Lasting Fate

by Charisse Spiers

  I will never be fully satisfied until Kinzleigh is completely and utterly mine in every possible way there is. I've already marked her body, won her heart, and claimed her soul. We even share a child together. Our lives are connected in every way, almost. The only thing left is a legal binding contract that says she's mine and replaces her last name.

  Today is the day that I ask Kinzleigh Baker to be my wife.

  The Monday after that first football game I went and spoke with the school, both of them. My high school agreed to push my start back a day, but I had to go that following Saturday to finish, which was fine. The dean of admissions is granting me late semester entry because of my situation, but I have to catch up any prior work assigned to make it fair. It’s probably for political purposes to make the school look good, but whatever. I guess you could say it's an, I'm sorry you were in a fucked up situation, so here's an apology from the city since it's a local college. I was required to complete my high school curriculum prior to start, and bring something signed by my high school of completion until I received the hard copy of my diploma and transcript.

  The coach of the football team had watched some of my football videos and wanted me even though it's a second string position, which also helped my admissions case. Where no one else has pull the athletic department does. He couldn’t guarantee me any playing time, but I don’t care. It’s better than nothing.

  I'm finally getting my life back. Everything is falling into place. I’m even doing well in my classes. Pops has given me a job that pays well with an easily adjustable schedule, we have enough money in the bank to take care of our needs plus some without my income from the ranch, and we're still able to achieve our dreams even though they've been slightly altered. I would say we're pretty fucking blessed.

  I have the perfect plan for this evening. My mind has been driving me crazy plotting it out. I have the best surprise for Kinzleigh and keeping it a secret hasn't been easy with her wanting to see her horse. Bryce has helped keep her away some, though not much. Pops has been taking care of everything just as he said he would. She thinks this little house is what we're going to live in forever, but when I say I'll try my best to give her the world, I mean it.

  The foundation is poured and the frame is up for the house, including the roof. Pops is taking care of the basic structure and house plans, and Kinzleigh gets to pick out everything for the inside. By then it won’t be a surprise anymore. The only thing I care about is the look on her face when she sees our house being built in front of our Oak tree.

  The first order of business is to go pick out the ring. Kinzleigh thinks I have to work today since I stay busy with football and classes at the university, not to mention homework and studying. It cuts down on the time I can help out on the ranch since I am a full time student, so I told her Mims and Pops were throwing her us a birthday bash and cooking dinner, because they wanted to see Bryce.

  Little does she know it's just a ploy to get her to our tree. Mims and Pops are going to watch Bryce for the whole thing. I can't wait to get that ring on her finger.

  I roll over, draping my arm over her, pulling her to my chest. She makes a noise in her sleep and starts to rub her ass on my dick.

  Fuck me. It's been too long for this shit. Today she is all mine. She's finally been cleared for sex, and though a little early I'm diving in head first, the smaller of the two. As much as I want it now, I'm making myself wait until tonight. My dick is going to go on strike if I don't give him some action soon, but I refuse to jack off. I'm waiting for Kinzleigh, and plus, once you've had the best, everything else falls short and isn't even worth it. I can actually confirm that's true now even though I wish I could take back what happened in Spain.

  Kinzleigh stops squirming when she feels my erection poking her in the ass. That's what she gets. I place my hand flat against her belly, pressing her back closer against my front, letting her know exactly how much I want her right now.

  I place my lips to her left ear. "Happy birthday, baby. Nineteen is going to be good to you." She moans slightly and tries to turn over, but I hold her still. "Starting now."

  I want a piece of her. I want to watch her come, reminding me that I can still affect her in a way no one else can. Closing my lips over the lobe of her ear, I suck, flicking my tongue back and forth as I slide my hand down her stomach, dipping underneath her panties.

  "Are you wet for me, baby?"

  She arches her back, giving me better access to her pussy. "Yes," she breathes.

  "Do you want me to make you come for your birthday?"

