An Early Spring

by Ann Lister

  “It's so beautiful here,” Colby said quietly.

  “I thought you might like it,” he said against her skin.

  Nick turned Colby around to face him and was about to kiss her, when he noticed her tears. “Babe, why are you crying?” he asked, wiping at the liquid on her cheeks.

  Colby smiled through her emotion and sighed loudly. “I’ve never been happier,” she said. “For a while after I moved here, I still missed Los Angeles. I missed the noise, the smog, all of it, but five months later, I don’t. I have no desire to live there again. I love it here now. I love living with you and sharing my life. It’s all so surreal. For the first time in my life, I really feel content and fulfilled.”

  Nick rocked her in his arms. “I agree with every thing you just said, except for the stuff about Los Angeles. I’ve never lived there so I can’t relate, but I do love living with you, Colby. Every day I’m with you feels like another gift,” he said, and kissed her mouth. “Speaking of gifts, I have something for you,” he said, tugging her back into the bedroom.

  “A gift? Nick, coming here is a gift!”

  Nick sat on the bed and reached into the backpack he had brought with him and pulled out a photo album and handed it to Colby. “I hope you don’t mind, but I made copies of the digital images you’ve been taking of us and put them into an album for you.”

  “Really?”

  “After seeing the nice album you have of Wayne, I thought we should have one of our own,” he said. Nick flipped open the book. “The snap shots in the beginning are of us now. I left a bunch of pages empty for us to add more photographs, as time brings us into the future.”

  Her eyes made contact with his. “This is incredibly thoughtful and it makes me very emotional hearing you use the word future.”

  He held her gaze for a few minutes, contemplating if he should give her his other gift now or wait until dinner, as he had originally planned. But, hearing her words and seeing the love in her eyes, he was overwhelmed.

  He slipped his hand behind her neck and pulled her to him, brushing his lips to hers. “You are my future, Colby,” he whispered.

  He removed the book from her lap and set it on the floor, then eased himself off the bed to kneel between her knees. He began to rub slow circles on her bare thighs with his hands, trying to collect his thoughts, wanting to tell her everything that was in his heart. It was a moment of truth and he wanted every word he said to matter.

  “Colby, I know we’ve only been together for five months but the connection I feel with you is so deep, it really seems timeless to me. It feels as natural as the changing seasons,” he said softly. “Whenever I think of you, I find myself using words like: forever, eternal and undying, to describe the feelings I have for you. I am stunned at how close I feel to you and the endless ways you continue to make me happy.”

  Nick bent against her knees and set his cheek to her thigh, kissing her exposed skin.

  “Those are beautiful words,” she said, combing her fingers through his hair. “And I feel exactly the same way. I don’t want this to ever end.”

  Nick lifted his head and smiled, his eyes glistening with emotion. “I’m glad to hear you say that, Colby, because I’m asking you to marry me.”

  “What?”

  Nick took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Will you marry me?” he asked, easing her ring finger into the warmth of his mouth.

  “You're serious?” she asked in shock.

  He reached into the backpack again and retrieved a ring box, opened the lid and removed a brilliant diamond solitaire ring. “I’m very serious,” he said in a hushed tone, wiggling the ring onto her finger. “Marry me.”

  “I can’t believe you’re doing this, Nick. I honestly did not see this coming,” she replied, staring at the ring on her finger in disbelief.

  Nick squeezed her thighs. “Why can’t you believe it?” he asked, inching his hands along the outside of her legs toward her hips. “I think I’ve made it pretty obvious how I feel about you.”

  “Yes, you have, but…”

  “But what?” he asked, trying to make eye contact with her. “Do you think it’s too soon for me to ask?”

  “Not necessarily.”

  Nick nudged her nose with his. “You’re hesitating. Does that mean you don’t feel ready for this?”

