AMBER
It's Tucker's third AA session, and I know he has plans to check in with Ryan about progress on the surfing school afterwards. Since deciding to get his life back on track, he and Ryan have gotten closer. I don’t know what exactly happened between them at the hospital, when Ryan issued his ultimatum, but whatever it was seemed to work in helping repair the brothers’ fragile relationship.
I’m thrilled for them. I know how important family is to Tucker, more so than ever with the baby on the way.
I know our little one will grow up with plenty of love and support around them.
Even though I never minded being an only child, it’s nice knowing my baby will have loads of aunts, uncles and cousins.
Speaking of which, tonight is my first, official Braddock family event. Tucker has insisted on holding a barbeque dinner party at his place. As he’s busy with his AA meeting and catching up with Ryan, I’ve offered to grab all the required groceries.
But before that, I’m currently at the kennels, with Caitlyn, helping her groom an over-enthusiastic husky that sounds like it’s signing as we wash him.
“Ahhh,” I scream as the husky shakes all over, spraying me and Caitlyn in soapy water.
It’s another hour before we get all the soap off the husky, and then dry them, and just in time too, as their owner arrives.
“Thank you so much for doing this,” she says, as she pays the bill. “I used to do it myself, in the shower, but well, I’m sure you can imagine how difficult that was.”
Caitlyn and I both laugh. “Yes, what many husky owners probably don’t realize is that when you wash them, you get a shower too.”
After the customer leaves with her husky, Caitlyn and I lock up and head out.
We stop by at my place to put Elsa and Bella in their crates so that they’re safe and secure while we pop to the grocery store.
We take the dogs with us to work, and they enjoy playing in the huge yard we have and napping in the staffroom, but there’s no way we can leave them in the car for any amount of time while we grab the food for later.
“We’ll be back soon,” I promise Elsa, stroking her behind the ears.
Tucker has already agreed to having Elsa and Bella at the party, knowing Caitlyn and I hate leaving them alone for long.
In fact, I think Tucker is actually going to love the chow-chow as much as I do.
She certainly adores him. Which is a huge relief.
I don’t know what I’d do if they didn’t like each other.
At the store, we pick up everything we need for the barbeque, then head back to mine to collect the dogs, before making our way to Tucker’s place. He’s given me a spare key to let myself in when I need to.
“How long before the two of you move in?” Caitlyn asks, as we enter Tucker’s beach-side home. We walk through the house, and open the patio doors onto the deck, so the dogs can go straight outside.
I bit my bottom lip. “I don’t wanna make any assumptions. Right now, we’re splitting our time pretty evenly between here and my place.”
“Sure, but when the baby comes you can’t be doing that. Surely it makes sense to move in sooner rather than later, so you’ve got plenty of time together, just the two of you, before Bubba arrives.”
I smile, trying not to let my anxiety show. “I want to, but I don’t wanna pressure Tucker. He already has so much going on, what with the AA meetings, and setting up the surf school.”
“Fair enough,” Caitlyn agrees.
We’ve just unpacked the groceries, when Tucker returns home.
“Amber my love, you best be naked!” he calls out, then stops dead in his tracks when he sees Caitlyn is here too. “Shit. Sorry.”
Caitlyn and I both laugh.
“I’ll take that as my queue to head home and change,” Caitlyn says. She pauses briefly to embrace Tucker, then calls Bella in from outside, and heads to her car.
“How was everything?” I ask, as I unpack the steaks.
Tucker sighs. “Hard … we talked about my parents.”
I pause in my preparation of the spice rub for the meat and turn to him. “Wanna talk about it?”
Apart from the night Tucker and I ‘officially’ got together, he hasn’t said too much about his parents, and I don’t want to rush him. I know all this is still new and raw for him.
Tucker rakes his hands through his hair and starts chopping an onion.
“Do you know how exhausting it is to be angry at someone, while you’re desperately missing them too?
I know it wasn’t my parents’ fault. What happened to them was a tragic accident.
But they still left us. And God, I wish I could speak to them so badly.
There’s so much I wanna ask my dad about becoming a parent. ”
Tears roll down Tucker’s cheeks, and I don’t know if it’s from the emotion or the onions. He places the knife down on the counter and grabs some kitchen roll to dry his eyes. I place down the last of the steaks and wash the spice off my hands.
I cross to Tucker and wrap my arms around him. “I can’t even begin to imagine how hard this is for you, and I’m proud of how you're dealing with it.”
Tucker offers me a small smile. “Thank you. I know it will get easier with time, but .. augh, why does it have to take so long? I just wanna be normal, you know?”
“You’re not abnormal now. Emotions, even negative ones, are a natural thing.”
Tucker chuckles. “You sound like Amir. He said something similar to me earlier.”