  She reaches back and clenches my hair in her fist as I continue downward. I can already feel the heat emanating from her pussy without even touching it.

  That's my girl...

  "Please, Breyson. Make me come. I need you to touch me." Dammit, she knows how much I like to hear her beg for it. It turns me on like nothing else.

  Touching the tip of my index finger to the opening of her pussy, I rub her wetness in circles, expanding it up through her folds until I reach that perfect fucking little spot; that spot that I'm craving to taste. Since that first day I got a taste I'm hooked. I want more.

  I start out slow, rubbing in circles, and allowing my finger to become familiar with her clit, searching for the exact spot that makes her crazy. With a woman's body you must walk before you run, listening for clues that you're on the right path or you'll bypass the destination altogether. "Is that where you like it, baby? Do you like my finger on your clit?"

  She moans and throws her leg back over mine, spreading wider for me. Her voice becomes higher in octave, giving me the green light to speed up. I change direction from circles to up and down, quickening my pace. "Please don't stop. I'm about to come."

  "That's it, baby. Come for me." Her voice becomes louder, her breathing more sparse. She tightens the muscles in her legs and begins to jerk her hips. "I fucking love watching you come." She pulls my hair so hard that it hurts, but it only turns me one more. My dick is so hard right now I feel like it's going to explode.

  She starts to relax, signaling the end of her orgasm. I remove my hand and she frees the hold on my hair, turning over to face me. She's staring at me with a lazy smile and softened eyes. I place my finger in my mouth and suck it clean while she's watching me. "Your taste has become my drug. I crave it, love it, and get a high I've never known when I get it; then, I'm in withdrawal until I get it again. Next time it's going to be my tongue."

  Her cheeks start to flush. "So... how's your morning so far," I ask with a cocky grin, no doubt, changing the mood.

  She tightens her lips together trying not to laugh, but the smile in here eyes gives her away. "That good, huh?"

  She playfully hits me in the shoulder as she bursts out in laughter. "Shut up," she squeals jokingly.

  "You shouldn't have done that," I say and roll on top of her, trapping her beneath me.

  She looks up at me through her eyelashes. "Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?"

  I push up from my forearms, shifting all my weight onto my knees, now straddling her in my boxer-briefs. She is slowly sweeping her eyes down my stomach, so I know she's not paying attention. Perfect.

  "This..." I swiftly move my fingers to her ribcage and begin tickling her. She hates to be tickled.

  "Brey- stop. Pleeeease," she draws out in laughter, having a hard time breathing. Her laugh is getting louder and more prominent, the laugh that can make my heart soar. "I swear no more hitting. Stop...I can't take it!" She is kicking and turning underneath me, but I'm stronger.

  She's laughing so hard she can barely breathe. In her attempt to intake air she snorts, making me laugh in return. "Truce. I surrender. Just stop. You win," she stammers between breaths.

  She's arching and twisting, trying to get away from me. Her neck becomes revealed, the veins becoming more noticeable because of her straining to breathe and talk. Damn, she's beautiful.

  Bryce starts to cry through the monitor. His room is directly
across from ours, so I'm sure our laughing woke him up. Altering the positions of my hands from the claw they're in, I clamp them around her narrow sides and bend forward.

  I kiss the jugular vein that is protruding from her neck and beating with the pulse of her heart. She becomes limp under my touch as I swipe my tongue up her neck, tracing it to her ear. "Nothing makes me happier than to hear you surrender to me," I whisper. "I'll get him. Stay in bed. It's your birthday."

  I throw my leg over her and stand from our bed. Bryce is starting to get pissed off from having to wait. I guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree. He may be just an infant, but the boy has a temper already. I grab a tee shirt from the dresser drawer on the way to his room. As I walk through his door his cry becomes lethal to a person's ears.

  "Hey," I say as I bend over the crib, propping my crossed arms on top of the front railing. "Is that necessary, little buddy? I know what you want, trust me, I want it too, but that is not going to make getting it any faster."

