by Dawn Doyle
They kissed deeply, passionately, lovingly, as Beck’s movements slowed until he stopped.
Raven held onto him tightly, not wanting to move anywhere.
“You remembered,” she said through her breathlessness.
“Of course I did,” he replied, pushing her hair back. “How could I forget?”
Beck kissed her once more before releasing her, helping her up of the table.
“Babe,” Beck said as she was putting on her vest. “Do you remember that book I used, the one I gave you notes from?”
“It was the Principles of economics, right? The most recent one by Mankiw?”
Beck smiled. “You remembered.”
“How could I forget?” she repeated his words.
“Could you grab it for me, please?” Beck resumed fixing his jeans as Raven turned to the bookshelf to look for the book.
As she searched the spines for the names of the books, she found the place where it should be, but it wasn’t there.
What she saw there instead took her breath away.
Raven put her hands over her mouth, and her eyes filled with tears. She turned to see Beck down on his knees beside her.
“Raven,” he began, taking her hand in his. “You’re the reason I get up in the morning and the reason I get up.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Even when I was being an ass, you still saw something better in me, and knew I wasn’t the guy most people thought I was. I feel blessed that you gave me a chance, and I want to prove to you, every day, that you made the right choice.” Beck cleared his throat, his own eyes filling. “I love you. I have always loved you, and I always will. Raven…will you marry me?”
The hot tears streamed down Raven’s cheeks as Beck held her hand. He pulled out the little black box from the shelf, and opened the lid. Inside was a beautiful diamond ring, the solitaire surrounded by smaller pink diamonds.
“Yes,” she squeaked, and nodded her head. “Yes!”
Beck took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger. It felt amazing on her hand. He stood and held her in his arms, kissing her lips so tenderly her knees weakened.
“You’ve made me the happiest man alive, Raven. I promise I’ll do my best to make you happy for the rest of your life; our lives.”
“You already make me happy, baby,” she said, running her hands up his hard torso, over his chest, his shoulder, then his neck, until her fingers tangled in his hair. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Beck lead Raven through the library and to the doors. He pulled it open, gesturing for her to walk through first.
Raven’s stomach flipped.
Outside, on the grassy area, was the entire alumni, the Dean, the professors, and at the front… her family and friends.
Beck wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his side.
“She said yes!”
The whole crowd erupted in raucous applause and cheers.
“Oh my God!” Raven shrieked. Beck pulled her tight to his chest.
“Congratulations!” Her family members wrapped their arms around them in a group hug, quickly joined by their friends.
“Don’t worry.” Ava managed to get in close enough to whisper. “We were only here for a couple of minutes before I brought everyone over. Nobody heard anything.” Raven’s face flushed hot. “Ray-Ray, you naughty girl,” Ava laughed.
“Pictures!” Mike called out.
Raven was handed her cap and gown to have pictures taken with Beck. She placed her newly decorated hand on his chest as they smiled for the camera.
“Gorgeous,” Mike beamed, showing his teeth, as he took a few shots.
Raven heard Leila sigh from a few feet away, making Raven giggle. The poor girl had it bad for her uncle.
When the crowd dispersed, and Raven could breathe again. She pulled Beck down so she could whisper into his ear.
“So this is why you insisted on me coming today?”
“Baby, I insist on you ‘coming’ every day.”
“Beck!” she swiped at his arm, making him laugh. “You know what I mean.”
“Yes I do.”
“You’re really attached to me; huh?” she smiled. “More, now, than before,” she added, looking at her sparkling engagement ring.
“Raven,” he said, gripping her hands, and holding them to his chest. “I was attached to you the moment I knocked you on your ass.”
Epilogue.
It had been a wonderful year since Beck had proposed to Raven.
They’d organized the wedding in no time with a lot of help from their friends and family. The only reason they had to wait so long was because the venue Raven had fallen in love with wasn’t available sooner. Beck had made sure she’d gotten what she wanted, not budging when Raven mentioned she would be happy to hire somewhere else that was available at an earlier date.
It was worth the wait, though.
The hall had been decked out with the perfect arrangement of flowers. The same ones her dad had sent to her in college; Beck’s idea.
Her bouquet was the same and so were the bridesmaids, Ava, Kerry, and Leila.
All that was left to do was to get there on time.
Two days.
Two days until Raven Valiente was to become Raven Traynor, and she couldn’t wait.
Raven’s parents, and their friends, were all gathered in their living room. Enjoying the small afternoon get together they’d put on before the big day, and then the two-week honeymoon to Hawaii, which came highly recommended by Kerry and Leila.
Beck’s dad couldn’t make it until the wedding, which wasn’t a surprise, and his Mom wasn’t flying in until the big day either.
He tried to hide it, but Raven knew Beck was hurt. It was a one-time thing, and they still couldn’t manage to clear their schedules for their only child.
