Chapter 12 #2
I cleared my throat to get their attention and cleared it again when they both looked over at me. For a moment, I couldn’t speak because it felt like my heart was beating in my throat. When I finally found my voice, it came out high and raspy. “Could I talk to you two about something?”
Charlie immediately dropped her phone, and Reagan’s face split into a wide grin. “Wait. Is this the question?”
Charlie slapped Reagan’s chest. “Let the girl speak. This is her moment.”
Some of my anxiety lifted due to the fact that they clearly knew what I wanted to ask them.
I sat down at the table and scooted my chair closer to theirs so I wouldn’t have to talk loud.
For a moment, I stared at my hands, but then I forced myself to make eye contact with them.
If I was going to do this, I was going to do it right.
“I’m not sure exactly when or how this is going to happen, but I would like your blessing in asking your daughter to marry me. ”
Charlie clapped her hands together and bounced up and down in her seat. “Yes. The answer is yes. Of course you have our blessing.”
Reagan’s eyebrows were furrowed as she held her hand out toward Charlie. “Now, wait a second.” She looked me straight in the eye, not a hint of a smile on her face. “First I need to know what your expectations are with my daughter.”
I opened and closed my mouth a few times as I tried to think of what to say.
That was a very loaded question. My expectations were to give Carter everything she dreamed of.
For her to never have to question how much I love her.
To start a family with her and raise our child with all of the love in the world. Where did I even begin?
Before I could formulate my answer, Reagan burst into laughter.
“Of course you have our blessing.” She reached out her hand and sat it on top of mine, her expression serious again, but this time with a softness to it.
“Jax, we were rooting for you and Carter long before you ever got together. You two are perfect for each other. We honestly couldn’t think of someone better for our daughter.
” She squeezed my hand, and a warmth spread throughout my body.
“You’re already family. This will just make it official. ”
I let out a long sigh of relief. I figured this conversation was going to go well, but I was still so nervous about it.
This was one of the most important conversations of my entire life, after all.
“Wow. Thank you. That means so much to me. Like I said, I’m not sure when I’m going to do it.
Sometimes I can be a bit impulsive, and since I don’t know exactly when we’ll see you these next few months, aside from Christmas, I wanted to make sure I asked you in person.
That’s not to say this is happening in the next few days or weeks by any means.
I sure hope I come up with a good plan within the next few months because all I want is to make her my wife. I also want it to be perfect and—”
Reagan interrupted my rambling by squeezing my hand once again. “No matter what you do, it’s going to be perfect. You and Carter were made for each other. Even if you proposed with a Ring Pop over breakfast, it would still be perfect.”
Charlie nodded. “Reagan’s right.”
Easy for them to say. They weren’t trying to propose to the most perfect girl in the entire universe.
***
A few hours later, it was time to go to the reunion. Olivia was driving us all in Ronan’s minivan (I still couldn’t believe the cool football player I met in college now drove a minivan), so the rest of us were okay to have some drinks.
I squeezed Carter’s hand in the back of the minivan. “How are you feeling about this?”
Carter smiled and nodded. “I’m feeling surprisingly good.”
“Honestly, you should be feeling great.” I ran my eyes up and down Carter’s body and the tight dress she had decided to wear. “You look sexy as hell. More importantly, you probably have the most impressive job of anyone who is going to this.”
Carter now squeezed my hand. “Most importantly, I’m going to have the hottest date there.”
I shook my head. There was no way I was going to let her get away with that. “Trust me, babe, I’m the least impressive thing about you.”
A few minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of a local sports bar that was apparently owned by a guy that Olivia had hooked up with in high school, which was how she was able to reserve it for the night with such late notice.
I put my arm over Olivia’s shoulder as we walked toward the bar. “I’m confused. If you were in charge of this whole thing, why didn’t you come early to set it up?”
Olivia laughed and ran a hand over her belly. “I pulled the pregnancy card.”
I laughed along with her. “Of course you did.” I removed my arm from her shoulder and turned toward Carter. “What about you? Doing okay?”
“Babe, I’m fine.” She wrapped her arm around mine. “With you on my arm, I can do anything.”
I leaned in and kissed her temple. “Don’t sell yourself short. You can do anything without me too.”
A sincere smile parted Carter’s lips. “Maybe, but I’d rather do it all with you.”
I patted her hand, as a feeling of being home swept through me. “Me too, babe.”
When we handed our tickets to the guy at the door (who I was pretty sure was another one of Olivia’s hookups), I was surprised to see how many people were already inside.
I knew the Miller-Cooper triplets had a pretty large graduating class, but I didn’t expect so many people to come on such short notice.
Although, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when it was Olivia planning it.
She did tend to have that effect on people.
Olivia and Ronan were immediately pulled away, so Carter and I went to the bar.
“What would you like?” I asked her.
Carter put her hand up and shook her head. “You’re my guest. I’m ordering the drinks. Red Bull and vodka, right?”
