Giving You Forever

by Ashley Wilcox

  – NOLAN –

  “Hey, doll?” I knock on the bathroom door before cracking it a little to peek in. “Are you…” I continue, but stop when I see her hunched over and standing with both hands gripping the bathroom counter with her head looking down and eyes shut. “Are you feeling sick again?” I softly ask, coming up beside her and rubbing her back gently with my hand.

  “Just a little nauseous again.” She looks up and smiles after taking a deep breath.

  Hating seeing her like this, I push her hair out her face and plead again. “Would you please call the doctor on Monday, sweetheart? I don’t like seeing you like this.”

  “And say what? That I’ve been feeling more tired lately and getting nauseous every once in a while? It’s just stress. We’ve had a lot going on lately.”

  Exhaling and still rubbing her back, I give in. “K, but if it gets worse...”

  She turns and looks at me with a sweet ass smile.

  “I’ll call the doctor.”

  And she says I’m stubborn?

  “Thank you,” I snicker, kissing the top of her head. “Are you ready?” I look at my watch, now only thirty minutes until our appointment. “We gotta get going.”

  Eyebrows scrunched together, she asks, “Doesn’t it only take ten minutes to get there?”

  What is it with women and having to wait until the last possible minute to leave?

  “Well, you never know with traffic, and it doesn’t hurt to be early,” I say, giving her a smirk.

  “I am hardly ever late!”

  “Did I say you were?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.

  “No, but I know that look, and that’s what you were insinuating.” Her hands now on her hips.

  Laughing at her adorableness, I hook my arm around her waist, pulling her into me.

  “Let’s go, baby doll,” I smile, leaning down and kissing her lips.

  “Oh my god, babe. Look at these cakes,” Alexa quietly says while looking through the binder of cakes sitting on the table as we wait for Buddy to meet us.

  After only waiting a few minutes, he comes out into the waiting area, greeting us, then sits with us for a while, shooting out ideas and different ways that they can make things. Though, they kept asking what I thought, I couldn’t stop looking at the happy as hell smile on Alexa’s face the whole time. There’s nothing in the world I love more than making that girl smile. Her happiness is all I ever care about.

  “So, are you good with that, babe?” she asks, breaking me out of my daze and showing me the sketch that they came up with.

  “Uh, yeah, it looks amazing. I’m pretty sure we don’t need that much cake for just a hundred guests, but hey, I’m okay with eating cake for days!”

  “Do you think it’s too much? Should we cut it down?” she asks, biting her lower lip.

  Draping my arm around the back of her shoulders, I kiss her temple before responding, “No, it’s perfect, doll.”

  – ALEXA –

  My adrenaline is pumping as we walk out of Carlo’s Bakery, it almost feels unreal. The sketch he drew was absolutely stunning–all white, three tiered with beautiful, elegant patterns pressed on each layer, and dozens of edible flowers cascading down the sides. I seriously can’t wait to see it. I almost don’t care about anything else.

  Lacing his hand with mine, Nolan says, “So that was fun, huh?”

  “Fun?” I look at him with an “are ya serious” look. “That was incredible!”

  He chuckles at my enthusiasm.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” He looks down at me with warmness in his eyes, making my heart swell.

  So in love with him.

  Dropping his hand, I wrap my arms around his waist while we walk down the sidewalk.

  “Thanks, babe. I still can’t believe it, and the fact that they’re going to deliver it all the way to Syracuse…it’s just crazy!”

  “It’s amazing how much you can get for the right price,” he winks and I almost ask how much that price tag is, but I decide against it. I think it’s better left unknown. Besides, now we have an extra five grand because Nolan refuses to pay Meg.

  “So, lunch?” he asks, raising my hand to kiss my knuckles.

  “Yes! I’m starving.”

  – NOLAN –

  “Did you see this?” Alexa asks, looking through the dessert menu.

  I look at her like she’s fucking insane after the amount of food that we just ate.

