by R. C. Martin
“Holy fuck,” he mutters, earning my full attention. As soon as our eyes meet, he crooks a finger at me, beckoning me toward him. Hesitantly, I close the distance between us, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth as he hooks an arm around my waist and presses me against his front. “Wear the dress,” he grunts, giving me a squeeze. My blush returns as he smirks down at me before he says, “Just this once. I promise you’ll never wear it again.”
Arching an eyebrow at him with a smile, I ask, “You promise?”
“Babe,” he grunts, dipping his head so that his nose touches mine. “When the night is through, so is this fucking scrap of fabric. It’ll be in pieces when I’m done with you.”
A shiver runs down my spine as I press into his chest, suddenly excited about the prospect of him ripping my clothes off to get to me later. “Okay,” I reply, my voice only loud enough for him to hear. “I’ll wear the dress.”
“Good.” Taking my hand in his, he turns away from me, looking to Brooke as he insists, “Let’s roll.”
She stands with her hands on her hips, her gaze shifting from Coder to me, then back to Coder. “I don’t know what you just did, but that’s one party trick I’ll be remembering,” she says, lifting an eyebrow as she flashes me a coy grin. She then turns down the hall, calling out, “Owen? Did you bring in the—”
“Got it.”
As we enter the main room, I see Owen hand her a little, square shaped, spiral notebook. Brooke holds it up, showing off the custom cover that reads: Kenzie’s 21st Birthday Album. I tilt my head in question, and she giggles before she says, “Tonight, we’re crawling. We’re hitting eight different bars, and at each location, we’ll all be helping you complete a special birthday scavenger hunt. At the end of the night, this spiral will be full of awesome random shit. You ready to party?”
I smile at my best friend—partly because I’m nervous about what this scavenger hunt will consist of; partly because I’m excited about what she’s planned; but mostly because, in spite of all that makes us different, I love her to death.
“I’m ready. Let’s do this.”
By the time we make it to bar number two, I’m tipsy enough to ignore my already aching feet, and I’m having so much fun. As we walk into the establishment, Brooke leads us straight to the back of the bar, the table she had reserved for us being the only vacant spot in the popular venue. There are just four stools at the high seated table, and Brooke, Willow, Lilibeth, and I call dibs, leaving Coder, Owen, Pete, and Rigs on their feet.
I was really excited to hear that Rigs would be in town to join us tonight, especially because I knew that meant he’d bring Lilibeth. I adore her. They started seeing each other a few months after he broke up with Piper—who, turns out, was really just an unhappy person. It’s weird to think about, but Coder told me Rigs ended things because of the way Piper treated me. At first, that made me feel really guilty—even though I hadn’t done anything—but Coder assured me that Piper treated a lot of people the way she treated me. Rigs overlooked it, something he couldn’t do when it came to me. He liked me too much. Coder’s one of his best friends, and apparently, dumping Piper was more like choosing Coder.
In the end, it’s all worked out for the best. He met Lilibeth in Wyoming. With her living there and us living here, we don’t get to see her nearly as much as we saw Piper. Fortunately, she spends most of Rigs’ Colorado weekends with him, so I’ve gotten the chance to know her. She’s a little bit wild, but sugary sweet, and she makes Rigs really happy.
“Okay—first, we need shots!” cries Lilibeth. “But I also want to know what’s the second item for this hunt.” She rubs her hands together, waggling her eyebrows in mischievous excitement, making me giggle as Brooke pulls out my birthday notebook. Our first stop yielded a bunch of autographs from the patrons of the bar, all of them wishing me a happy birthday. I was surprised by how many strangers wanted in on our game, but I sort of loved it, too.
“So, this one is more like a dare. You have to say yes to three things. You won’t know what these three things are until they happen. But when they do…” Her voice trails off as she reaches inside of her bag and pulls out an old, polaroid camera. “I’ll be capturing them for posterity, and adding these to your notebook.”
“Oh, my god—please tell me that the first dare is a blowjob shot,” Lilibeth begs.
“Yes!” Willow laughs. “That’s perfect.”
“On it,” says Rigs before he heads to the bar.