  Colby tipped her head and met his gaze. She lightly ran her fingers across his face. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

  “Colby, I was ready to ask you three months ago after my accident. I woke up in the hospital and realized how close I came to not being able to hold you again and the reality of that nearly paralyzed me. I knew then, I wanted to be with you forever, but maybe that’s not what you want?” he asked with sadness.

  Colby pressed her lips to his. “I want to be with you, Nick. Always.”

  “Living in sin, as we have been,” he teased, gently kissing her. “Or married?”

  “Married.”

  Nick smiled against her mouth, his eyes holding her gaze. “Yeah? Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I want to marry you,” she replied, glancing at the ring on her finger again. “And, this ring is perfect. I love it and I love you.”

  Nick sighed against her mouth. “I was beginning to think you were going to turn me down.”

  She dropped her head to the side and felt his lips move to her throat. “I love you too much to say no.”

  Nick gently eased her down to the mattress and moved on top of her. He ran his fingers across her forehead and into her hair, thoughtfully studying her face, then dropped his mouth to hers, slowly kissing her until he heard her moan. Her lips were so soft and pliable to him, her tongue warm and moist and seductive without any effort. Kissing her was always a sensuous experience, having an instant affect over him every time.

  “I don’t care where we get married,” he said, his cock stiffening against her. “We can do it in California or in Colorado, it makes no difference to me, as long as we do it soon. I don’t want a long engagement, Colby. If I have any say in the wedding date at all, I’d like to be married before the end of the year and maybe have you pregnant by next Spring,” he chuckled.

  “Pregnant?”

  “Sure. Don’t you want to have a couple of babies with me?” he asked with a smile.

  “Of course, but does it have to be so soon?”

  “I’m not getting any younger, Colby, and I’d like to do it while my 'swimmers' are still viable enough to get the job done.”

  “Swimmers? Did you just refer to your sperm as swimmers?”

  Nick started laughing. “I think you understand what I mean.”

  “I’m not getting any younger, either,” she said. “But, it’s hard to wrap my brain around being pregnant. I’ve spent so many years trying not to get pregnant, I can’t imagine what it would be like to let it happen - on purpose.”

  Nick pressed his cheek to hers and sighed. His hand began to work between her legs. “I can’t wait to marry you, Colby.”

  “Me, too,” she said, and closed her eyes, feeling Nick’s fingers slip beneath her panties and find her wetness.

  “Colby, I’d really like to make love to you, but if you’d rather wait until later, I’ll stop now.”

  She inched her hand into the front of Nick’s pants and smiled up at him, when her fingers circled his erection. “Do you really think I’d want to wait until later?” she asked, squeezing his cock. “Besides, just because we get naked now, doesn’t mean we can’t do it again later. Right?”

  Nick raised his eye brows. “Hmmm, I like the way you think,” he said.

  An hour later, Nick had Colby dressed and ready to do a little shopping in town before they had dinner. Colby enjoyed walking through the town of Vail, while holding onto Nick’s hand. They window-shopped and drifted into the stores that interested them, then began walking back to the hotel.

  “I still can’t believe you proposed to me, Nick,” Colby said, gripping his hand tighter. “I mean, I hoped one day
you might ask, but I certainly didn’t think it would be as soon as this weekend.”

  “What can I say? I knew what I wanted and decided there was no point in waiting,” he said, draping an arm around Colby’s shoulders. “When it’s right, it’s right and this feels perfect to me.”

  “I agree,” she smiled. “I wonder how your mother will feel though.”

  “Let’s find out,” he said, and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He punched in the phone number for his parent’s in Connecticut and waited for them to answer. “Hi, Mom. It’s Nick.”

  “What’s wrong? Why are you calling?” his mother asked nervously.

  Nick chuckled. “There's nothing wrong, Mom. I’m calling because Colby and I have some news for you.”

  “Did you get her pregnant?”

  “No, she’s not pregnant - yet,” Nick teased.

  “Then, what’s your news?” Ruth asked her son.

  “I’m going to let Colby tell you,” he said, passing his phone to Colby.

  “Hi, Ruth. How are you?” Colby asked.