  “How can you even be looking at that thing right now?”

  She shrugs her shoulders with the cutest damn grin.

  “Never mind, I don’t need it,” she says with a frown, closing it and placing it back at the end of the table.

  “Doll, if you want dessert, than get dessert. Just don’t expect me to help you with it.” Her eyes are bigger than her stomach, and whenever she orders dessert she eats, like, two bites before passing it over to me.

  Eyes brightening back up, she pulls the menu back in front of her and opens to the page she was drooling over.

  On cue, the waitress returns, asking if we are interested in dessert. I raise my hand in Alexa’s direction.

  “The lady would like some.” I grin.

  With a smile reaching both sides of her face, warranting a mass of warmth to spread throughout my body, she points to the picture. “Could I please have a s’more sundae?”

  “Sure.” The waitress writes it down. I wonder if it’s really necessary to have to write down one simple thing. “Nothing for you, sir?” she asks, turning to me.

  “No, I’m good, thanks,” I respond, casually shaking my head.

  After picking up some of the dirty dishes on the table, she turns to go fix Alexa’s sundae that’s sure to keep her on a sugar high for the remainder of the day.

  “So, what other plans do we have?” Alexa asks, folding her hands over the table.

  “Whatever you’d like,” I wink, leaning forward and resting my hand over hers. “We could go into the city and see what shows are playing…” I stop there, seeing her eyes open wide with excitement. “I guess we’re going to see a show tonight.”

  Moments later the waitress returns with the most ridiculously sized sundae, dripping in marshmallow, chocolate syrup and enough vanilla ice cream and crumpled graham crackers to feed a fricken army.

  “Hear ya go, sweetie,” the waitress smiles, placing it down in front of Alexa. “I brought two spoons just in case.” She winks.

  “Jesus Christ, who the hell can eat somethin’ like that?” I say, shaking my head, shocked as Alexa starts digging in.

  Catching some topping that’s about to fall from her mouth with her hand, she mumbles, “Oh. My. God…this is heaven!”

  Not being able to help it, I burst out laughing, watching her basically making love to the damn thing, closing her eyes and moaning after every bite.

  I never thought I’d be jealous of a fucking sundae!

  Avoiding the stiffness that I can already feel forming in my pants, I pull my phone from my pocket and pull up the show times for tonight, needing a distraction.

  “Anything good?” she asks in between bites.

  “Mama Mia?” I’ve never heard of it.

  “I’ve heard really good things about that one.”

  “You have?” I ask with a raised brow.

  “Yeah, Jamie told me about it.”

  Of course he did.

  “It’s about a daughter that gets married on some Greek isle…”

  “Oh! How ‘bout this one?” I cut her off, hearing enough about a show that talks about being suitable for kids in late elementary or middle school. “Kinky Boots.” I wiggle my eyebrows.

  She rolls her eyes.

  “Kinky Boots?” she questions. “Isn’t that a drag show?”

  Quickly opening the description underneath the title, I exhale, disappointed when I see a man dressed as a woman on the main page.

  “Never mind,” I tell her, definitely no longer interested.

  “Have yo
u ever been to the Empire State Building?” she asks, switching the subject.

  “No, actually. I don’t think I’ve ever been.”

  “Me neither. Can we go there tonight instead? Clearly, we’re not going to be able to agree on a show,” she smiles the smile that makes me weak every time.

  “You sure? Cause I’ll sit through some crazy people singing about love or some guy dressed up in drag if that’s what you wanna do?”

  Letting out the sweetest damn laugh, she shakes her head.

  “I’d rather kiss you at the top of the Empire State Building, instead.”

  And now I’m fucking hard!

  Check, please!