“Wait—a blowjob shot?” I look behind me, titling my head back to see Coder. He smiles down at me, his hands around my hips giving me a squeeze. “What’s a blowjob shot?”
“No hands, babe.”
His answer leaves me confused until Rigs returns, a waitress following behind him. When she sets the shot glass in front of me, towering in whipped cream, suddenly no hands makes sense. I look to Brooke, who can’t stop laughing, and then back down at the shot. A blush fills my cheeks when my mind fills with thoughts of Coder’s dick, reminding me that I know how to do this. Not only am I sure I can do this with no hands, but I know that I’ll be able to swallow without choking.
“This is so embarrassing,” I cry, covering my face with my hands.
“Come on, babe,” coaxes Coder as he pulls my hands from my face, holding them in his own. “Show them how it’s done.”
“I’m so going to record this,” says Willow from across from me, pulling out her phone. “Daphne and Grace have to see this.”
My blush deepens, and Lilibeth drums the palms of her hands against the table, egging me on. “Come on, Kenzie-girl, say yes!”
“I can’t believe I’m about to do this,” I mumble. Shaking my head clear, I pretend that nobody is watching, and then I just go for it. When I pull the glass from between my lips, they all cheer, and I can’t help but to laugh.
As we settle in and everyone orders a drink, I opt for water—as do Owen and Willow, our DDs for the night. My body is already feeling warm and loose after the three shots I’ve had so far. As this is only our second stop, I know I have to pace myself. By the time I finish my first glass of water, I’m so lost in conversation, I forget that I’ve only had to say yes to one thing. When Coder tells me he’s headed to the bar for a beer, he asks me if I’d like another drink. I tell him I’m fine, and he leaves without protest.
He returns a few minutes later, setting his bottle on the table in front of me before curving his chest against my back and wrapping an arm snuggly around my waist. I relax in his hold, a contented smile curling my lips as I fold both of my arms over his. With his free hand, he reaches around me, finding my left hand before gently slipping a ring over my finger. My heart skips a beat as I immediately lift my hand in front of my face, and my breath catches as I look at the gorgeous stone he’s just put on me. I don’t know what it is, but it’s oval and it’s got this dull, shimmery shine to it—almost like a clear, polished rock, but prettier. It’s set on a rose gold band, and it’s huge on my finger. I can’t stop staring at it.
Coder kisses the spot just below my ear before his low voice rumbles, “Kenzie Mariah Willis, will you marry me?”
I gasp so loudly, I almost startle myself, and then I turn on my stool until I’m facing him. “You just called me Kenzie,” I blurt out.
He laughs, his remarkable grin lighting up his face. Reaching his hand out, he grips the back of my neck, gently pulling me toward him as he grunts, “Babe…” He doesn’t say anything else, his previous question still lingering in his dark eyes. My insides go squishy.
I stand to my feet and wrap my arms around his middle, arching my neck back before I give him the only answer I could ever give, “Yes.”
He then leans down and kisses me so well, I forget where I am.
Yeah—he still does that to me.
When he pulls away, I’m breathless and really glad I’ve got something covering my nipples right now.
Holding me tighter against him, he goes on to announce, “Found us a plac
e. A house. It’s small, but it’ll do for now.”
My whole body jolts in surprise as my jaw drops open. “I—I—you—what?” I barely manage.
“You just agreed to marry me. No way in hell are we going to keep doing this living apart shit.”
“But I can’t—I mean, a house? I can’t afford—”
“Hey,” he grunts, giving me a squeeze, making my insides tingle. “Am I your man?”
“Coder—”
“Am I?”
Holding up my left hand, I murmur, “I just said yes.”
“Fuckin’ right. I’m your man, and your man bought a house. Don’t need your money, we’ve got mine. I make plenty, and I’ve been splitting rent four ways for years. I’ve got more than a little nest egg. I can take care of us. Say yes, babe, so I can finish my beer and we can head to the next bar.”
