No wonder she'd always stayed locked up in his bedroom while his parties were going on she thought as they came back through with the mattress. Rob clapped Tony on the back when they'd come back out and asked if he was having a party for new years'.
Tony said no. Rob left with a disappointed look on his face.
When the door was closed behind him Tony turned to her. "Sorry. The guy's kind of a moron."
"Yeah, I got that. Did people really have orgies in your living room?"
"I guess."
"Yuck."
"No more parties Tor. After New Year's no more drinking, no more partying. No more adolescent bullshit. It's time to grow up."
"What if I don't want to grow up?"
"You're the one that's always saying you can't wait until you turn eighteen so you won't have to deal with your mother."
"I know. Did you bring your sheets in? Can we put them on?"
"Don't you want to eat dinner first?"
She made a face. "Do we have to?"
He laughed. "No, we don't have to. But weren't you griping at me for not wanting to eat breakfast just yesterday?"
"Yeah, yeah. Your fridge is stocked with leftovers. You want me to warm up a couple of plates?"
"Sounds good to me. Aunt Lori's leftovers taste better than anything you can get at any restaurant."
She dug through the plastic bowls in the fridge, and saw that everything was labeled. There was turkey, stuffing, potatoes, dinner rolls, salad, three different kinds of pie and whipped cream. She made them both up a plate and carried them into the living room.
"Thanks babe.”
"Do you think Carl and Andi are still coming by? It's starting to get late."
"Who knows? They've probably spent the last couple of hours having sex in the back seat of the jeep and no longer need the use of my air mattress. It's not much more comfortable than the jeep."
She got up, taking the plates back to the kitchen. "What kind of pie do you want? Cherry, pecan or pumpkin?"
"How about we skip the pie for now? I've got to help my favorite girl forget all about some guy she saw today with a nose ring."
Tory smiled. "You'd look hot with a nose ring Tony."
"Don't think so darlin’."
"How ‘bout your lip or your eyebrow?"
"Uh, no."
"What if I get one?"
"So you can match your new boyfriend?"
"Yes Tony." She ran her hands under his shirt. "Don't you owe me a picture of your sexy butt in a tight pair of jeans and your naked chest all sweaty because we've just gotten done having sex?"
"Mmm. I think I do. Guess we'd better get busy."
He led her to the bedroom, where they put the sheets on the bed and then quickly stripped. He started out urgent in his lust and then slowed down, his eyes locked on hers. She let herself enjoy looking at him this time; forcing herself to keep looking at him when she came, though it felt strange.
He let out a quiet groan a moment later and said “I love you Tory," as he reached climax. He leaned down and kissed her, then moved back to his side of the bed, digging around in his jeans.
She thought he was looking for a cigarette, and then noticed that his cigarettes were on the nightstand. Maybe he was looking for his phone, she thought. Hers was still in the living room. She got up to get it, but he stopped her.
"Wait a sec Tor."
Then he was kneeling naked on his bedroom floor; taking her hand. He flipped open a velvet covered ring box. Her heart was suddenly beating triple time.
"I know that you may not be ready now, but I don't want to wait any longer to ask you Tor. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Tory, will you,” then "Damn could they possibly have any worse timing?" as a loud knock sounded at the front door.
"Hold that thought." He pulled on his jeans.
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Granted, her boyfriend was a drug dealer who had been out of town for a few days. But someone coming to buy drugs when he was in the middle of proposing she thought? She pulled the sheet up around her, reaching for a cigarette.
"Who the fuck is it?" She heard Tony say from the living room.
"It's me Tone, open the damn door."
It was Carl. What was he doing here now she thought? It was almost nine o'clock. He'd called around 5:45 or so. With the way he'd sounded on the phone, there was no way in hell he'd waited to screw Andi.
"Kid," she could hear Tony saying as they came down the hallway. "You could not have worse timing. I’m trying to be romantic and proposing to the love of my life and you come banging on the door."
"Oh." Carl sounded sheepish. "Sorry Tone. How the hell was I supposed to know you were proposing? Can we still borrow your other bedroom? We've been driving around for hours now, trying to find someplace to do it."
