22. Marry Me
TWENTY-TWO
MARRY ME
Rylee
Every piece of me wants to cry right now, but I’m too shocked to do anything. I didn’t know exactly how he was going to react, but I wasn’t expecting him to leave. Or maybe I was and I’m just fooling myself. I message Marcie and ask if she can keep Abby for a couple more hours and to let her know I have pizza if she wants it. I need some time to myself so I can digest everything that just happened and figure out what I’m going to do moving forward.
As I amble into the living room, I pull the blanket off the couch and throw myself down on a cushion. I can do this. I can make this work. It will be trying at times, but I’m resilient. I kind of have to be when others are relying on me. I rest a hand on my belly. A tear rolls down my cheek, until it’s absorbed by the blanket. Exhaustion takes over and I close my eyes.
* * *
A knock on my door jolts me awake. I blink several times as my eyes adjust to the darkening sky. I peer at the clock on my phone when another knock echoes through my apartment, a little louder this time.
“Rye! Open up!”
“Trey?” I mumble to myself. I leap off the couch and race to the door, pulling it open. His fingers grip the door jamb, turning his knuckles white. The strands of his dark hair are tousled, giving the impression he’s been running his fingers through it. Our gazes meet. His normally bright eyes are dull and tired, like he hasn’t slept for two days even though it’s only been two hours. The deep ridges on his forehead are etched with regret.
He sucks in a deep breath. “I sat in my car for over an hour processing everything. My life. Where I want to go. Where I want to end up.”
I exhale the breath I was holding as my hand clutches my heart. “Oh. Trey—”
“Please let me get this out.” The lines on his face soften slightly. “I can’t let my past dictate my future. I can’t let my ex lying about being pregnant affect who I am now. You’re nothing like her. I need to move on from the past. You're strong, fearless, independent. Everything that anyone could ever want. You’re everything I want. The only thing I need.” His hands drop from the door frame. “I don’t have a clue what I’m doing, but I want to be there for you and Abby and the baby. I’m going to screw up but know that I will always be there. I’ve lived my life selfishly because why not? I had no other responsibility besides myself… until now.”
He reaches out, his fingers tremble as they wrap around my hand. Slowly, he slides down on one knee. My heart jumps out of my chest. “Trey.” My voice quivers. “What are you doing?”
“Rylee. Marry me.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a white paper ring coated with black ink. Carefully, he slides it down my ring finger on my left hand. “It’s a little big. I didn’t know exactly what size it needed to be. Abby taught me how to make it, but she never showed me how to size it. Doesn’t matter. I’ll buy you a real one. The jewelry store isn’t open right now.”
I don’t know if I’m going to burst into tears or pass out. Both are viable options right now. “Trey. Stand up,” I grit between my teeth. “Trey.” I pull him to his feet. “What are you doing? Why are you doing this?”
His gaze jumps across my face, searching for the perfect words. “Because I want to do the right thing. I want to be there to support you, Abby, and the baby. I want to take care of you.” He glances up at the ceiling. “Yeah. That’s all I got.”
I drag him inside my apartment and close the door. “I’m not marrying you.” His face falls as if I told him his puppy just died. “Let me finish. It’s not because I don’t want to, but we’re friends.”
He flinches. “I’m starting to hate that word.”
“Look, I like you, but I’ve been down this path before. Get pregnant. Get married.” I motion my hand around my meager apartment. “Get left with this. I’m not ready to do it again.” I exhale a breath. My hands tremble as I work up the nerve to ask my next question, mostly because of what his answer will be. If yes, I know I won’t be able to say it back. If no, then he's doing this for all the wrong reasons. “Let me ask you this. Do you love me?”
Trey's entire body goes still. If he didn’t just blink, I would think he was a statue.
“Exactly.” Suspicions confirmed. I wrap my fingers around his and press his hand to my chest. “This is far too complicated for either of us to digest right now. Marriage isn’t going to fix anything.” I snort a laugh. “In fact, it will make things worse. How about this? For the time being, we continue getting to know each other and navigate the pregnancy together.”
Trey offers me a sheepish smile.
I pull the paper ring off my finger and hold it in my palm. “You can have this back.”
“No.” He gently closes my fingers around it. “Keep it. Maybe one day I’ll get to put a real one on your hand.”
Tears well up in the corners of my eyes. “Dammit Trey.” I playfully slap his chest. “You can’t say things like that and expect me to not say to hell with it. That my plan is stupid, and we should just go for it.”