  “I’m fine, but I’m a little anxious to hear your news. Are you sure everything is all right?”

  “It couldn’t be better, Ruth. Nick took me to Vail for the weekend and he proposed a couple of hours ago.”

  “Oh…and what was your answer?”

  “I said: yes,” Colby said, hearing a squeal of excitement coming through the phone, forcing Colby to hold the phone away from her ear.

  Nick took the phone back from Colby and pressed it to his ear. “I take it this news pleases you?” he asked his mother.

  “Deliriously happy. I can’t wait to tell your father after he gets home from that nineteenth hole of golfing.”

  “Good. I’m glad to hear it. Oh, and Mom, there won’t be a long engagement. As soon as I have a date, I’ll let you know.”

  “What’s the hurry, Nick?” his mother asked.

  “There’s no hurry, Mom, but neither of us sees any reason to wait. We want to get down to the business of making you some grand babies and, call me old fashioned, but I'd like my ring to be on her finger before we do that.”

  “Nick, I’m thrilled for you,” his mother said, her voice beginning to reflect the emotion that was filling her eyes. “We love Colby.”

  “I love her, too, Mom. I’ll have her call you in a couple of weeks, once we have a few more details, okay?”

  “Congratulations!”

  “Thanks, Mom. I’ll talk to you soon,” Nick said, and ended the call. “Do you want to give your parents a call?” he asked Colby.

  “I will when we get back to the cabin,” Colby said thoughtfully.

  “Are they even aware you’re living with me?” he asked, entwining his fingers with hers and moving down the sidewalk.

  “I told them I was seeing someone, but never elaborated.”

  “Are they old fashioned?” Nick asked.

  Colby giggled. “Hardly. They knew I was living with Wayne before he died and that didn’t bother them. But, before we go any further with planning a wedding, Nick, I have to bring you to California to meet them. Do you mind?”

  “Not at all.”

  “The lease on my storage unit expires next month. I have to go back to Los Angeles soon to decide what to do about that. Maybe you could come with me and I’ll see if my parents can meet us somewhere near L.A.”

  “When ever you want to go, I’ll be ready,” he grinned. “Although, you might want to consider planning that trip before I get approved to return to work. Once I get put back on the schedule, it might be difficult for me to get a couple of days off from work.”

  “Okay,” Colby smiled. “I’ll make some calls when we get home.”

  Nick heard what she said and smiled broadly.

  “I know what you’re going to say,” she said. “It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes. I waited a long time for you to drift into my life, Colby. I had to kiss a lot of frogs before I found my Princess,” he chuckled.

  “Oh, let’s not ruin the moment by bringing up the old frogs from your past!”

  Nick and Colby enjoyed the remainder of their weekend in Vail and returned to his cabin with a new enthusiasm for everything around them. Slowly, the news of their engagement trickled out to their friends and co-workers and was met with much excitement and more than a little bit of surprise for the its suddenness.

  Nick dove back into his physical therapy and exercise regimen, determined to get a medical release from his doctor, which would allow him to return to the job he loved. In some ways, he felt like he was training for the Olympics. The work involved was daunting and draining, but necessary, if he wanted to regain the physical endurance he’d need to rejoin the Search and Rescue Team.

  Colby’s job had shifted into reduced summer hours, which had pluses and minuses. It allowed her more time to spend with Nick, which she loved, but she also enjoyed her job and missed the satisfaction that came along with it.

  “I’m going to go to the gym for a couple of hours,” Nick said, grabbing the keys for the truck from the kitchen table. “Would you like to join me?” he asked, stepping into their bedroom where Colby was standing in front of the closet, sorting through her clothing.

  “No, thanks. I’ll go for a run later. I want to finish moving my winter clothing into the spare bedroom,” she replied.

  “Okay, but you know how much I love getting sweaty with you,” he said. He stepped beside her and kissed her softly on the lips.

