Lasting Fate

by Charisse Spiers

  He quickens his thrusts as I squeeze between my legs. I can feel the small vibrations inside me as he comes. He stops once he's expended it all. He kisses me over and over again all over my face. We both start laughing. Right now I feel completely high, because of my addiction standing before me, continuing to give me my fix.

  Footsteps are shuffling on the concrete. With each one they are getting closer, and I'm bare from the waist down. Breyson looks down the tunnel. "Shit. We need to go. That may be Coach."

  He pulls out of me and I unlock my feet from behind his waist. He sets me down on the ground and I pull my dress back in place while he adjusts himself back into his jeans and zips them. I start patting myself making sure I'm covered.

  Breyson wraps his arm around my shoulders. "Come on, beautiful. I'm ready to see this surprise you have planned."

  Oh, right. I totally forgot about that in our little spurt of naughtiness inside the football tunnel. I look at my watch. We still have time to catch our flight, but we don't have any time to waste now. A wave of excitement hits me as I begin to think of all the different scenarios of our little getaway, and he isn't expecting a thing....

  Chapter 14

  Kinzleigh

  Mom was able to work out all of the details. Breyson has no idea where we're going, because I've never brought him here. I noticed that he looked a little pale when we were on the plane. I want to ask him questions so bad, but I don't want to trigger anything that could hurt him. He's been through so much already. I would never ask him to fly had he not done it a few times in trying to bring Bryce and I back to Mississippi. I just won't ever make him do it alone. Isn’t that the way to defeat a fear anyway? To keep doing what scares you over and over…From now on it's always the two of us.

  The cab pulls into the harbor. Mom also took care of getting someone to captain the boat. Dad has taught me a few things, but I wouldn't feel comfortable navigating a large boat by myself and I have no idea if Breyson knows how. After all, it is supposed to be a surprise. I want us to enjoy ourselves anyway. I'm not sure when we'll be able to do something like this again.

  "Where are we?"

  I look over at Breyson, sitting beside me with my hand in his. "Somewhere I haven't been in a while, but it's something I've always loved and I want to share it with you."

  He grabs my face between his hands and kisses me gently, making everything in my world feel perfect. "If it's something you love I know I'll love it too."

  I hand the driver a wad of cash and open the door. "Come on, let's get our bags."

  He opens the trunk as we exit the cab. I reach in to get my bag when Breyson stops me. "Let me."

  "Are you sure? I can hold it. It's not that heavy."

  "Baby, I'm your man. I'm supposed to do things like this for you. That's just the way things are supposed to be. It's just a little thing, but it's an important thing."

  And that's just a little reason in a bowl of a lot of reasons why I love you...

  I step back, allowing him to get our luggage. He closes the trunk and the driver leaves us standing in the quiet tranquility of the harbor. He looks around, taking everything in. His eyes are widening as he notices the large yachts docked here.

  I start to smile. Dad used to always tell me that the only toy a man needs to be happy is a boat. They went in together with Presley's family so they could get one double the size. We were almost always together anyway, so it made sense. "You ready, big guy?"

  He looks at me with a cheesy grin. "If we're going on one of those then hell yes."

  I can't wait to show him which one is ours. If a person doesn't have a love for the water it's because they haven't been with people that are experienced boaters. It's very calming. You're in a completely different world when you're out in the ocean. There are no schedules, no watches, and no rushing. You just get completely lost in a world of leisure and relaxation.

  We finally make it to the dock that has our boat at the end of it. I stop and hold out my hand for his. We walk to the end and stop at the last boat. A family affair is what they decided to name it when they bought it many years ago. We were just kids at the time.

  I look over at Breyson. He's staring out in front of him. "Are you ready?"

  He's grinning from ear to ear. "This is your family's boat? I was thinking like a small party boat, maybe even something with a small cabin, but this? Holy shit, Kinzleigh, this is huge."

