(According to my author page, I started this series around this time last year. It was only fitting that I try to time this to be close to that same time to celebrate the first anniversary of this series. Marcie and Leo as well as the series before titled Good Neighbors was started thanks to a fellow Litster who became my friend and my muse. Marcie is as close to her as I could get within reason. Even now almost two years later since we started messaging back and forth, we are still good friends. She inspires me to keep this going and to keep writing. It is to her as always and to you, the reader, that I dedicate this chapter. Thank you for reading because without you, these would be just words.)
It was the morning after Aubrey and Wes exchanged their vows. Marcie and I spent the night making up for everything that happened. It culminated in one of the hottest nights we've had together since we first hooked up. So, it came as no surprise that both of us slept in the next morning. Fortunately for us, it was a Saturday. It was also our first-year wedding anniversary. True to form, Marcie had me promise not to go all out.
Folks ask me about this a ton. Marcie and her late husband were on a fixed income before he passed. They were always budget conscious. It's why she is always hesitant to spend a bunch of money on anything. Even though I could get away with spoiling her, I respect her wishes because she's amazing and I want her to be happy. This was the reason I didn't do anything special in planning for our first anniversary. Besides, the initial plan was to have a wedding on our anniversary for Aubrey and Wes.
The first thing I did when I opened my eyes was to wrap my arms around my bride. I held her gently as she started to stir. She then opened her eyes and smiled at me. Her eyes were sparkling.
"Good morning, handsome," she whispered.
"Hi Baby," I whispered back. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did, but I definitely know we'll need a shower this morning after all the fun we had last night," she whispered with a wink.
"Do we have to do it this second? I like the thought of celebrating our first year holding you."
She snuggled against my chest.
"I do like this. You always hold me so well."
We remained like that for a while just enjoying each other's company before we had to move. She slipped out of bed and slipped into the bathroom while I stretched out. I love watching her as she saunters into the bathroom just because her rear end always gets my attention. If there's one thing I feel fortunate about, it's the fact that Marcie takes great care of herself. And she lets me help. I started to hear the shower starting. That was my cue to walk in.
I walked in carefully before I saw my girl inside the shower already. I slowly opened the door and slipped in behind her before her arms were around my neck and she pulled me into a deep kiss. It took my breath away before she looked me in the eyes.
"You didn't set up any surprises today, right?"
I shook my head.
"That's good. I want today to be a normal day. I know that today is special, and I am grateful for this first year together. It's just that I need a day to recover from last night. Do you know if anyone is planning something for us?"
"No dear."
She looked at me with that beautiful smile before she kissed me again.
"Maybe we can do something after breakfast."
We had a nice shower, helping each other scrub our backs and such before we helped each other to dry off. As we were thinking about what to wear for the day, she pulled out a pair of jeans. I looked at her.
"Did you set up any surprises, Sweetheart?"
She looked at me and smiled.
"I just love seeing you in jeans. It's been a while."
She had a point. Since my injury, my outfits have been sweatpants except for the wedding the night before. I then started to slide into them before she pulled out a tank top and a red polo. My tactical mind was already racing, but at the same time I was just happy to follow her lead. She pulled out a pair of jean shorts and a top of her own before we walked into the kitchen. We made some coffee before Marcie grabbed her keys.
"Leo, we must go. We have an appointment."
As we slid into her car, I started to wonder what her agenda was for that day. The answer came as she honked the horn, and the newlyweds came over. They slipped into the back seat before Marcie looked at them.
"Are we ready?" Marcie asked.
"Yes," both answered in unison.
She backed out onto the road and started driving. Aubrey was dressed normally for conditions. If anything, she was dressed like Marcie. Wes was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Our stop was the local diner. There, we left the car and walked in. Being it was a Saturday morning; it was slightly busy. At the same time, the waitress saw us.
