Al's 2 weeks into her last trimester now and she's not spending as much time on her feet any more.
Rhonda takes the wine glass from me, shifting Zoe to her other knee with an emphatic shake of her head when I offer to take the squirmy toddler from her.
With a laugh, I settle into the chair beside Al and drop my hand on her thigh.
Rhonda's not bad. She might have been a little over zealous about steering her daughter into her idea of happily ever after in the beginning, but her heart is in the right place-- and the woman is a hell of a grandma, that's for sure.
Al's aunt Vera, on the other hand? I chuckle to myself at the memory of that woman for the first few months of my relationship with Alicia.
Vera pranced around for a few months after we got engaged, bragging to anyone who would listen to her about how she was the one that "set us up." No mention of Raven Swann and her truly uncanny match making skills.
Nope, Vera took all the credit whenever she could get away with it.
Vera moved to Buenos Aires a couple of years back. One day she announced she'd met the man of her dreams and she up and left.
Of course, Al and I keep in touch with Raven. Raven was at our wedding and we made sure to send her a card and photo when Zoe was born. We get an anniversary card every year, and Zoe has gotten birthday cards every year as well. And I'm sure our son, Landon, will get birthday cards as well.
When we sent Raven an email to let her know we were pregnant again, she asked about Aunt Vera, casually mentioning that she hadn't hear from the happy couple in some time.
Of course, when Al asked if Raven had anything to do with Vera's new husband, Raven expertly side stepped the question, but Al and I both have our suspicions.
Vera does seem a lot happier. The woman mellowed out after she met her new husband, but mostly, she's very far away now.
An Elegant Solution: Arranged Marriage Romance Page 8