  Colby reached around and squeezed the firmness of his butt. “If you spend much more time at that gym you’ll be nothing but muscle.”

  “I thought you liked my muscles?” he asked, suggestively rocking against her.

  “I do, especially…”

  Nick grabbed her hand just before it made contact with his groin. “Okay! I see where you’re going with this, but I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to arrive at the gym with a boner.”

  Colby made a pout with her lips, then smiled. “I understand. Go have fun and I’ll be here when you finish.”

  Nick smiled at her. “I’ll see you soon.”

  Left alone, Colby went back to the task at hand and gathered an arm-load of clothing and carried it into the spare bedroom, tossing it onto the bed. She sorted through everything, decided what she didn’t want to keep, then hung the rest in the closet. She repeated the same process with a stack of shirts, which she planned on storing in the empty dresser in the same bedroom.

  She pulled open the first drawer of the dresser and noticed an envelope tucked inside. As she was lifting it from the drawer, several photographs spilled from inside. Colby blinked a few times, trying to focus on the images. The snap shots were of a small boy, as he aged from birth until what appeared to be the age of three or four years old. In two of the photographs a beautiful, dark-haired woman with sharp blue eyes was holding the young boy. She studied the images intently, feeling a knot tighten in her stomach. The young boy bore a striking resemblance to Nick, so closely, it caused the hair on Colby’s arms to stand on end.

  Colby rubbed at her forehead, trying to remember how Nick had described Sarah to her. She turned the photographs over in her hand and read the phrase: Me and Nathan at birth. The boy’s name was Nathan but the woman’s name was not listed on any of the photographs.

  Every nerve ending in Colby’s body started to tingle. She quickly did the math in her head, figuring the typical gestational time span for a pregnancy, and figured it would have been possible for Sarah to give birth to Nick’s son after she left the resort. It was definitely plausible and the boy certainly looked like Nick could be his father, but why hadn’t Nick ever mentioned he had a son?

  Colby was still sitting on the floor leaning up against the bed, staring at the photographs, when Nick finally returned from the gym.

  “Hey, babe! I’m home,” Nick called to her, stepping into the living room. When he heard no response, he moved through the room and into the spare b
edroom. He saw Colby sitting on the floor and froze. “What’s wrong?” he asked, cautiously stepping around the bed toward her.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you had a son?” she asked bluntly, wiping at the tears on her face.

  Nick saw the photographs spread across the floor and sat on the end of the bed, shaking his head. “He’s not my son,” he said quietly.

  “He looks just like you and I’m assuming this woman is Sarah?”

  “Yeah, that's Sarah,” he replied, glancing at Colby. “She had a kid after she moved.”

  “And, you’re certain you’re not the father?”

  Nick paused and nervously ran his hands down his thighs.

  Colby studied the expression on Nick’s face. “Oh, my God! You’re not sure if this boy is yours!”

  “He’s not mine,” Nick said again. “It’s well documented that Sarah was less than faithful to me, Colby.”

  “So what! I’m assuming you were still having sex with her before she moved, which means there’s a good chance this boy is your son! Didn’t you take a paternity test?”

  “I didn’t need to, because I know he isn’t mine,” Nick said, standing up from the bed.

  “If you’re so certain this boy isn’t your son, then why would you keep these photographs?”

  Nick combed his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know,” he said, and walked toward the bedroom door. “You can toss them out if you want.”

  “Nick! You need to take a paternity test,” Colby persisted, following Nick into the kitchen.

  “No. I don’t,” he said, taking a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

  “It’s the only way we’ll know if he is your son.”

  Nick took a long drink of water, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’m not taking a paternity test, Colby.”

  “Why not?”

  Nick leaned against the kitchen counter. “Because, I don’t want to,” he said flatly. “I refuse to give Sarah the satisfaction of knowing I took a test.”

  Colby shoved Nick on the arm. “Nick, this has nothing to do with Sarah! This is about a little boy that deserves to know his father and, if that’s you, then you need to take responsibility for him and be his father.”