  He starts kicking his little legs at the sound of my voice. He's still whiney, but he's lowered his octave. I reach in and pick him up, cradling him so I can look at his face. Bringing him closer, I kiss his head.

  I will never be able to properly express how much I love him already. He may have been an accident, but he will never be a mistake. To be able to look into the eyes of another person, knowing you created them from something so minute to this tiny human being that thrives and grows each day is such a miracle. This is my son, someone I'm responsible for, and someone to teach and take care of.

  His changing table is nearby, filled with everything I need. I try really hard to help Kinzleigh do things for him no matter how busy I get. I realized being stuck in a foreign place, with no family or friends, and not knowing anything about who I was, that time can be your worst enemy. For six months I missed everything that is important to me. Never again will I miss anything if I can help it.

  My entire life I've spent wishing I were older because of football. Playing college football and getting drafted into the NFL was everything I lived for and dreamed of, hurrying the hands of time, but now I realize exactly how precious time is. I missed a lot, but I could have missed so much more. Now, I have all the time in the world to play football. As much as I want to play, if I never played another day I'd still be happy, because I have them.

  I lay him down and stick his pacifier in his mouth to soothe him until Kinzleigh feeds him. Holding the tabs of his diaper, I pause. "Don't get any bright ideas, buddy. It goes in the diaper not on Daddy. Do we have a mutual understanding?"

  His arms are flailing back and forth and his legs are sticking up in the air. I know he's too little to understand what I'm saying, but I like to think he does anyway. Besides, I'm still making up for lost time. He didn't get to hear my voice before he was born.

  Two arms wrap around my waist from behind. "The secret is to open the diaper and when the air hits him close it to be sure he doesn't have to pee again. Don't ask my why, but take my word for it. Trial. And. Error."

  The vision I'm picturing in my head right now is priceless. I can see it now, Kinzleigh screaming and ducking, because he has no control over his boy parts yet. He's barely over a month old and already making Daddy proud. I look at Bryce, who is looking at us. "You tee-teed on Mommy, didn't you? Awesome, I have a partner in crime already."

  "Don't get any ideas. I'm outnumbered."

  I do as she said and sure enough Bryce pees again. I can't do anything but laugh. Kinzleigh presses her face in the center of my back, smelling my tee shirt. I finish changing Bryce's diaper and pick him up. I turn in her arms to face her. "Are you okay?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Weren't you just smelling my shirt? Does it stink?"

  Her eyes widen as if she's been caught with her hand in the cookie jar before dinner. Her mouth falls open slightly. "It's nothing," she says.

  "Talk to me. It's never nothing."

  "It's just something I used to do when you were-"

  "Dead?"

  She starts twirling her hair around her finger. "Yes. After the memorial service I found the tee shirt you were wearing that last day we were together...you know, in my room."

  "You mean my undershirt?"

  "Yes. It was shoved under the edge of my bed. Anyway, it was covered in your scent. It was the only thing that could comfort me. I guess I formed a habit. It's stu-"

  I place my index finger of my free hand over her lips, hushing her. "Nothing is ever stupid. It makes me feel better knowing how much you missed me, how much you hurt because I was gone. I know I haven't told you anything about my time away, but I will when I can. Just know that when I look back at both situations, you had it so much worse than me. Trying to survive in a world without the other half of you, knowing there is a huge part of you missing, and being forced to move on alone doesn't even compare to forgetting it all."

  She closes her eyes, pauses, and opens them again. "I have something for you. It's part of your birthday present. Since you never want to celebrate yours because of it being close to mine, I decided I would wait until today."

  "I told you not to get me anything. I have everything I want."

  She rolls her eyes. "Like I'm not going to get you a birthday present. You might as well let that one go. You will always have something on special days. That's what you do when you love someone. You go out of your way to make them feel special, especially on their most important days."

  She turns and walks out of Bryce's room, but I follow her across the hall into our bedroom. She stops beside her side of the bed, opening the drawer of her nightstand. I can't tell what she removed, because obviously she didn't want me to see it.