A salacious grin spreads over his face. “Too bad we’re not in Vegas right now because I would carry you over my shoulder to a chapel and make it official.” He wraps his arms around my shoulders and pulls me to his chest.
“Again, off track.” His body against mine is warm and comforting. But I’m still not at ease. I pull out of his grasp, needing some space between us so I can get out what I need to say. “But there is one thing you need to know. You can’t walk away when it gets tough. If you do, you can’t come back. See, I don’t have that option.” I splay a hand over my stomach. “I’m not going to be that girl anymore. You’re either in or you’re out.” Moisture pools in the corners of my eyes, afraid of what his answer will be.
“Fuck, Rye.” In one giant step, he’s in front of me, wrapping me in his arms. His hand gently caresses up and down my back. “I’m sorry. I’m in. One hundred percent. I’ll be here for you, Abby, and the baby.” He continues to slide his hand over my spine, as seconds tick by in silence. He leans back just enough to peer down at me. He brushes a loose strand of hair off my forehead. “I know you don’t need me, but I need you. I need you like my next breath.”
I snuggle into his chest as a lone tear rolls down my cheek. Those were the words I needed to hear. Maybe things will be different this time. Maybe the universe will give me a happily ever after.
His hands lazily slide over my shoulder blades. “One more question.” I peer up at him as a lazy smile spreads across his lips. “We can still have sex, right?”
I drop my forehead to his chest as my shoulders shake with laughter. “Sex is still definitely on the table, but not the actual table because I don’t want to get a new one again and I still don’t have the one you got me.”
“It’s being built as we speak.” He buries his nose into my hair right above my ear and whispers, “Any thoughts on starting right now?”
I glance up and nibble on my lower lip. “Abby is at Marcie’s, so we have the apartment to ourselves.”
“I’m all about seizing every opportunity.” He bends at the knees and lifts. I wrap my legs around his hips, cup his cheeks, and slam my lips to his. He breaks away long enough to walk us to my bedroom.
* * *
I’m lying next to Trey, my cheek resting on his chest as the rhythmic thumping of his heart lulls me to a half sleep. His thumb brushes up and down my bicep as he holds me close to him.
“Can I go with you when you go to the doctor?”
“Of course. I’m going to call and schedule an appointment tomorrow and I’ll let you know when.” I trail a finger over every rise and dip of his abs.
“When are you going to tell Abby?”
“I’ll wait until after the doctor's visit and everything is confirmed.”
His thumb stops. “Can I tell her with you? If that’s okay. Since I’ll be in your lives for the foreseeable future, and I’ve grown quite fond of my chipmunk.”
My heart melts that they’ve developed a connection and even have nicknames and secret handshakes with each other. “Yeah. We can tell her together.”
“Also, there are four bags of baby things in my SUV. I didn’t know what to buy, so I started throwing things in my cart.”
I sit up, resting my elbows on the mattress. “Baby things? I just told you.”
“Well, after I sat in my car for an hour and made your ring. I went to the store. I wandered up and down the six aisles of baby things. How can a baby need so many things? And how do you know where to start? As I was pushing my cart along, I got nervous that people were watching me fumble my way around, so I just threw stuff in the cart and got out of there.”
My hand flies up to my mouth as I choke back a half sob, half laugh. “Slow. We’ll take this slow. Okay? There is no baby yet to need things.”
Bright silvery gray eyes meet mine. They’re filled with excitement and nervousness. All the things I’m feeling as well. I press a soft kiss to his lips in hopes of reassuring him we got this.
My phone buzzes from the pocket of my jeans that are haphazardly thrown across the dresser. I roll out of bed and retrieve it. A message from Marcie pops up along with a slew of other messages I ignored while Trey and I were pre-occupied.
Marcie
Why is there so much banging?
Marcie
You do know I share a living room wall with your bedroom, right?
Marcie
Ooooh! The moaning tells me all I need to know.
Marcie
I had to lie to your child. I had to tell her you were moving furniture, that’s where all the noise was coming from.
Marcie
When she turns eighteen, I’ll tell her the actual story.
Marcie
Are you done? Already? I’ve had gas last longer than that.
Marcie
Oh! Nope! Just switching positions, I hear.
Marcie
I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone make that noise.
Marcie
Or that one.
Marcie
Twenty minutes and still going strong.
Marcie
He’s a keeper. You’re making me second guess my relationship status. Does he have an older brother? Hot single father?
Marcie
It’s silent. Now you must be done.
Marcie
Fucking hell. DJ just gave Tonya another rose.