That didn’t matter though. Raven’s parents more than made up for their absence. Beck, her dad, and uncle Mike had gotten really close. Even so much as them going out together. Raven had an idea it was with an ulterior motive, but he’d been all smiles when he got home. Subsequently she’d been all smiles when he’d taken her to bed afterwards.
“Hey beautiful,” Georgio said, hugging her tight. His smile wide “How are you doing?”
“I’m ok, dad,” Raven replied, smiling up into his big, brown, emotion filled eyes. “I’m just so happy.”
“I’m glad, honey.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m so proud of you; both of you.”
“Thanks, dad.”
Raven looked over to Beck, who was talking to Donnie. As if sensing her he turned, beamed, and gave her his usual sexy wink. She swooned inside.
“I can’t believe my baby’s getting married,” Jayne said, approaching them. “Two days to go, and you’ll be a married woman.”
Raven’s smiled dropped, and heart beat faster. She remembered she had something to do that morning, and had forgotten when Beck had gotten out of the shower. Seeing him wet and barely covered had her mind turning to other things.
“Excuse me, for a minute.”
Raven ran off into the white and chrome bathroom with stone colored porcelain floor tiles. She reached into the bag inside the cabinet, and took out the box she’d purchased the day before.
Carefully holding the contents underneath her, she relaxed.
She washed her hands and then paced up and down the bathroom.
“Baby, are you ok? Beck asked as he knocked on the door.
He’d seen her rushing across the room. Of course, he would be concerned that she was alright.
Raven knew she couldn’t hide it. He had a right to know what was going through her mind.
“I’m ok, babe,” she said, opening the door wide to let him in. “There’s something I need to show you, though.”
“What is it?” he asked, then paused when his eyes landed on the stick lying on the counter. “Is that..?”
“It is,” she replied, chewing on her lip. “We haven’t been using anyth
ing Beck. I’m not even on the pill, and now I’m a week late,” she spluttered. “I’m amazed this hasn’t happened sooner.”
“Ok, so, what’s the result?” he asked, calmly, surprising Raven.
“I don’t know, I’m scared to look.” A tear rolled down her cheek and Beck quickly swiped it away with his thumbs.
“Hey, don’t cry,” he said soothingly. “It’ll be ok, I know it.”
She didn’t know how he could be so calm. She was freaking the fuck out.
Raven gasped, and her heart jumped in her throat when Beck walked over and picked up the test stick. He picked up the box and looked between the two, checking the result.
He blew out a relieved breath, and a big smile spread across his face.
“See? I told you everything was going to be ok,” he said walking over to her and wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her into his side.
“It’s negative?” she asked, wondering why she felt sad at that news.
“No, it’s positive,” he grinned. “We’re going to have a baby.”
The End.
Bonus scenes
Want to know what happened when Kato went to Beck’s dorm? When Beck got to New York?
Do you want to know about Kato when Georgio met him at the college?
Keep reading for the bonus scenes…
Bonus scene.
Beck finds out…
Beck was looking through the photos of him and Raven on his phone. He smiled to himself. He couldn’t believe he was so lucky to have her.
She’d seen him for the person he really was. Saw through all of his bullshit facades and still wanted him regardless.
She’d made him feel worth something more than just a convenience.
A knock at the door caught his attention. Looking at the time, it was after two in the morning. It was probably Raven, forgetting something or maybe wanting to stay for longer.
He hoped so.
He opened the door with a smile. It dropped when he saw who it was.
“What the fuck do you want?” he asked Kato, who was standing there with a smug smile that Beck wanted to beat right off his face.
“Look Beck,” he began, putting his hands up. “I’m not here to fight. I’m here because my cousin told me something in confidence, and it’s about you.”
“What is it?”
Beck’s stomach rolled. If his cousin in admin was giving him information freely, that meant nothing was safe from him. He could find out about anything. Not that he had anything to hide, but Kato could very well get personal information about Raven, Donnie, or anybody else for that matter.
“Can I come in? It’s not something you want people to overhear; trust me.”
Beck stepped back and begrudgingly let Kato into his room. He felt uneasy him being there. He didn’t trust him one little bit.
“So?” he asked, getting him to spit out whatever the fuck he needed to say.
“Raven filed a report against you,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching.
“She did what?!” he asked in disbelief. It was an incredulous thing to suggest.
“Yeah, she came into the office and filled out a report about your behavior towards her. Man, I thought you two were tight. Did you have a fight or something?”
“No!” Beck almost yelled.
Kato wasn’t making any sense. Things between him and Raven were perfect. He was happy and so was she, he thought, and she’d even told him that his actions, although annoying because she couldn’t stop her feelings, got her all hot. After her telling him that, he’d made her hot again; naked hot.
“You’re full of shit, Kato. Do you think I would honestly believe Raven would do that?” he laughed.
“I knew you’d say that,” Kato replied and reached into his pocket, pulling out a folded up piece of paper. “Take a look for yourself.”