  – ALEXA –

  With my arm looped with Nolan’s, we walk down the streets of Manhattan, taking in the sites, killing our necks from looking up along the huge buildings so many times. We tried to fit everything in–the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center… I tried to get Nolan to go to the Twin Tower Memorial site, but he said he couldn’t. It’d bring back too many memories that he just didn’t want to approach–this is supposed to be a weekend of happy time for us, not full of emotional heartaches. I understood. It’s an emotional place even for people that didn’t lose their loved ones that day, so I didn’t push it further. Our last stop as originally planned is at The Empire State building.

  “After you, my lady,” Nolan sweetly tells me, motioning inside the elevator once the doors opens.

  “Thank you, kind sir,” I kid, walking inside.

  Once the doors close, Nolan boxes me in, one arm on each side of my head, and brings his mouth close to my ear, already warming my body with his breath.

  “It’s a long ride up,” he tells me before swirling his tongue along the perimeter of my ear.

  Already an ache forms between my legs, completely taken by his words. The man can turn my body from normal to blazing hot within seconds.

  Sliding my hands up underneath the front of his shirt, moving them up the hardness of his abs, he inhales deeply, making me grin. I love the way his body also reacts to mine.

  “What do you suppose we do to fill the time?” I can barely manage to whisper as his mouth traces my jawline, stopping inches from my mouth. The smoldering look that he gives in return is enough of an answer to know what he’s thinking, but he replies anyways, pushing his hips hard into mine before removing the space in between our lips, slipping his tongue inside.

  Quickly, I get to work, unbuckling his pants and slipping them down low enough to where his erection springs free.

  “Mmm, doll,” he moans into my neck as he picks me up, pushing me harder into the elevator wall, cupping my butt with one hand while he moves my panties over with the other one, slipping his length inside.

  I wrap my arms around his neck as our mouths find one another again, running our tongues together, moaning in pleasure while we do.

  Within seconds, my hands are tangled in his hair, gripping it firmly, causing him to quicken his pace.

  “Shit, doll,” he heavily breathes against my lips, forehead resting on mine.

  “I’m close, baby,” I hum back almost to my breaking point, not able to hold on much longer. Everything seems so much more intense–so much more sensitive and amazingly wonderful.

  “Me too. Come with me, angel. Scream my name.”

  And that’s all it takes, hearing Nolan seductively talk to me, his voice filled with ecstasy is my undoing, causing me to tighten and clench around his shaft, screaming out his name while he unravels inside of me.

  With no time to spare, Nolan kisses my forehead with a cocky grin before placing me back on the floor and zipping up his pants. Other than having soaked panties, and my heart beating out of my chest, there’s nothing that I have to put back together before the doors chime open. That was the epitome of a quickie. And sure enough just as Nolan turns around to face them, the doors spring open with a batch of people waiting to enter.

  With a dirty smirk on his face like he’s been up to no good, he laces his hand with mine, squeezing it before exiting.

  – NOLAN –

  “Do you think they had any clue what they just walked in after?” Alexa asks once we get out onto the deck.

  I look down at her, a smile covering her entire face while biting down on her lower lip.

  “Baby doll, I don’t care if they saw what just happened in there. That was fucking hot as hell and I’ll tell anyone that asks.”

  This warrants a cute as hell giggle, and a blush of pink to warm her cheeks. She looks so damn adorable and innocent right now that you’d never know that she just screwed me in an elevator. My girl is nothing short of perfect. Innocent on the outside, and a sex lord on the inside. I’m one lucky man, that’s for sure.

  “Oh my, babe. Look at this view,” Alexa says in awe, standing next to the side, overlooking the city below us.

  I wrap my arms around her waist from behind, and she naturally lets her head fall back into my chest.

  “It’s amazing,” I answer, emotions running high, flooding my body.

  “Babe?” she asks in a soft sweet voice.

  “Yeah, baby.”

  “I love you more today than I did yesterday.”

  Snickering to myself, I gently kiss the side of her head before answering, “I love you every day more than the last.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  – ALEXA –

  By the time we get back to the ferry to take us over to New Jersey, it’s past midnight. My feet are killing me, my legs are ready to give out at any moment, and I’m hungry…again.