  I laugh a little. Breyson's family has money, so I don't know why he's surprised. My parents don't usually advertise their wealth. Sure, we have nice things, but aside from major purchases that are also necessities they don't live lavishly. This is their biggest splurge that I can remember over my entire life. We don't have multiple unnecessary cars or houses and they didn't talk of buying crazy things like planes and islands. My family just isn't like that. My dad was raised to work for what he had, to provide for his family, and to live comfortably, but nothing more.

  My family's business started out small with my grandfather and has really grown over the years. It hasn't always been as big as it is now. Since my dad started working right out of school with my grandfather he was able to learn it from the bottom up, then when my grandfather retired and he took over it really took off, or so my dad always said.

  It's really no different than Preston and Presley's family's business. Even putting aside that factor, both of our mothers are highly recommended and sought after attorneys, bringing in a nice salary themselves. My parents are not only humble, but also private. Neither my brother nor I know what my parents make and we probably never will.

  "It's definitely not small," I say as I wink at him. "You going to help me on it or are we going to gawk at it all night?"

  "Oh, right, sorry." He lightly tosses the bags on the deck and steps across. I take a deep breath as he gets balanced and turned around. I hate this part. Don't ask me why. The wobble and dip from one hard surface to another makes me uneasy.

  He holds his hand out for me and I take it, trying not to look at the dark water below as I step across. Once I get my balance I move away from the edge. "So...we get this all to ourselves for the entire weekend?"

  I can see the naughtiness in his eyes and it has me excited. I won't even lie to myself. I nod. "Well, ourselves and the captain, but he will stay in his quarters. There are plenty of places for us to have...privacy," I say with a mischievous grin starting to form.

  "Miss Baker, Mr. Abercrombie, are you guys ready to go?" The captain comes on deck, interrupting our moment. He's around my parents’ age and he's the one they will hire if they want someone else to navigate, so I'm at ease with him. I've been around him for years.

  "Hi, Paul. Yes, I believe we're ready. I hope you've been well." I raise my brow at him and place my hands on my hips. "And you know to call me Kinzleigh. I'm like your adopted niece," I say teasingly.

  He smiles. "I've been well, Kinzleigh, thank you for asking. Give me about fifteen minutes and we will be on our way."

  I nod as he bows out. I turn back to Breyson. "Come on, baby. Let me give you a proper tour, starting with the bedroom."

  He picks up our bags. "So, where exactly are we going?"

  "Somewhere no one will bother us. You probably won't have cell service, though. I hope that won't be a problem." I start to bite my bottom lip in my moment of seductive sarcasm.

  He walks closer to me, stopping just outside my ear. "I think I like the idea of being trapped at sea with you and no way for anyone to reach us. That gives me more time to devour your body with no interruptions," he whispers huskily.

  I can feel my face heating. He stands upright where our faces are mirroring each other, becoming serious. "What if there is an emergency with Bryce? How will they get in touch with us?"

  "We are in modern times." I laugh. "We have Wi-Fi through an auto positioning satellite. I wouldn't leave Bryce with no way to make sure he's okay."

  "I wasn't saying you would, baby. I was just wondering for myself." He places his hand o
n the back of my thigh, sliding it upward and under my skirt. The sensation of his fingertips moving along my skin, toward the middle of my legs, is making my hormones instantly spike. He grabs my butt as he closes in on me. "Now show me that bedroom or I will rip that dress off right here on this deck."

  He doesn't have to tell me twice. I turn and lead him in the direction that I want to go. For the next forty-eight hours I'm going to lose myself in him, escaping into our bubble before we have to go back to the real world.

  ***

  We lay in this king sized bed tangled up in each other's naked body and the sheets. Breyson is combing his fingers through my hair with one hand, and rubbing his other hand up and down my thigh. I can smell his cologne as I lay here with my head on his chest, playing with his blonde happy trail. We're lying in a silent peace, coming down from the high we always create in each other.

