14. Memphis
FOURTEEN
Memphis
I pump into her until I spill every last thing I have inside of me. When my hips come to a stop, I’m too weak to pull away from her. I can’t do anything but hug her tightly, holding her body against mine. She runs her hand through my hair, trailing the tips of her soft fingers along my spine. Goosebumps rise to the surface, and a cold chill races over me. Only her touch has been able to make me feel this way. If that doesn’t say meant to be, then I don’t know what does.
“I need to show you something. Let’s get dressed.” I remove myself from her and pull my jeans back up my hips.
She smiles but sits up and gathers her clothes before going to the bathroom. An hour later, we’re loading up in my car to make the short drive over to the house I’ve found for sale. It’s only two blocks from the shop I’m soon to take over and four blocks from the vet’s office.
I turn into the driveway and shut off the car. She pulls her brows together as she looks up at the house with confusion. “Where are we?”
“Come on,” I say, nodding toward the house as I open my door to climb out.
She gets out and joins me in front of the car, slipping her hand into mine.
“What do you think?”
She looks at the overgrown shrubs lining the house and wrinkles her nose. “I think it could use some work.”
“I know,” I agree. “Don’t look at what it is. Look at what it could be.” I pull her over to the sidewalk in the center of the front yard. “We could brick over the front. Take out that little window there and put in a big picture window. We can rip out all this overgrowth and put in some landscaping. The backyard is huge. We could fence it in, and it would be perfect for the kids.”
“The kids?” she asks, her wide eyes full of fear and confusion.
Finally, I turn to her and drop down to one knee. “Jade Karma Seymour, I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you. I’ve wanted to make you mine since the first word you ever said to me. You remember what that was?”
She laughs. “Get lost, you creep?”
I laugh and nod. “That’s right. You told me to get lost, and I knew right then that no other girl would do. You were beautiful and feisty, and you took my breath away. I know we haven’t been together for any time at all yet, but that doesn’t stop me from knowing the truth. You and me, we’re meant to be together for the rest of our lives. Now, we can wait an acceptable length of time, or we can get started on our future right now. What do you say?”
She smiles and nods. “I don’t want to wait another day. I want our future now.”
I can’t hold back the smile that spreads across my face. I stand up and pull her against me, kissing her hard, until I’m out of breath. “I swear, I’m going to buy you the most beautiful ring money can buy and then I’m going to buy this house and fix it up. This is our dream house, baby.”
She looks from me to the house and back. “If anyone can make this place a home, it’s you.”
I laugh. “She’s old, but she’s got good bones. I’ll put in an offer first thing Monday morning.”
She squeezes me tight, and I breathe her in, happy that I’ll never have to live another day without her in my arms .
After I take her back home, I go to the garage to put in my hours and tell Dad all about the day I’ve had.
“I’m going to put in an offer for that house over on Market Street,” I tell him as I print out an estimate to send over to someone’s insurance company.
“Market Street?” He pulls his brows together as he tries to think of which house. “You mean that rundown piece of crap?”
I laugh. “That’s the one. I’m going to rebuild it. I figure by the time that Jade and I start having kids, it should be done.”
“Kids, huh? Don’t you think you should get married first?”
“I asked her today. Now I just have to go ring shopping.”
He holds up his finger. “I might be able to help you with that.” He tosses down the shop towel in his hands and runs out of the office.
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll be right back,” he yells, running out the door.
I shake my head as I send the email and then pick up the next thing that needs done. It takes me twenty minutes to get everything filed since Dad insists on having a paper copy of everything. About the time I’m finishing up, Dad is back with a little black box in his hand.
“This ring belonged to my mother. I would’ve given it to your mom, but my mother was still alive and wearing it when we got married. I asked your mom if she wanted it after her passing, and she didn’t. She was already too used to wearing the one I bought her, so this has just been sitting in a drawer for all these years. It’s yours if you want it,” he says, holding out the box.
I take it and inspect the ring inside. It’s rose gold in color and has one big diamond in the center with smaller diamonds surrounding it in a swirling pattern. I bet the diamond is every bit of two carats. This ring is far better than anything I could ever buy.
“Dad, this ring is amazing. How did Grandpa ever afford something like this?”
He chuckles. “My grandfather, your great grandfather, owned a jewelry store here in town. When dad decided he was ready to get married, he picked the best ring the store had. He paid what he could that day, and then he spent the next ten years working there on his days off from the mine to pay off that ring. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into that ring, so you better make sure that whoever you give it to is worth it, son.”
I look down at the ring and nod. “She’s worth it alright.”
“I think so too…especially if she took your sorry ass back after the shit you put her through,” he laughs out .
I roll my eyes and snap the box closed, sliding it into my pocket.
“When are you going to give it to her?”
I shrug as I sit behind the desk. “I already asked, but I want to do it again the right way. I need to plan something perfect. How did you ask mom?”
He laughs. “I asked her with a positive pregnancy test between us. Don’t wait as long as I did.” He turns for the door but pauses. “Just pick a place that holds special meaning for the two of you.”
“Special meaning? Like what?”
He shrugs. “A place you spent a lot of time. Recreate the date you took her on when you realized you loved her, something like that.”
I laugh. “I guess I could bring her here.”
“Here?” he asks confused.
“Yeah, we used to go at it on this couch like a couple of rabbits.” I smile, knowing what I’ve done.
His face goes slack as he looks from me, to the couch, and back. He turns and walks out, shaking his head and mumbling something under his breath, leaving me to sit back and laugh.
Even though I’m laughing and joking around, I think about what Dad said about the place I choose to propose. Back then, a lot of our time was spent at school, football games, parties, the garage, or one of our houses. I really don’t want to propose here in a dirty garage, but I doubt the school would be very romantic either. After hours of considering my options, I finally have an idea.
It takes me a week to get everything lined up, but finally, Friday night comes along, and we head to the football game with Blake and Pearl. The girls fill their arms with popcorn, nachos, hotdogs, and sodas before we take our seats on the bleachers. The team is playing against The Rangers tonight, and while this isn’t going to be anything compared to last week’s game, I know just the thing to make it memorable.
The four of us sit back and stuff our faces with more junk food than we should eat. We talk and laugh, remember the old times, and joke around as we watch the game. When there’s only a minute left in the second quarter, I stand up and excuse myself to use the bathroom. I head down the bleachers, and once I’m sure she’s not watching, I head back to the announcer’s booth. The clock counts down and the whistle is blown. Both teams start making their way off the field as the cheerleaders make their way to the center for their halftime show.
Darrel removes his headset and spins his chair to face me. “You still doing this?”
I nod with a smile in place. “I’m still doing this.”
“Let’s do it then.” He shakes my hand as he hands me over the mascot uniform. I pull the bodysuit over my body and put on the giant wild cat head, then we walk back outside where I join the cheerleaders on the field.
When the kids see me dancing around, they laugh, point, and jump up and down. It gets everyone’s attention, and before I know it, every eye in the place is locked on me. Most people are laughing and smiling at the fact that I very obviously don’t know the cheer. I look into the stands and find Pearl and Jade. They’re both watching me with wide smiles. She doesn’t even know what’s coming.