It isn’t until he finishes his speech that I remember Brooke’s warning. You won’t know what these three things are until they happen. This is the third thing, the third thing I have to say yes to. It then dawns on me that he’s been planning this for a while—and Brooke was in on it—which explains why she hasn’t been at all concerned about where I’m going to live in two months. She already knew.
I look beside me at my best friend. She’s standing in Owen’s arms, the polaroid camera in her hands as she watches me with glee. I laugh when she rolls her eyes in playful exasperation before she mouths, Say yes! Then I look back up at my man. Pressing up on my tiptoes, I slide my hands up his chest and then around his shoulders, holding him tight as I stare into his eyes. He stares right back; and in our silence, I’m reminded that I am his and he is mine, and we are here because God is good, and He loves me very much. I don’t believe in luck or coincidence—and I’m sure that I cannot take credit for finding this man—this man that I love with all of my heart and all of my soul.
“Babe,” he whispers.
“Yes. I’ll marry you. I’ll move in with you. I’ll make babies with you. All of it—I want all of it with you.”
A slow smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth before he brings his lips a hair’s breadth away from mine. “Good.”
One Year Later…
I breathe out a slow sigh, looking down at my Oregon sandstone engagement ring, lit only by the dim light above the kitchen sink. Gripping my fingers around the basin’s edge, I wonder what I was thinking. This was such a terrible idea. I’m so stressed out and overwhelmed, I’m exhausted; and yet, I’ve never had so much trouble sleeping.
Reaching out to turn on the tap, I let the water run cool before I wet my fingers. Lifting my hair, I trace the tips across my neck as I inhale deeply and exhale slowly, willing myself to relax. When I feel Coder’s hands graze the bare skin of my upper thighs, I bring my hair to one shoulder and let my chin fall until it touches my chest. He skims his fingers under his t-shirt that I’m wearing, inching up the fabric to uncover my nakedness before he splays his hands across my belly, pulling me back against his bare chest.
“It’s almost three in the morning, Mack,” he mumbles, tucking his nose between my shoulder and my neck.
“I can’t sleep. My mind is just—I can’t get it to shut up. I don’t know why I did this. It was a stupid, stupid idea. What was I thinking?” My head snaps up as I scrunch my brow and ask, “What were you thinking? Why did you let me do this?”
“Don’t,” he grunts, forcing my body to turn so that I’m facing him. His thumbs press slow circles against the sides of my waist as he semi repeats, “Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Don’t act like it’s not going to be great, because it is. Every part of it. And if things don’t go exactly as we planned, fuck it. Who cares? At the end of the day, you’ll be a Bishop, babe. You’ll be my Bishop.”
I groan, curling myself against his chest as I try and let his words penetrate through my worry. This weekend is going to be insane, and it’s all my fault. For some reason, I thought it would be a great idea to celebrate my graduation with a wedding. I figured, family would be in town, we could kill two birds with one stone. Coder and I wanted to be married before I started grad school, and I didn’t want to get married in the middle of the senior year of my undergrad, so this summer was the ideal time. It seemed silly to have Beckham and Addie fly in from Tennessee, and Grayson and Avery from Illinois one month, only to have them come back one or two months later. They all have jobs; and with Beckham in the middle of his residency, I couldn’t ask him to make two trips. So—later today, I walk; Friday will be last minute wedding errands; Saturday is our rehearsal dinner, and then Sunday is our big day.
And I am the insane woman who came up with this stupid, stupid plan.
“I need you to listen to me,” he says, holding the back of my head as he speaks into my hair.
“’Kay.”
“Both of our moms have done this before. You’ve got Willow and Brooke—hell, you’re surrounded by people who have all been where we’re going. We’re the last to join the club, babe—know what that means?”
“What?” I whisper, circling my arms around his hips.
“You don’t have to worry about the slack. They’ll all be around to pick it up.”
“You’re right. I know you’re right.”
“So come to bed. You’ve got a big day today.”
I offer him a nod, not sure that I’ll actually get any sleep, but feeling tired enough to try. Taking my hand, he leads me to the bedroom through our dark house. He climbs into bed, slipping between the sheets and settling on his back. I crawl in after him, snuggling my body against the length of his side.