I nodded enthusiastically. As a woman in my thirties who already had way more energy than I should, I knew it was weird for that to be my drink of choice, but I loved it. “You know me so well.”
Carter waved at the bartender. “Hey, Craig!”
The bartender gave her a polite smile, but his eyes went wide when he did a double take.
Watch it, buddy.
Craig walked over to us, his smile now wide. “Carter Miller-Cooper, is that really you? Time’s been good to you.”
It took everything in me not to roll my eyes at him. Confidence could definitely make someone sexier and Carter was exuding it tonight, but it pissed me off that it took this guy over fifteen years to realize how amazing she was. A little late and a lot too male.
Carter leaned on the bar. “How have you been Craig?”
“Doing well.” He held his arms out. “Own my own bar. Sadly, I'm still single though.”
Can’t imagine why.
He looked around as if he was searching for someone. “I saw Marcie a few minutes ago. You two were kind of the it couple back in high school, right?”
Carter shrugged, but stood tall. “I guess so. That ended a long time ago though.”
“Damn. Still into women though?”
I didn’t like the way this guy was eyeing up Carter. I had no idea if he was acting like this because the reunion had him acting like a high schooler again, or if he had just never matured. Probably the second one.
Carter put her arm around me, pulling me tight up against her. “Still very into women.”
“Nice.” The way Craig was smiling at us really creeped me out, and I was definitely going to make fun of Olivia for hooking up with this guy. I didn’t care how long ago it was. “What can I get you ladies?”
Carter ordered our drinks, and luckily, while Craig was making them, he got deep into conversation with someone else. When he handed the drinks to us, he was too distracted to try to pick up our conversation again. Thank god.
When we turned away from the bar, I noticed a woman quickly avert her eyes toward the floor and realized it was Marcie. I chuckled and subtly nodded my head toward her. “I think a certain someone was staring at you,” I whispered to Carter.
“Who?” Carter sounded genuinely confused.
She’s so fucking cute.
“A certain ex that helped me get the courage to finally kiss you.”
Carter turned toward me, a look of surprise on her face. “Wait. What?”
I laughed. I had no idea what she was so confused about. “Marcie, obviously. Unless you have another ex I don’t know about.”
Carter shook her head. “I wasn’t talking about that part. You said she helped you get the courage to finally kiss me.”
I laughed again. “Babe, we’ve been over this so many times. I wanted you from the first time I saw you. A fake kiss to make your ex jealous was the perfect excuse to finally make my move.”
Carter laughed too. “Thank god for Marcie, I guess.”
“Definitely.”
“I should probably go say hi to her. You don’t mind, do you? I just feel like when you were close to someone for so long it’s stupid to pretend they don’t exist. I’d rather say hello and get it over with.”
“Of course I don’t mind. We both know who you’re going home with tonight. That’s what really matters. Just make sure you tell her I said thank you.”
“You’re not coming with me?”
“I’ll be over in a few minutes. I want to check on what Olivia is getting herself up to.”
I also wanted to give Carter the chance to do this on her own, because I could tell that’s what she needed.
Pride swelled inside of me as she confidently walked away.
She was still so much of the same person she had always been but was now a much more confident version of that person. And damn, was she sexy.
“Could you stop making sex eyes at my sister and take a shot with me?”
I turned to lift an eyebrow at Olivia. “I realize I’ve never been pregnant, but I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to take shots.”
“I know.” Olivia sighed. “That’s why I’m going to tell Craig to put water in my shot glass. I just feel like it’s been way too long since you and I have done one together. I miss our crazy days.”
“Let’s do it. Girl, Craig though.” I lifted a skeptical eyebrow at Olivia. “That guy’s a mess.”
“He was cool when we were in high school.” When I furrowed my eyebrows at her, she laughed. “Okay, he was a mess back then too, but that was hot when we were that age.”
“Was it?”
“For us heterosexuals, yes.” Olivia pushed me back toward the bar. “Now let’s do this.”
After finishing my shot, my eyes instinctively searched for Carter. I smiled as I watched her talk to Marcie. I was sure she was completely unaware of the fact that Marcie was currently drooling over her, which made the whole thing even better.
Olivia laid her head on my shoulder. “Aw, look at our girl. She’s completely killing it over there. Marcie is totally rethinking all of her life choices right now.”
“As she should be.” I sighed happily. “Her loss is my gain though. I’m going to marry that girl some day, you know.”
Olivia chuckled. “You better. I want us to officially be family.”
“Does that mean I have your blessing?”
Olivia took her head off my shoulder, so she could look at me. “Does this mean you’re finally going to ask?”
“Soon.” I hesitated for a moment. “Hopefully. As soon as I come up with the perfect plan, which so far, isn’t going too well.”
“If you need any help, I happen to know her pretty well.”
“I know. I just really want to do this on my own though.”
“You got this.”
I stared at Carter and Marcie. Carter had on her polite smile that she usually used around strangers, but I knew it wasn’t real. “What do you think they’re talking about?”
Olivia put a hand on her belly and pushed away from the bar with the other hand. “Let’s go find out.”