  Taking a seat at the front of the boat, I slip my shoes off and drape my legs over the top of Nolan’s.

  “Feet hurt?” he asks, already picking the one closest to him up and massaging it.

  Ahh…that feels so good.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” he smiles, moving onto the other one.

  Resting my head against his arm, almost half asleep, my darn nausea comes back and bad, suddenly feeling every movement of the ferry.

  Oh my god, I think I am going to be sick!

  Jumping up off of Nolan’s lap, I bend over the side of the boat, and throw-up…completely disgusting and incredibly unattractive, but it was either in the ferry or over it, and I’m sure everyone would have preferred the decision I made.

  Quickly standing up behind me, Nolan grabs my hair, holding it back while gently rubbing my back with his hand.

  “You okay, baby doll?” he asks and I’d love to give him the obvious answer “No!” but with how sweet his face is and the obvious pain me not feeling well causes him, I answer, “Just a little sea sick, I think.”

  Helping me back down and sitting me back on the bench, he continues, “But you were alright on the way over to the city?”

  “I also had a full stomach then,” I point out.

  Running his hand through his hair and looking distraught, he says, “You need to call the doctor, sweetheart. Something isn’t right.”

  Knowing that it’s going to drive him crazy until I do, I agree. “Okay, I’ll call the doctor on Monday.”

  Wrapping his arm around my shoulders, pulling me snug into his side, he kisses the top of my head before saying, “Thank you.”

  Immediately when we get back to our room, I shower and brush my teeth, feeling repulsive, then grab my pajamas and crawl into bed. Again, I feel bad that I’d rather go to sleep than have sex with Nolan–we never have weekend getaways and the one we finally get, both nights all I’ve want to do is go to sleep.

  Curling up beside him, I wrap my arms around his waist as he sits with his back against the headboard, watching TV.

  “Why don’t you go to bed, baby?” he softly says, kissing the top of my head.

  “You don’t care?”

  “Why would I care?”

  “Cause we’re not having sex again tonight.”

  “Seriously?” he says, shocked. “I couldn’t care less. I just wanted a weekend away with you. Not a fuckfest. Not to mentio
n that you just hurled over the side of a boat. Not the biggest turn-on,” he kids with a joking smirk.

  Only he can make the most vulgar words sound sweet.

  Reaching up and kissing his lips, I say, “I love you, babe.”

  “I love you, too, baby doll,” he kisses me again. “Now get some sleep.”

  The next morning we just kind of veg, not really having the time to go do something before we have to check out. Since I haven’t talked to my mom in a while, I figure the drive home would be a good opportunity to do that. She answers after just a couple of rings.

  “Hi, honey. How are ya?” she greets me, obviously seeing my name on their caller ID.

  “Blah,” I say in response.

  She chuckles at my exaggeration.

  “Why, what’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know, I’ve been feeling crappy for over a week now.”

  “Did you call your doctor? Could be your iron.”

  Sometimes I wonder if she and Nolan share a brain.

  Eww, no! Definitely couldn’t.

  “No, not yet, but Nolan has demanded that I do so on Monday. I don’t think it’s that, though. I’ve been getting really nauseous and even threw-up last night.”

  She pauses.

  “Have you gotten your period lately?”

  “I’m supposed to get it any day, and no, I’m not pregnant.”

  “And you’re taking your pills at the same time every night?” she continues, still on the kick that I could be.

  “Mom, I’ve been on birth control since high school. I think I know how I’m supposed to take it.”

  Now getting Nolan’s attention, he looks at me with a raised eyebrow, but I just shake my head no and mouth “I’m not pregnant.”

  “Did you use alternate protection when you were on your antibiotic?”

  Huh?

  “Why would we use alternate protection when I was sick?” I ask, almost annoyed with her ridiculous questions and not believing that we are having this conversation.

  She snickers.

  “I think you may want to make an OB appointment tomorrow instead.”

  “Why?” I’m quick to question.