Tony sighed. "Go ahead. What the hell was wrong with the old make out spot?"
"There were cops up there. Some chick supposedly got raped up there tonight."
"If some girl was up there with a guy," Tony grumbled. "She knew what was coming."
"That's not true," Andi protested. "Making out doesn't have to lead to sex."
"Yeah." Tony let out another sigh. "I guess I should be thankful that it was you two and not some junkie. Now, that would totally have killed the moment. Go on. Go have your makeup sex so that you can get home before curfew."
"Thanks Tone," Carl said. "I know I can always count on you."
"Get out of my sight. I have to run damage control with the woman."
Carl laughed. "She's not gonna tell you no just because we interrupted you, Tone. Tory loves you. It is Tory isn't it?"
"You really are an asshole,” Tony said.
She could hear Carl laughing as they went down the hallway.
Tony opened the door and came back into the bedroom, giving her a half-hearted smile. "Sorry, baby." He kneeled beside the bed again and took her hand. "What I'm trying to say Tory is that I know we've had our ups and downs, but the time that I spent without you made me realize how much I need you in my life. You make me want to be a better man. There's no one on this earth that I'd rather grow old with. No one that I'd be prouder to say is the mother of my children. I may not be much now, but someday in the not too distant future I hope you'll be as proud to have me as your man as I've always been proud to have you as my woman. I'm not excepting you to marry me tomorrow. You can decide when and where it happens. If it takes twenty years, I'll wait. I'll go to the end of the earth and back baby if you want me to. So." He pulled the ring out of the box. "Tory Louise Collins, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?"
"Oh Tony."
She was going to start crying. She had imagined this moment with Jude before, wondering when and where it would happen. But it couldn't have been better than this. Looking at Tony, even with the now loud sounds of sex coming from down the hall, even if she'd had sex with Jude and he with her teacher, she'd never been surer of what she wanted in her life. Even if they were both mostly directionless, and would have a rough road ahead of them, THIS was what she wanted.
She put her arms around him. "Of course I'll marry you Tony."
"Wooh." He pulled back and gave her his usual cocky grin. "For a minute I was afraid you were going to say no."
Which was pretty funny she thought because the voice of Andi broke in from down the hall saying "Oh Carl, yes."
Tory had to laugh. "You think he's in there proposing too?"
Tony snorted. "Nope, but I'll bet he did it already. He's not gonna let that one get away."
Carl's voice broke in then. "Oh, oh Andi. God Andi, I," then a quiet sigh, indicating his release. "Love you."
They could hear the door open and then Andi knocked softly. "Are you two decent?"
"I suppose," Tony said. "C'mon in guys."
Andi was wearing Carl's t-shirt, holding the bundle of her clothes in her arms. "Can I borrow your shower Tony? My Dad's got a nose like a bloodhound
. He can smell sex on me a mile away."
Tony laughed, shaking his head. "Go ahead."
"Thanks." She went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
Carl was standing uncomfortably in the doorway. "Don't just stand there kid. Either come in or get out."
"Sorry Tone." Carl came in and sat down on Tony's side of the bed.
"Nothing to be sorry about. You okay?"
"Yeah, I just. . ."
"Just what bro? Spit it out."
"I'm gonna miss Andi so much when she goes back home."
"No reason to miss her now. She's in the damn shower.”
"I know." Carl sighed. "But they're leaving New Year’s Day. That's only 5 days away. I don't know how I'm going to survive without her."
"You've got a cell phone. She's got a cell phone. There are computers, there's the postal service. It's only six months before she's back here. Her parents already said they'd let her stay with her grandparents over the summer right?"
"They haven’t exactly said yes. But I’m sure she can work on them, especially if she gets into Crestview. It's gonna suck so bad. Six whole months without her."