“This Amir sounds like a wise man.”
“He is. I’m glad I have him to turn to. I’m thinking of asking him to be my sponsor. He’s been sober for five years, and really knows his shit.”
“That sounds like a good idea. And you know, I’m here whenever you need me. Your brothers too. You’re not alone, Tucker.”
Tucker smiles and tightens his arms around me. He inclines his head and presses his lips to mine.
After we break apart, we fall into a steady rhythm as we prepare the food, and then fire up the barbecue. We’re just taking the cooler of soft drinks outside when the bell rings, announcing the first arrival.
Tucker and I head to the front door to greet Ryan and Alicia. Ryan is holding the ugliest vase I’ve seen in my entire life. It’s terracotta sandstone with the face of what looks like a gremlin carved into it.
“I remembered I never got you a house-warming gift, and brought this specially to make up for it,” Ryan says with a barely disguised smirk.
“Aww, thanks bro. You shouldn’t have.”
“Take a look inside,” Ryan adds, as Tucker and I lead Ryan and Alicia inside, then out back and onto the deck.
Tucker tips the vase upside down and out tumbles a key. “What’s this?”
“The keys to your new surf school. I bought the beach-side cabin you’d been looking at.”
Tucker grins. “Thanks bro, this is the best gift ever.”
He reaches into the cooler and pulls out four ice-cold bottles of Stewart's Cherries 'n Cream Soda. He pops the tops off, hands a drink to me, Ryan and Alicia and then raises his bottle.
“Cheers to new beginnings.”
“Cheers to that,” we say in unison, clinking our bottles together.
Antony and Erin arrive a short time later, with their twins Aaron and Elizabeth, and they’re soon followed by Sebastian, Lana and their son Noah. When Caitlyn arrives with Josh, that’s everyone.
Soon, the air is filled with chatter and laughter, as the kids play with Elsa and Bella in the yard, while the adults sit on the deck, enjoying the fine weather, delicious food and good company.
After we’ve all eaten so much, we’re practically bursting, Tucker stands and raises his bottle of soda in the air. “Can I just have a moment, please?” he calls out.
Everyone falls silent, even the children, who turn to watch their uncle.
“I know the last few … well years really--” he pauses, and we all laugh.
“haven't been easy, and I want to thank you all for sticking with me. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about Mom and Dad, and the lessons they taught me. And one of the most important of those lessons is that family is everything. I wanna make a toast. To family.”
“To family,” we all say, raising our drinks.
Tucker places his bottle down on the deck and turns to me. “Amber, you’ve made me happier than I thought possible. You’re my family, now and forever, which is why I don’t wanna spend another moment apart from you. Will you move in with me?”
I catch Caitlyn smirking out of the corner of my eye and wonder if she always knew this was the plan.
I place my own bottle down, get to my feet and approach Tucker. “Of course, I’ll move in with you.”
I throw my arms around him, and our lips meet. As we kiss, I hear the kids giggling. Some of Tucker’s brothers groan, while others whoop and cheer.
-----
Unlike the last party Tucker held at his house, this one is neither rowdy nor does it span late into the night. In fact, it’s barely eleven p.m., as we stand on the front porch, our arms wrapped around each other, as we say goodbye to everyone.
As the last of the Braddocks drive away, Tucker closes the front door. Elsa, who is worn out from playing with the kids, is already fast asleep in her crate and I know, unless disturbed by something, she won’t wake again until morning.
Deciding the cleaning up can wait until morning too, I flick off the downstairs lights and turn to Tucker.
“Take me to bed,” I demand playfully, and he laughs.
Maybe it’s the love of a good man, maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones. Maybe it’s both, but my sexual appetite has been insatiable recently, and even though I’m tired from a day of working, and an evening of entertaining I know I won’t be able to sleep just yet.
Tucker chuckles and scoops me up into his arms. “Gladly.”
He carries me upstairs, and along the hallway to his room, then lightly places me down in his bed. It only takes seconds before we’re both completely naked, and Tucker is sucking on my nipples.
“Oh god,” I moan against his shoulder.
My moaning grows louder as Tucker moves down my body, his tongue exploring every inch of my body, until he parts my legs, and his tongue swirls against my core.
He sucks on my clit until my hips are bucking, then inserts two fingers inside me.
He curls them against my G-spot, pumping vigorously, until I feel my inner muscles tighten.
“Oh fuck,” I cry out, as I come.
Not even leaving me a moment to catch my breath, Tucker pulls his mouth and fingers away, and plunges his cock inside me. Our hips clash together as we meet in rhythm as old as the earth itself, and everything else fades away.
All that matters in the here and now, is the feeling of the man I love moving inside me.