44
C ruz kissed up Erin’s spine, attempting to wake her. She stirred slightly, shifting away. He kissed along her shoulder blades before nipping her earlobe.
“Wake up, Ma?y.”
She turned her face away from him, whining into the pillow. Followed by a mumbled, “I’m sleeping.”
He chuckled. “I can see that, baby, but I need you to get up. Paetyn is making breakfast, and we have to visit Mom and Ancel in a few hours.”
“I don’t need breakfast.”
Cruz knew that wasn’t true, but he decided not to push and let her sleep. They’d gotten with their friends the previous evening to exchange Christmas gifts since they were all celebrating with their families for the day. The festivities lasted into the early morning hours, and he couldn’t blame her for being tired. He kissed her shoulder a final time before exiting the bedroom. When he entered the kitchen, he sat at the island, and Paetyn glanced at him.
“Did you wake her up?”
“Yes and no. She wanted to sleep, so I let her,” he responded.
“I’ll put her a plate up.”
Cruz nodded as Paetyn turned back to the stove. He decided to make her a fruit bowl once they finished eating. It would allow her to have something heavy or light since they were supposed to eat with their parents when they went over that afternoon.
They ate, and Cruz did the dishes after making Erin’s fruit bowl. He joined Paetyn in the living room to watch television until Erin woke up.
An hour and a half later, she came down the stairs dressed in one of their t-shirts, and he assumed panties. She walked over, kissing them both.
“Why didn’t anyone wake me?” she asked.
Cruz glared at her playfully as Paetyn chuckled. “Cute,” he said, shaking his head. “Paetyn put a plate in the microwave for you, and there’s a fruit bowl in the fridge.”
“Thank you. We can exchange gifts after I eat,” she responded, heading into the kitchen, and Cruz smacked her on the ass in retaliation for her question. No, she wasn’t wearing any panties.
Once Erin finished eating, they retrieved their gifts from under the tree and sat on the couch to exchange them. Cruz and Paetyn typically didn’t exchange gifts. After a while, it became hard to buy for one another mainly because they would buy anything they wanted or needed for themselves right then.
“Can I go first?” Erin asked.
“Sure, Angel.”
She handed them both a small, wrapped box. “You can open them at the same time.”
Cruz removed the wrapping and opened the box. Inside was a watch. It was nice, gold with black accents, something he would have bought for himself. He shouldn’t have been surprised that she knew him so well and had learned what he liked throughout their relationship. He glanced at Paetyn to find it was a watch, too. It was distinctively different from his and very much something Paetyn would have bought.
“Take them out and flip them over,” she requested.
He took it out and turned it over, reading the engraving on the back. Until time stops and the world spins clockwise. Love, Erin.
Cruz turned her to face him and gave her a soft kiss. “Thank you, Ma?y.”
“You’re welcome, baby.”
She turned her attention to Paetyn as Cruz returned the watch to the box. He placed it on the coffee table before handing Erin a small gift bag. She pulled out a jewelry box. Inside was a compass necklace. He’d come across it while looking for something to get her. He wanted something more sentimental, and while he’d liked the one he saw, he wanted something better quality. He decided to have it custom-made—a platinum pendant with an intricate design of the directions on the front. The back was engraved with, Leads me back to you . She smiled at him before thanking him with a kiss.
She opened Paetyn’s next and pulled out the two-star maps. The first was of her birthday, captioned with, The greatest gift was born this day , with her name, date of birth, and the latitude and longitude of where. The second was the day she told them yes, captioned The beginning of forever , with their names, the date, longitude, and latitude. They wanted to incorporate something important to them with something she enjoyed, the stars.
She thanked Paetyn the same way before gently putting the framed maps back into the bag.
“I have another gift for you if you’re okay with it,” she told them.
“Why wouldn’t we be?” Paetyn asked.
“It’s more permanent. I drew a tattoo design that I think represents us. It’s a simple design, and I wanted to give it to us if you’re okay with that.”
“I think something like that would be perfect for us,” Cruz responded.
“You don’t even know what it is,” she teased.
“We don’t need to. We know how talented you are,” Paetyn replied.
“You tell us when you want to do them, and we’ll make time,” Cruz added. “We have another gift for you,” he told her.
Paetyn gave her the ring box. They hadn’t seen a need to wrap it. She stared at it for several seconds before opening it. Inside was a two-carat, flawlessly cut diamond that contrasted against the gold band, which had tiny intricacies and smaller diamonds adorning it.
“This is beautiful,” Erin said softly.
“This is a promise,” Paetyn stated.
“That when you’re ready to be more than our girlfriend, we’re ready for that too,” Cruz added.
They’d talked about it, but it hadn’t been a long or hard discussion. They both knew Erin was it for them. It was hard to explain, but the fact that they’d waited for her to be ready for a year told them all they needed to know.
Erin’s lips were on his immediately, her tongue slipping into his mouth. He cupped the side of her face as her hand trailed up his thigh over his lounge pants. She palmed his dick through them, and it wasn’t until Paetyn muttered, “Fuck, Angel,” did they pull apart. She’d slipped her hand into the other man’s pajama pants and was stroking him slowly.
