Chapter 20 My Forever With You.
My Forever With You.
I gazed at my reflection in the mirror, and my stomach churned from a mix of anxiety and excitement.
I’d just come off stage from performing with Dawn at the New South New Year’s Eve Bash, so my adrenaline was pumping.
You’d think that after performing on a multi-stop sold-out tour, I’d have gotten used to this feeling, but it was still so unbelievable every time.
I don’t think I’d ever get used to it, but I loved every second of it.
Now that I was an officially signed dancer, I was extremely eager to see where my career would take me next.
“You did so great, Auntie!” Makenzie squealed as she entered the dressing room, followed by her brothers, Myra, and my mom. She wrapped her arms around me as I chuckled, patting her gently.
Even though the truth was out, and they knew I was technically their older sister, my niece and nephews still referred to me as their auntie, something I didn’t mind one bit, seeing as I still called Myra my sister and my mom, well, my mom.
After I’d returned from my mini-vacation with Dawn, I decided that we needed to have a family meeting and put everything on the table.
That included having Myra and our mom in the same room.
I have to admit, it was very awkward at first, and our mom did get a bit defensive when confronted by Myra, especially because she genuinely couldn’t recall most of what she’d done.
But we pushed through because I refused to let another day go by without us having a chance to let our feelings be known about everything that had happened.
Just like I deserved to be heard, so did Myra.
And so did Makenzie, Steven, and Alex.
We spent hours hashing things out, and I even encouraged them to let Myra know how they felt about her treatment of them.
You could literally see the exact moment when it really sank in for her, the kind of damage she’d done to them.
Even my mom finally realized that the way she treated Myra had manifested into how Myra treated us.
There were so many tears shed that day, but I knew from that point on we were all going to be okay. We were taking it one day at a time.
“Thank you, my love,” I tell her before turning to my family. They stood there with proud smiles on their faces. “Thank y’all for coming. It means so much to me.”
“You know we wouldn’t miss it for the world, Auntie,” Steven says before handing me a bouquet of roses. I gasp. “Lizzie is sorry she couldn’t make it, but she and SJ send their love.”
I smile at the mention of his wife and son, Steven Jr. I hadn’t met him yet, but I’d seen plenty of pictures over the last year and a half.
Steven and Lizzie met in college, and after graduating, they got married and started a family.
They’d already been well settled into their move to Washington by the time SJ was born, and they haven’t visited back home since then.
I hoped that would change now that he and Myra were doing their best to make amends.
“Thank you, Stevie,” I gush. “They’re gorgeous.”
“Not as gorgeous as me, I hope,” I hear.
I turn towards the door as Ginger walks in with Sammie in tow.
I still couldn’t believe that those two were married already, but that’s a story for another day.
She strutted over to me and pulled me in for a hug.
“You were perfect, bestie! I wasn’t even paying attention to Dawn. My eyes were only on you.”
“Damn, that’s how it is?” Someone else chuckles, and I immediately know it’s Dawn. She walks over and pulls me up from my chair before placing a kiss on my lips. “I don’t mind, though. It was hard as hell to focus with you dancing so closely to me. Maybe my aunt was right. You are a distraction.”
I rolled my eyes, playfully as I pushed her back. “Don’t start, Dawn,” I warn. She smirks, winking at me. I looked around at the room full of people I loved and smiled. “I’m gonna cry.”
“Ugh, not again, Auntie,” Alex and Makenzie groan. I wave them off.
“You’re so cute, baby,” Dawn laughs, pulling me back into a hug. “How about we move this party back to the house? Didn’t you say you wanted to ring in the New Year there?” I nod. “Well, let’s get going. If we leave now, we’ll make it back in time to count down together under the stars.”
We all agreed, and everyone filed out of the dressing room before us.
Dawn kissed me once more before proceeding to help me pack up my stuff, telling me that she’d already taken her things to the car.
The whole time I was stuffing my things into my bag, my heart was racing.
I’d planned something big, and it was waiting for us at the house I shared with Ginger.
A couple of days ago, I decided that I couldn’t wait any longer to let Dawn know just how much I loved and appreciated her.
