17. Us, Forever. #2
The room erupts in cheers and applause as she stands up and pulls me into her arms, kissing me with so much love and happiness that I feel it through my body. I was crying, and she was crying, but I could tell that we both couldn’t have been happier.
We were then pulled into hugs from every which way as family members and friends congratulated us on our engagement.
I was stunned to see Kenisha here, and I squealed once we embraced.
She and her husband were supposed to be in Samoa for the week with his family, but here they were right in front of me.
“I thought y’all would’ve been halfway across the world by now,” I said after hugging her husband as well. “What…”
“Now you know we were not about to miss out on this, Zee,” she laughed, and her husband nodded.
“When Kayla reached out and told us what she was planning, we immediately moved our schedule around,” her husband said. “Our parents decided to have a joint Christmas this year anyway. We’ve been in Baton Rouge since yesterday morning.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” I fused with Kenisha playfully. “You whore.”
“I’m sorry, bestie, but it would’ve ruined the surprise,” she whined, looping her arm with mine. “I’m so sorry, friend. You forgive me?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I giggled. “I forgive you. I love you, friend.”
“Aww, I love you too, cutie,” she giggles, hugging me once more. I could feel the tears coming again once she whispered. “I’m so happy for you. I can’t wait to see what the new year and future has in store for you. You’re amazing and deserve all the good things that come your way.”
“Keniiii,” I cry, and then she’s crying.
“Oh, my god,” I hear Morgan tease as we break apart. “I don’t see how you have any tears left to cry, you big baby.”
“Don’t even start with me, Mo!” I reply, laughing through the tears.
“Yeah, leave my baby alone,” Kay says as she finally makes her way back over to me. She hugs me from behind, resting her chin on my shoulders. “I’ve come to give you one last gift.” She looks up at Kenisha. “Keni, you mind if I steal her away?”
“Baby, that is your fiancée,” she chuckles. “You can steal her away whenever.”
“You heard the lady. Steal me away,” I joke.
“You’re so silly. Come on, my love.”
I take her hand and, once again, follow her as she leads me to our next destination.
It takes us a few minutes to get out of the main room because so many people stop us to congratulate us and offer well-wishes.
We thanked them as we maneuvered through the crowd.
There were refreshments, music, and an open bar, so it had turned into another party just that fast.
We slipped out into the hall and followed the path to the main kitchen, where we walked through until we reached the door that led to the loading dock.
A familiar feeling took over me as we took the back stairs up to the rooftop.
As soon as we stepped out, I chuckled at the small picnic blanket that was set up, decorated with those little LED candles, wine, and a small charcuterie board.
The sky was clear, and the stars and moon were shining brightly down on us as soft music played from the Bluetooth speaker a few feet away.
“Wow, this is beautiful,” I say as we settle onto the blanket. She pulls me between her legs, and I lean into her embrace. “You really outdid yourself, Kay.”
“You remember when we used to come up here back when we were in college and just enjoy the peace together?” she asks. I nod.
“Of course. Those are some of my fondest memories. You’ve made me feel so loved since day one, and I’ll forever be grateful for that,” I reply.
I hold up my hand to the sky to admire the ring.
“I’m so giddy right now. You really did your big one with this ring.
Trust and believe, though, I will be getting you one as soon as we get back to the city. ”
“I don’t doubt it,” she chuckles. We fall silent for a while before she speaks again. “Zee, I don’t want to wait any longer to marry you.” I look up at her. “You can say no if you want, but what if…”
“Yes,” I say, not even needing to hear her to finish the sentence.
I turn around in her arms, draping my legs around her hips as I straddle her.
She remained silent as I took her face into my hands and kissed her.
“Kay, I don’t care if we go to the courthouse tomorrow and elope.
All I care about is that I get to be with you. ”
“Really?” she asks, her eyes glossy as I nod. She kissed me deeply, and I could feel her tears stain my cheeks. I felt her wrap her arms around me as she pressed her forehead against mine. “God, I love you so much.”
“And I love you as well, sweetheart,” I assure her.
“I have one more gift for you,” she says.
I nod and watch as she lifts the side of the blanket to reveal a brown envelope.
My eyebrows furrow as she gives it to me to take.
She smiles up at me while I open the envelope.
“I originally thought to give this to you right after I proposed, but I wanted to keep something that was just for us.”
“Oh my god,” I gasped as I pulled the papers from the envelope. It was all the documentation needed to file for Sera's adoption. She’d already signed them, and all that was missing was my signature. “You were serious.”
“You know I never say things I don’t mean,” she tells me.
“You don’t have to worry about any of the filing fees or paperwork or anything because I plan on taking care of it all.
I also promise to continue to love our Princess as if I’d given birth to her myself.
That’s my daughter, and this will make it official, so please grant me this one wish of allowing me to be her other mom officially. ”
“Baby, you’ve always been her other mother,” I say. “But I can’t wait to make it official.” We hugged, tears falling again. I swear, I was about to be all cried out by tomorrow. “This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had. Thank you.”
“Thank you for trusting me with your heart and allowing me to love you just the way you love me,” she replies. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life loving you.”
“Same here, my love. Same here.”
We shared a few more kisses before I settled back between her legs, my back against her chest as her arms rested around my waist. We enjoyed the breeze and the calmness of the night sky.
It was the perfect ending to the perfect day, and I smiled to myself, knowing that there were so many days like this in the future.
And I couldn’t wait to enjoy every single one of them with her.