Tony got up on the bed. Tory moved over so he could sit beside her. "Listen kid, nothing worth having is ever easy to get or to keep. It's comes too easy, it ain't worth it. Don't you remember how hard I had to fight for this one? Andi walked back into your life and she was yours at hello. You are one lucky man Carl. You'll make it work. Yeah, it's gonna suck without her. I can barely stand the thought of Tory going back to school because she won't be in my bed every night where she belongs, but I'm gonna deal with it."
"But Tory will just be at Crestview. At least you'll be able to see her on the weekends and stuff."
"Those six months are gonna be done and over with before you know it. You keep busy, you study, you work your ass off to be able to give the girl you love the life that she deserves. You talk to her on the phone, you instant message her on the computer, you write her twenty page love letters and send them in the mail. You're lucky that her parents can see past the puppy love and see that you two have a future together. Not a lot of parents would let their daughter spend the summer with her grandparents so she could be near her boyfriend."
"Her grandma could use the help though. She's got this big huge house. It's too hard for her to do everything by herself."
"So there you go. When you're not working this summer, you help out too. It's never hurts to get in good with the in laws ahead of time, right Tor?"
"Sure Tony."
"Hey," Carl said. "How's my future sister-in-law?"
Tory gave him a puzzled frown. "Sister-in-law? What makes you think I told him yes?"
Carl's face crumbled. "Oh, shit Tone. I'm sorry."
Tony gave her a dirty look. "She was fucking with you. She said yes." He held up her left hand, showing Carl the engagement ring.
"Bitch," Carl mumbled under his breath.
Andi came out of the bathroom then, drying her hair. "Who's a bitch? I hope it's not me."
"No," Tony said. "Of course not. He was talking about Tory. She was teasing him. How's MY future sister-in-law?"
Andi gave him a bright smile. "So much better now."
She looked at Tory, whose hand was still on top of Tony's, engagement ring glinting even in the dim light from the lamp on the nightstand.
"She said yes? That's so cool. Can I see your ring Tory?"
Tory held out her hand so Andi could get a better look. "Oh, it's so pretty Tony. I can't wait until Carl has enough money to get me one. It's gonna be great to wear his class ring. But an engagement ring? Then everybody knows you're gonna get married."
Tony gave Carl a knowing look. "I think you're gonna be okay while she's at home. Your girl seems pretty devoted."
Carl was blushing. "It wasn't that I was worried about."
"So what are you worried about? You love her, she loves you. That's not going to change because she's in a different city."
"A different state," Andi said, biting her lip.
"Oh, yeah," Tony said. "I forgot you guys moved out of state. But like I was telling my cousin here, who seems to think six months apart from you is going to put him in an early grave. When two people love each other, there's nothing that they can't survive. You two are in it for the long haul. Make the most of these last few days you have together. Make the most of the time you've got apart to better yourselves. So that when you do get to be together again, you'll be that much better and stronger, together."
Tory squeezed Tony's hand. Who'd have ever thought that that so much wise advice could come out of the mouth of a twenty-one year old drug dealer she thought?
"Oh, shit," Carl said suddenly. "I'm supposed to have you back at your grandma's by ten aren't I?"
Andi nodded, face crestfallen. "Yeah, we'd better go."
"You guys wanna hang out tomorrow?" Carl said.
"You just want to use my spare room to get laid again," Tony said. "I thought Tory was addicted to sex."
"Hey." Tory gave him a dirty look.
"I didn't say I didn't love every minute of it." Tony grinned. "Sure Carl. Give me a call when you wake up, let me know when you want to come over."
"Cool," Carl said. "Hey Tone, did Mom tell you that your mom called the house on Christmas?"
"Yeah, I don't why she didn't call me."
"She said that she didn't want to bother you. Mom said that she sounded really good Tone. That's awesome."
"It is," Tony said.
"Mom also said that you're thinking of leaving if they let her out of that place. Is it true? Are you leaving us?"
"I think that it's going to be hard enough for Mom to deal with being out. All her memories of Dad are here. I don't want her to get better and then get out and freak out again."
"Yeah," Carl said. "It sure as hell would be pretty boring around here without you though."
"I won't leave you behind. Your parents will let you come visit. Between you and me, how long has it been since your parents had a weekend to themselves?"