  We started leaving the dock around the time we walked in the bedroom and started making out uncontrollably. Maybe it was the rush of being here, on this big boat, or maybe it's just that no matter how many times we have each other it's never enough. Feeling this way about him scares me to death, but it also keeps me coming back for more. "I love you, Breyson."

  "And I love you, Kinzleigh."

  "I would have never in a million years seen this coming that summer. Now, I can't wait to be your wife. I'm ready to make our vows to each other."

  He continues rubbing up my thigh as if he's completely at ease. "Me either, but it was the best thing that ever happened to me, even considering all the shit that happened between then and now."

  He pauses. "If you could go back, would you change anything? Anything at all..."

  I think about that for a minute. Would I change anything? I try to think deeply. Considering all options, there is only one. "Only one thing..."

  "What is it? Tell me the truth."

  "That day on my bed when you asked me if I wanted to go with you instead of Ryland and I said no....instead, I would have said yes and I would have gotten on that plane with you."

  He shifts, placing my head on the mattress so that he can look down at me, still running the tips of his fingers up and down my bare thigh. He looks me in the eyes, studying my deepest thoughts. I always feel more naked than actually being without clothes when he does this. There is no hiding from Breyson, because he is the only one that can see straight through me.

  "Even knowing you could have died along with all of those other people? What happened to me wasn't normal, Kinzleigh. I should have died with everyone else. It wasn't fair that I got a second chance and none of them did."

  He has so much guilt in his voice that it breaks my heart in half, but I'm not holding back my feelings anymore, ever again. I never know if death will come knocking at either of our doors when we're not looking, separating us once again. I will tell him how I feel every single day for the rest of my life.

  "Yes," I say. "I can't explain why you were standing on the beach that day or why you found me on the pier that night. I have no idea why I never once turned my head when a guy tried to flirt with me, but yet I gave you my virginity the same week I met you. When I think of how rare it is that I then moved to the same town as you it makes me feel crazy. I have no idea why I deserve to feel the love that I have for you or why you love me as much as you show me, but now that I have it I can't fathom a life without you. I tried it, Breyson, I did. It's not worth going on apart. I used to be afraid of dying, but when I thought you were dead I dreamed of dying too."

  "What about Bryce? You can still say that knowing that you were pregnant?"

  I place my hands on his face, tracing the outline of his eyes. "I love Bryce with everything that I am. Now that he's here I can't even think of a moment without him in it, but he wasn't here then. I didn't know he existed, so taking him out of the picture leaves you and me. I would have packed my bag, I would have boarded that plane, and I would have gone down into the ocean with you. It's you and me always baby. From now until the end you're stuck with me. We live together or we die together."

  My beautiful blue-eyed boy stares at me silently. I'm not sure if he's really that surprised or if he is gathering his thoughts for a lecture I have coming on why what I said isn't smart. I know it's a selfish way of thinking, but it is what it is. I can't help that Breyson changed me from an epic failure at love to a self sacrificing woman over the man I fell in love with.

  Looking back, I remember learning about some of the famous couples in school: Bonnie and Clyde, Romeo and Juliet, among others. Their stories are all different, but their endings are the same. They found the person that they couldn't survive without, so they chose not to. Before, I thought they were crazy, but now I admire them, because they did the one thing most can't: they defeated death by succumbing to it instead of running from it because of their love for each other.

  I'm not finished saying what's weighing on my heart. I tread lightly, not wanting to turn this weekend into a memorial on things that need to be laid to rest, but sometimes a person just needs to be reminded of the things they can't see because they are being blinded with guilt, one of the strongest emotions next to hatred and love; all very different things, but most of the time they go hand in hand.

  "Breyson, there are things in life we can't explain. Bad things happen to good people, good things happen to bad people, and some people are given second chances, whether bad or good. The point is it's not our place to question them, because even if we don't understand them, it's what was meant to be. I can't begin to understand how deep our connection is or why some of the things happened to us that did, but at some point I stopped asking why and how, and accepted what is. I didn't die back at homecoming, you didn't die in that plane crash, and Bryce and I didn't die in the car accident. It wasn't our time to die, baby. Stop blaming yourself for surviving and thank God that Bryce doesn't have to grow up without ever having the chance to know his father, because you're a person worth knowing. I thank God every night and every morning that I have another day to call you mine."