Beck took the paper from his hand and read it.
It was in type print, and it stated that he’d made sexual advances towards her, pursued her relentlessly, made sexual suggestions to her and touched her inappropriately, even after telling him to stop.
“It’s signed,” Kato added, pointing to the fresh blue ink at the bottom of the page.
Beck saw the signature. Sure enough, it was signed RJ Valiente. He didn’t know Raven had a middle initial, but there it was.
Beck dropped down onto his bed as his chest burned.
Why? Why would she do this to me?
“Well I thought you should know that a copy has already gone to the Dean,” Kato said, his expression looking as though he was holding back a smile. “See ya.”
Kato left, closing the door behind him.
Beck didn’t have the strength to argue. His heart was breaking right there in his dorm.
He knew that once the Dean saw the report, he’d be kicked out of college. The mark on his name would follow him everywhere, and his dad would be furious. Not because it would hurt Beck, but it would look bad for business. He had no choice but to call him, because his mom lived too far away to do anything.
“Dad,” he said when he picked up, his voice thick as his eyes filled. “Something’s happened. I think I need to leave.”
“What?!” his dad roared down the phone.
Beck told Jack what Kato had told him, and showed him only moments before.
“How could you let this happen, Beck?” Jack yelled. “What the hell were you thinking? Do you know what this could do to the business; to me?”
There it is.
It was as though his dad hadn’t thought about how it affected Beck at all. It was as if he didn’t give a shit, which didn’t surprise him in the slightest.
It made him think about all of the phone calls he’d had from him. They weren’t to see how he was or how college was going. No, it was to ask him to look through paperwork for him and come up with projections for possible mergers. He was indirectly working for his dad before he’d even graduated.
“Look, I’ll send a car for you.”
“I need to graduate…”
“I realize that,” Jack cut in. “I’ll get the Dean to let you continue off campus. You’ll probably get through it faster that way anyway. Fewer distractions.”
“I want to stay with mom for a while,” he whispered, leaning over in an attempt to calm the pain ripping through his body. “I need to clear my head.” The tears began to fall down his face, something he’d never done before over anything. Even his parents’ bitter divorce.
“I think that’s best, too. Keep the focus off you. We don’t want people sticking their noses in and finding about this.”
Of course not, dad. I wouldn’t want my fucking heartbreak to inconvenience you.
“I’ll book a flight now for first thing. Hurry up and pack; a car’s on its way.” Jack ended the call without so much as an ‘oh I’m sorry, son’ or even a goodbye.
Feeling devastated and sick to the stomach, Beck put his phone into his pocket and packed his belongings. Inside his closet, he saw the box where he kept something he’d taken from Raven.
Opening the lid, he held the slippers he stole from the party at O-week. Then he picked up the photograph he’d taken and printed out from their very first day. The same day he’d knocked her on her ass.
He’d knocked her down, but it was him who had fallen…for her.
Beck fell to his knees, crying silently into his hands. His shoulders shook as he sobbed. His stomach tight as pain coursed through him.
Raven had betrayed him.
She made him think she felt the same and then ripped his heart out.
What made it worse? He felt as though he’d deserved it.
Bonus scene.
Lost in New York.
Beck had lost count of the days he’d spent in his room, too distraught to do anything. Too upset to speak to anybody, and too upset to go out.
It had been two months, and yet he sat in his room alone, wondering why he couldn’t get Raven out of his mind. She’d betr
ayed him in the worst possible way.
He’d been broken with what she’d done, yet he was broken without her too. The constant battles in his head telling him he shouldn’t still want her after what she did were driving him crazy. Crazy enough to shout at himself to stop.
When he’d managed to speak, he’d called the college to leave a message. After losing his phone, he had to get a new one but never had a backup, so calling the college was the only way to contact them as he and Donnie hated social media and didn’t have accounts.
“Hello, Gable College, how can I help you?” The woman’s voice said on the other end of the phone.
It sounded like Veronica who was Kato’s cousin. Beck swallowed down the lump in his throat as the memories of the night Kato had shown him the report.
“Yes, this is Beck,” he almost whispered. “Beck Traynor. I was hoping you could pass a message along to Raven Valiente. I don’t have her number.”
“Yes; of course, Beck. What would you like me to say?”
“Um… Could you ask her that if it’s all a lie, to call me on this number?”
He knew it was a little cryptic, but Raven would know what he was talking about. If she didn’t, he hoped she would call to clarify. He hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. It could’ve been that he was in denial, but he needed to know for sure.
“Ok, I shall get that message to her. Anything else?”
Donnie still hadn’t returned his call from the day he arrived, so he decided to ask again.
“Yeah, Donnie never returned my call. Did he get the message?”
“I gave it to him myself,” Veronica replied happily.
“Could you please tell him I need to speak to him? It’s important.”
“Of course. I’ll get the message to them immediately.”