"Oh, yeah," Carl said, and then made a face. "Why did you have to make me think about Mom and Dad having sex?"
Tony laughed. "I caught my parents a time or two when I was in high school. Your parents are younger than mine so you know they still get it on."
"Yuck," Carl said. "That's just wrong."
"My parents still do it." Andi shrugged.
Carl shivered. "Can we please stop talking about old people doing it?"
Tory laughed. "Hey, my mother is engaged to a seventy-four year old. You think your parents having sex is disgusting, think how I feel."
"Damn Tor," Carl said. "That sucks." He glanced at his watch again. "We gotta get out of here, Andi. Your dad will kill me if I bring you home late again."
Andi sighed. "I know. But they already love you compared to my brother's girlfriend. She has purple hair, her tongue is pierced and she has a nose ring. They don't care that she gets straight A's and volunteers all her time on the weekends to help out kids with learning disabilities. I don't think that it helped that they caught her giving my brother a blow job in our back yard on his birthday though." She laughed. She turned to Tory, giving her a hug and then kissed Tony on the cheek. "I'm so happy for you guys. Are you sure you don't want to be alone tomorrow? To celebrate your engagement?"
Carl gave her a wounded look. Tory knew that he was hoping to get laid again. Tony laughed at the look on Carl's face. "Don't worry. I've got a lot of work to do tonight to make my future wife forget about nose ring."
"Nose ring?" Carl laughed.
"I'll tell you tomorrow. You'd better get your girl back to her parents."
"Right," Carl said. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"See ya," Tory said.
"Bye guys. Have a good night," Andi said.
"Oh, we will." Tony grinned.
When the front door has closed behind them, Tony turned and looked at her. "You know the kid's gonna go home an
d tell his mama that we're engaged. Then she's going to be calling and she's gonna wanna talk to you. You ready for it?"
"Is she going to ask me if I'm pregnant?" Tory wrinkled her nose.
"Not Aunt Lori. Though when she tells Uncle Keith he'll probably bug her until she makes you take a pregnancy test."
"You're kidding right?"
"Of course I'm kidding. But he will ask. And she'll get mad at him of course. There's no way she'll let him mention it in front of you, so you won't have to worry."
His phone rang and he picked it up with a smile on his face since he was expecting it be his aunt. "Hello." Then his smile faded. "Mom?”
After several minutes he told his mother goodbye and that he loved her, and then shut his phone with a sigh. "I was afraid of that."
"Is your mom okay?"
"Of course she's not okay. I'm sorry baby. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I knew this was going to happen, I just didn't think it would be this soon. She's doing so much better. I'm not even going to ask how anymore. Maybe she hasn't been taking her medication. It doesn't matter. She's back in touch with reality and it messes her up. My Dad's still gone, her son is grown. Her nephew who she looked at as a son too; because don't think that Carl wasn't at my house as much as I was at his when we were growing up; is almost grown too. He was still a kid when they put her in that place, barely thirteen. She's scared that Uncle Keith and Aunt Lori are going to hate her forever for what she did. More than anything she wants out of that place, but she's scared to death too. It's going to be hard for her to convince even a good doctor that it's okay to release her because she's already really depressed. Granted, half of it right now is the fact that she's locked up, but depressed is depressed. Even if you’re suicidal because you're locked up in a room while life goes on without you, you're still suicidal right? And she still doesn't know that her son is a drug dealer which would mess her up even more. I've got to get my shit together and get her the hell out of there, and then get us all the hell away from this town. If they let my mom out and someone talks about me dealing, the shit is going to hit the fan."
He sighed again. "She asked me if I thought she could be out in time to see you graduate. I told her I don't know. Then of course she got upset, thinking that she was going to embarrass you being there because she'd been in a mental hospital for three years. I told her you weren't like that. Then she got upset about ME being ashamed of her. Tor, will you go with me when I visit her tomorrow? I know that it's not a dream come true to go visit your future mother-in-law in a mental hospital, but I think it would mean a lot to her. Prove to her that I'm not ashamed of her."
Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set Page 135