  When she turns to face me she places her hands along with the item behind her back and comes to stand in front of me. She looks like she is rehearsing something in her head. I'm not sure whether I should be worried of excited. "Here goes," she whispers clearly nervous, but why I have no idea.

  "Promise me you won't laugh at me?"

  My eyebrows dip in my new state of confusion. "I would never laugh at you, Kinzleigh, but only with you. There is a difference."

  "Do you remember that silver anklet I gave you on homecoming?"

  Of course she has to bring up something I gave away. I know she would understand the circumstances, but I haven't told her about my other family yet. "Yes...you gave me your heart. Why?"

  "Well, back then I looked at it like we had two separate hearts, in two separate bodies, able to survive on their own. When you...didn't come back, I realized that we don't have two separate hearts. We share one. Living with the thought of you being gone forever almost destroyed me, because it needs the other half to continue beating. It wasn't until you came back that I felt alive again. I was surviving, not thriving."

  She pulls a medium sized black velvet box out from behind her back; a box made for jewelry. I'm not sure I understand what she's giving me.

  She holds the box on one palm and opens the top with the other hand. It's a necklace box. On the inside lies two small chain necklaces made of silver with a unisex charm dangling from each end, half of a heart. Both sides align perfectly when placing them together. I've never been a guy to wear jewelry, but it's beautiful, and what makes it more so is that she bought it because of its significance.

  She pulls one of the two from the box that holds it and looks up at me. "This side of the heart symbolizes me. My initials are engraved on the top, and set inside the silver is my birthstone, pink."

  She flips the heart over as I lightly bounce Bryce in my arms and continues. "There is half of a statement engraved on the back side of each. Yours says, when we come together, and beneath it has Bryce's initials with his birthstone set in the middle of the loop of the P."

  She sits the box on the edge of the bed and walks closer to me, unclasping the two ends of the chain. "Breyson, you are the keeper of my heart, or my half perhaps. I've known it was yours from the time you barge
d into my life and claimed it. Paired with any other heart my body recognizes it as foreign matter, a toxin to me, and fights to reject it, but as long as I have yours it continues to beat keeping me alive."

  She reaches up and wraps each end around my neck hooking them together. Damn, I love this woman with all that I am. "What's the other one look like," I ask.

  "It symbolizes you...your initials, opal for the birthstone. It also has Bryce's initials on the back to match mine." She says it nonchalantly while she puts hers on, as if it's no big deal, but it's the biggest deal. She couldn't have gotten a more perfect gift.

  "But what does the sentence on the back read in its entirety when you put each half of the heart together?"

  "When we come together, our hearts beat as one." The woman can gut me with one sentence.

  "Come here," I command.

  She walks over to me placing her index finger inside Bryce's hand. I grab her chin between my thumb and index finger, touching my lips to hers. She has the softest lips. Her lips hold the power to medicate open wounds. "Thank you for the gift. It's perfect. I love you, Kinzleigh."

  "I love you too, baby."

  A knock sounds at the door breaking up our perfect moment. That should be Adalynn. She's surprising Kinzleigh with a few hours of shopping and doing whatever it is girls do while I go talk to Kinzleigh's dad, asking him for her hand in marriage. Adalynn is under direct orders not to be late or it will mess up all of my plans for the evening.

  "I wonder who that could be? Are you expecting someone?"

  I shrug my shoulders. That way I don't have to verbally lie. "Will you get it? I'll change Bryce's clothes and then you can feed him. I'm surprised he's actually waited this long without screaming."

  "Looks like you have a daddy's boy," she says and winks as she turns to walk out the door.

  I look down at Bryce, cradling him like a football on my left arm. He's sucking on his pacifier, looking back at me with his left arm slightly dangling as if he doesn't have a care in the world. "We're going to make a good team, little buddy. You want to pal around with Daddy today? You have to stay with Nana while I pick up Mommy's ring, but the rest of the time is boys day, just the two of us."