One Year Later
The trip to Negril a year ago was life-changing for the entire crew. Joaquin and Meaghan finally succumbed to their feelings for each other, which had been brewing for quite some time. They made it official a month after the trip, and things were going well.
On the last day on the island, Ryan proposed to Octavia. They had a short engagement and were married two months later. She recently found out she was pregnant with their first child.
Adam fell in love with a beautiful Jamaican woman.
They kept in contact, and he visited several more times over the past year.
One of those times, the woman became pregnant, and two months ago, he sold all his assets, quit his job, and moved to Negril.
Thus far, he was doing well and considering opening a beachside restaurant.
Fateema had no idea when she blew up at Lynx the day after his father was buried that it would change their relationship for the better. After their heart-to-heart, things between them moved in a positive direction.
It had been years since Fateema and Lynx had spent so much uninterrupted time together, and she found it refreshing. They were intentional about each other, and it paid off almost immediately.
Almost every day, Lynx did or said something that made it easy for Fateema to fall in love with him.
Her love for him already ran deep, but she wanted to be sure his love for her ran deeper.
Fateema didn’t have much relationship experience, but she knew that in successful relationships, the man loved the woman more than the woman loved him.
There was a time Lynx didn’t think he could live without Fateema close by.
However, when they went away to college, he became used to her absence and only seeing her sporadically.
He missed her and cherished every moment they spent together when they connected, but living on his own made him selfish and set in his ways.
He had no desire to move back to Chicago and liked the freedom of coming and going as he pleased, not answering to anyone, and living life by his rules.
It wasn’t until Fateema snapped at him that he imagined his life without her.
It was something he never thought was possible, and he didn’t like how it made him feel.
After a year of traveling back and forth between Chicago and DC, the couple would finally move in together. With the help of their friends and Fateema’s father, Frasier, it had been in the works for months, unbeknownst to Fateema.
As a realtor, Meaghan pretended she had to write an article for a magazine about the process of choosing a dream home. Fateema agreed to go through the process with her, and she chose the home of her dreams in a suburb just outside of Chicago.
Lynx bought the house Fateema chose and, over a period of a few weeks, had it prepared for them to move in. He accepted a job with a company in Chicago that had been heavily recruiting him for years, tripled his salary, and said goodbye to the city that had been his home for over ten years.
“Where are we going?” Fateema asked Lynx.
“Are you ever gonna not be nosy?”
“Not a chance, so tell me.”
He shook his head. “This dude I used to work with in DC took a job out here a few months ago. Him and his wife are having a dinner party, and when I told him I’d be in town, he invited us.”
“This isn’t how I planned to spend the weekend before our birthday, but I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone you work or have worked with. This should be interesting.”
“There are two more days in the weekend that we can celebrate, baby. You know I got everything covered, right?”
“I know.”
“Why do you think this dinner party will be interesting?”
“I don’t see you interact with people outside of our circle very often.”
“You know I don’t fuck with people like that.”
“I know, which is why I’m looking forward to this.”
Lynx chuckled, and they continued to converse about their plans for the weekend. The closer they got, he became nervous and hoped Fateema didn’t notice the familiar neighborhood and cars parked on the street. He grabbed her ass and pulled her against him to distract her.
“I love you, Bunny.”
“I know, and I love you.”
They kissed briefly before tearing themselves away from each other and walking toward the house. Lynx continued to distract her with meaningless conversation until they reached the door. Lynx put his hand on the handle and turned the knob.
“Baby, what are you doing?” Fateema asked, confused about him trying to enter someone’s home without ringing the doorbell.
“It’s cool, baby. He told me the door would be unlocked.”
He turned the knob and let her enter first.
“Surprise!” everyone shouted.
“Ahh!” Fateema screamed before grabbing Lynx and moving him in front of her. “Lynx, what’s going on?”
“Calm down, baby. Happy early birthday.”
She cautiously stepped from behind him and focused on the people in front of her. When she noticed they were her friends, a few family members, and coworkers, she relaxed but remained confused.
“Okay, I’m totally confused. Somebody start explaining.”
Meaghan was the first to speak. “Happy Birthday, sis. Does anything look familiar?”
Fateema slowly looked around, and suddenly, her memory was flooded with memories of her dream home. As she walked further into the space, everyone's eyes were on her. Tears blurred her vision when she noticed the pictures in the frames were of her and the people she loved.
“Meaghan, is this—” She turned around to confirm her conclusion with her friend and saw Lynx on one knee. “Oh my God!”
“Bunny, from the moment you sat down with me at the lunch table in sixth grade, I knew you were special. Having you as my best friend has been the most fulfilling part of my life. When things between us shifted, I took our love for granted, and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you, if you allow me. I should’ve made you my wife a year ago, as we promised, but I didn’t deserve you.
I hope I’ve proved myself worthy of your love because it would make me the happiest man on Earth if you would do me the honor of being my wife. ”
“Yes, yes, a million times yes!”
As everyone cheered and applauded, Lynx slipped the ring on her finger, stood, and wrapped his arms around her before lifting and spinning her around. She cupped his face and pressed her lips against his. As far as they were concerned, they were the only ones in the room.
After minutes of getting lost in each other, he placed her back on her feet, but she remained in his arms as they disconnected. Neither of them could believe their promise to each other as adolescents would finally come to fruition.
“Can we get married tomorrow?” she whispered against his lips.
“Whatever you want, Bunny.”
She put some space between them and turned to face their family and friends. “I have an announcement.”
“Let’s hear it,” her father said.
“I’m pregnant!” she exclaimed.
Fateema had taken a pregnancy test a few days ago and hadn’t shared the positive results with anyone, not even Lynx. He turned her back to face him as he smiled from ear to ear.
“You’re having my baby?” He gleamed with joy as she nodded. “I love you so much, Bunny.”
“I love you too, Lynx.”
THE END