  "Marry me."

  I'm suddenly confused. I thought that's what he was asking when he put the diamond on my finger.

  "Didn't I already agree to that?"

  He shakes his head, but his expression remains serious. "Marry me."

  Again, he's repeating something I already said yes to, or so I thought. I look down at my left finger to ensure the large, beautiful diamond is in fact there. Unless I'm suddenly seeing mirages it's there. Okay, I'll play along. "Okay..."

  His smile breaks free, starting small, but steadily growing in size. "Why do I get the feeling I was the victim of trickery, Mr. Abercrombie?"

  "Because you were," he says nonchalantly and shamelessly.

  "And what was I tricked into?"

  "Marrying me this weekend."

  My eyes become very large, but definitely a mismatch to the rather broad grin across the bottom half of my face. "You do know my mother will kill me, right? I finally started asking for her mother/daughter help and I think she's excited about planning a wedding. Shouldn't I feel guilty, because for some reason I don't..."

  "No, baby, we can still have a wedding. I'm not trying to take that tradition away from you. That is a woman thing I'm not going anywhere near. Besides, I do want to be the one waiting at the altar for you, with everyone there to witness, but I want to marry you, just the two of us.... now. Weddings are just symbolism for the act of marriage, but the union takes place before God. We don't need an audience for that, just a preacher."

  I study his expression for a minute trying to decide if he's really serious or if this is a joke, but I know Breyson. He doesn't joke about something this serious, especially not with me. He's trying not to show his excitement in case I say no, but there is no hiding that kind of happiness. That's the kind that blinds darkness.

  My heart feels jittery and my nerves are sending sparks of electricity all over my body. For a long time I thought it was just that everything was so new and my inexp
erience with dating, but two years later and after being with someone else along the way, I still get these sensations with him and only him.

  I'm totally going to agree to this insanity.... and I'm going to love every second of it. Breyson and I aren't a normal couple and we never have been, so why start now? We're young, but our relationship is like ten years advanced in maturity; it has been from the beginning.

  "Tell me when and where..."

  There's that smile that is responsible for the palpitations and the shortness of breath. One day it's going to send me into cardiac arrest. My stomach is completely in knots from the monstrosity of internal mess that Breyson causes with that one single smile. Anyone that turns down that beautiful look is soulless.

  "Monday before we go home. We can stay a few more hours. I'll take the day off from school. I just have to be there for practice. I want it to be the one place that started it all: the pier. Then, we go home married, you plan a wedding, and I plan a surprise honeymoon. All you have to do is tell me when, and you and your mom can go crazy. What do you think?"

  I think I would do anything you asked me to you amazing man.

  "It sounds like a date, Mr. Abercrombie. I think I even have the perfect dress for the occasion."

  My smile most likely matches his. In a few short hours I can forever call him mine. It may be sudden, but at the same time it feels like it's been forever. The irony....

  "You've made me one happy man, and now I'm going to fuck you all over this yacht, my princess."

  Maybe so, but not as happy as you've made me. Yes, please! You are totally going to fuck me all over this yacht and I'm going to let you....

  He lays his lips against mine at the same time his hand slides between my legs, ready for the next round. I’m just glad this time we’re already naked.

  Chapter 15

  Breyson

  I begin to wake up from the deep slumber that I was in. I stretch like I do every morning and rub my hand down my stomach. I roll over to hold Kinzleigh, but she isn't there. Her spot is empty, but still warm. We had a late night last night, but a memorable one. That girl is my everything and so much more. Instead of tiring of her, each day I love her more than the day before as crazy as that really sounds. I always think my love for her has topped out, but then I surprise myself.