Cruz glanced at the clock. “If we start this, we’ll be late.”
Erin pulled the front of his pants and boxers down enough to release his dick. “Then we better be quick.” With that, she took him into her mouth, pulling a moan from him. She rearranged herself on her knees, ass in the air.
“You heard her,” he said to Paetyn as he shifted to position himself behind her.
“That I did,” Paetyn responded, slipping his hand between Erin’s legs. “Let’s not waste time.”
Even with them doing so, Cruz wasn't sure they’d be at their parents’ house on time.
P aetyn leaned against the archway to the living room as he watched Erin and Lena. They’d had lunch and exchanged gifts, and the two discussed the quilted blanket she’d given Erin for Christmas. It was made of different sections, each with a separate design that blended. It was beautiful, and he was sure she’d spent much time on it.
His father stepped beside him from the study, where Paetyn had left him and Cruz minutes prior. The two stood silently for a couple of minutes, watching the women.
“Did you and Cruz plan on telling us about your engagement?”
He could see how it would look that way. The ring, while a promise ring, could easily pass for an engagement ring. It was one of the reasons they’d chosen it. It could easily transition by switching the finger she wore it on when she was ready until they got her a proper one. It also would have been the first thing either of them mentioned when they arrived. He didn’t see them being able to keep it a secret for long, not that he thought any of them would want to.
“It isn’t an engagement ring. She’d be wearing it, on the other hand, if it were. We wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Then you’re both ready.”
“Whenever she is,” Paetyn confirmed.
He and Cruz couldn’t wait to call her their wife. Life with her, even when they had disagreements, which was rare, felt damn near perfect. He wasn’t sure it could get any better than it was. Waking up to her in the mornings when she stayed over gave him a feeling he wasn’t sure could be duplicated. He didn’t remember feeling that way about the other women they’d dated. Sure, he’d cared for them and loved a few, but it was different with Erin.
Paetyn enjoyed those moments when he got to watch her sleep. He also enjoyed the little things with her, and there was never any pressure for them to do anything. They could sit at home and appreciate each other’s presence, even if they were doing separate things.
Erin had already enamored them, but her willingness to open up to them, to let them in on what she considered a problem, and they considered her love language, only added to what he felt.
He was ready to see what every day with her would be like. What it would bring, and what new things they would learn about one another. However, they weren’t in a hurry. How they felt about her wouldn’t change, and they didn’t want to rush her. They wanted Erin to be ready, and they could be as patient as they needed.
“I’m glad you boys finally found the one,” his dad stated, pulling him from his reverie.
It was the first time his father had said that to him, and they’d dated other women longer than they had Erin. Maybe, like them, he could feel that something was different between them; something was there that hadn’t been with the others.
“What do you mean?” Paetyn asked, wanting the older man’s perspective.
“I haven’t seen either of you this happy and content in past relationships. You were happy, yes, but not like this. There’s an ease that the three of you have that wasn’t quite there with the other women. I don’t know if that’s because your personalities blend and balance better than in the past. I think you’ve finally found what you need, which is what you want. In the past, you had what you wanted but not what you needed.”
Paetyn knew his dad was correct. They’d finally gotten what they wanted and needed, which made it even better. Now that it was said aloud, he was sure it lent to why they were ready to jump into the most permanent commitment they could with them only dating for eight months. Though love had no time frame, and people settled down earlier than that.
“You’re right, Dad,” he responded as Cruz joined them.
“Baby,” Erin stated, looking at them with a smile.
“Yes, Ma?y?” Cruz asked.
“Will you bring me another slice of pie?”
Paetyn chuckled. “I’m sure you’ve eaten nearly the entire pie, Angel.”
“It’s delicious,” she responded. “You’ll have to make it for me sometime.”
“I’d love to, baby, but Lena does something to it that she refuses to tell me, and it won’t taste exactly the same.”
“What?!” she asked in mock surprise. “Something you can’t make?”
“I didn’t say that. I can make it.”
“Mm, it sounded like you said you couldn’t,” Erin countered with a playful smile.
They all shared a laugh before Cruz went into the kitchen to get the requested slice of pie. Paetyn and his father entered the living room and took a seat. Erin leaned into his side as she and Lena recommenced their conversation about the meaning of the patches and why she’d chosen them. Each represented one of them somehow, and she’d wanted to give Erin something to welcome her to the family. Paetyn thought it was sweet, and from the smile Lena received from their girlfriend, she did also.
Cruz returned with the pie, handed it to Erin, and sat on the other side of her.
Once Lena finished explaining the reasons behind the different patches, they conversed about New Year’s plans and informed their parents they’d be participating in an auction for charity. Chayse had asked them the previous evening, and since Erin didn’t have a problem with it, they’d agreed. However, Cruz had done so a bit reluctantly. Paetyn assumed he’d only done it because their girlfriend hadn’t minded. They both knew there was no way Erin would let someone outbid her, and they’d given her free rein to spend what she wanted.
They left their parents’ house later that evening, and once they returned home, Erin pulled them over to the couch to watch a Christmas movie. She leaned against Cruz’s chest, her legs over Paetyn’s lap as the movie started, and he couldn’t remember being this happy doing something so simple.