I wanted her to know that I wanted to be more than just her girlfriend.
I wanted to be her wife. I wanted to be the mother of her future children.
I wanted to wake up to her every morning and fall asleep snuggled in her arms every night.
I wanted every title I could have when it came to being with her, and tonight, right as the clock struck at midnight, I wanted to ask her to be my forever.
When I went to Ginger for help, she was immediately on board, helping me plan out all of the small details.
One thing about my best friend is that she loves to plan things, especially if it involves declarations of love.
I told her before that if she ever wanted to go into business for herself, she’d make a killing planning events for people. She said she might just do that.
“Hey, you good, love?” Dawn asks, bringing me back to the present. I smile, taking in her beauty as I nod.
I couldn’t believe that in about thirty minutes, we’d hopefully be engaged. I was a little nervous about whether or not she’d say yes, but deep down I knew the answer already.
“I’m better than good, sweetheart,” I assure her, reaching up to cup her face in my hands. I kiss her softly. “I love you, and I’m so glad that I get to be with you.”
“And I you, Siren,” she smiles. “Now, let’s go get this party started. I want to kiss you under the fireworks like we’re the lead actresses of a romcom.”
“You and your romcoms,” I say, shaking my head. She winks and grabs my bag in one hand as she takes my hand in the other. “You know, since you’re a famous singer and all, I’m sure you can get cast in one if you want.”
“Probably,” she shrugs. “But I wouldn’t want to play anyone’s love interest except yours.”
I roll my eyes as I chuckle. “You are so obsessed with me,” I tease. She nods. “Well, if there’s ever an opportunity for us to play in leading roles together, I’d love to. It’d be fun.”
“Oh, you don’t even understand the world of possibilities you’ve just unlocked,” she smirks. “I’m gonna make this happen, you know that, right?”
“I don’t doubt you, but if I have to be in a romcom, then you have to be in a thriller or horror movie with me,” I chuckled as her face twisted up. “You are such a big baby! I’m sure it’s less scary to film since you’ll already know it’s fake.”
“Okay, I’ll be a baby,” she pouts, and my smile grows wider. “I cannot be in those movies, Siren.”
“You know I’ll never make you do anything you don’t want, my love,” I tell her as we reach her car. I wrap my arms around her waist and hug her tightly. “Besides, you know I’ll always protect you even if the monsters or scary creatures were real.”
“Ugh, I really am so obsessed with you,” she groaned. “I can’t wait to see what our future brings.”
“Same,” I nod.
My heart rate picked up because we were so close to the start of that future. I could feel my stomach fill with anxiety the closer we got to the house. When we arrived, the driveway was filled with cars of our friends and family. I took a deep breath. It was now or never.
Dawn Anderson - December 31st, 2025
There were only about twenty minutes left in the year, and I couldn’t help but smile at how great it had been.
Not only had I performed at a sold-out tour, dropped a number one album, and won Artist of the Year again, but I also met the love of my life.
Well, I should say we reconnected, since we technically already knew each other.
Either way, I was over the moon having Raine in my life.
I glanced over in her direction as she sat in the passenger seat, humming along to a song that played on the radio. After such a fabulous New Year’s Eve concert, we were heading back to her place to ring in the New Year with the people we cared for most.
Or at least that’s all she thought was going to happen.
About a week ago, I approached Ginger to ask if she could help me set something up.
I knew Raine would want a small get-together, which is why I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to ask her to take that next step with me.
Ginger assured me that she had it all covered, so I was excited to see what she’d done.
Anticipation brewed in every inch of my body, and I knew that it was a sign that this was the right time. The ring box had been burning a hole in my pocket since earlier, and I was itching to slide it on her finger. In less than fifteen minutes, she and I would be one step closer to becoming wives.
“You good, baby?”
I looked up to see that we were still sitting in the car in the driveway. It felt like I’d blinked and we’d made it to her place. My stomach was doing flips as I looked over at her. I smiled, taking her hand in mine and kissing it.
“I’m perfect, sweetheart,” I assure her.
“Ready to ring in the new year?”
“Without a doubt.”