“Come ‘ere, babe. Give me all you got,” he insists. Grabbing behind my knee, he hitches my leg up, hooking it around his hips. Giggling, I plaster my chest against his, reaching my hand around to rest on his opposite side as I press my cheek against his shoulder. He traces his fingers up and down the length of my thigh, and I close my eyes, focusing all my thoughts on his touch.
As I finally begin to relax, it dawns on me that in three days, the man who wakes up in the middle of the night to check on me—he will be my husband. It’s the last thought I have before sleep graciously pulls me under.
The crowd that has gathered in honor of my achievement seems to take up half of the restaurant. My parents, Coder’s parents, Addie and Avery’s parents, and the Generation Ink crew are all here. We’re loud, complete with men who aren’t afraid to drink and get a little rowdy at three in the afternoon, toddlers that can’t sit still, and screaming babies who are more than ready for a nap. Yet, even in the midst of all the noise, I’m lost in the pair of bright green eyes that stare up at me. The little girl in my arms is more beautiful than any picture could capture. She makes my heart melt every time she smiles at me.
“Earth to Kenzie,” calls out Avery as she tugs on a tendril of my hair.
“What?” I lift my gaze to find hers, then remember that we were talking. “Oh, my gosh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to zone out on you—but this baby! Avery, she’s amazing.”
“It’s her eyes,” she replies with a knowing grin. “Her daddy’s eyes. They suck you in every time.”
“That’s exactly it.” Looking down at her once more, I murmur, “You’re going to be a heartbreaker, Charlee. Poor Grayson.”
“Okay, I’m back,” announces Addie as she fills the seat on the other side of me. “I swear this little boy just sits on my bladder all day, every day. Quick—tell me what I missed before I have to pee again.”
I laugh, looking over at Avery’s carbon copy. I’ve been able to tell the difference between them for a while now, but to anyone who might be meeting them for the first time this weekend, we’re fondly referring to Addie as the knocked-up twin. Her and my brother just found out that she’s carrying my second nephew, and I’m so excited to see her round with child.
Well, technically, their little bun in the oven is only my first nephew until the law says otherwise and I become a Bishop—then baby W
illis will be my second, and Pete and Willow’s first born will be my first. Looking down the table, I spot Dalton in Pete’s lap, happily banging his plastic toy against the table while Pete sips at his beer and laughs with Harvey (who is also on daddy-duty with Rosalie curled up against his chest) and Trevor (who is coloring with Caroline as he chats.) I smile at the sight of my favorite drool monster. Like all of the other Ink crew babies, he’s already my family. Has been since the day he was born.
“Kenzie!” calls out Addie, pulling me from my thoughts. I shift my gaze to find her laughing at me. “Sweetie, I think a nap is in your future. A very long nap.”
“You’re kidding right? I don’t have time for a nap. I’m getting married this weekend.”
“Kenz,” Avery starts to say, resting a hand on my knee. “If you don’t get a nap, you might zone out while reciting your vows. You have the attention span of a two-year-old right now.”
“Two! I’m two!” shouts Savannah from her seat just on the other side of Avery.
“Yes, I know, Vanny!” Avery gasps. “You’re getting so big!”
“Big sissy,” she announces, pointing at herself.
Daphne chuckles, running her fingers through Savannah’s blonde curls as she cradles baby Raleigh in the crook of her arm. “Yes, you are a big sissy. You’re mommy’s little helper, too, aren’t you?”
“Mmhmm,” she hums with a nod before returning her attention to the coloring sheet in front of her.
“Mommy’s little helper so long as Axel’s not in the room,” I murmur, earning me a laugh from both Daphne and Grace.
“My girl,” says Daphne with a shake of her head. “Boy crazy already.”
“Okay, Kenzie—focus,” insists Avery as she gives my knee another squeeze. “You were telling me about the program at UNC.”
“Right,” I shake my head clear and find my focus, smiling when I think about my academic future. “It’s going to be a really great fit. Or, at least, I hope it will be. I’ll be studying to get my Master of Science in Nursing, specializing in oncology. The commute will be new for me, but it’s only about a half an hour one way, so I’ll get used to it.”
