Ren was gone when they woke up the next morning. Brandon found the key to Hayden's cuffs on the kitchen table. The note she'd left behind just said, "I'll think about it."
Hayden took a warm bath while Brandon made breakfast. He planned to pamper her for as much of the day as he could. She reassured him, repeatedly, that she wasn't mad, but his chivalric guilt couldn't be so easily abated.
As she came out of the bathroom, she could smell eggs and sausage wafting in from the kitchen. She heard music from his iPod and half-hearted singing that could charitably be described as bad. She gave a wry smirk down the hallway, falling in love with him for the thousandth time.
She thumbed through various tops and outfits, but none of it felt like what she wanted to wear. The day called for something cozy, so she went for the top drawer that she'd given to him. She took out one of his shirts. Casual, just a white t-shirt. Nothing special. It smelled like him. He wasn't the type for colognes, but she knew his scent on pure animal instinct now.
Padding into the kitchen, she found him hard at work over the stove. He handed her a cup of coffee and she took a sip before setting it on the table.
Stepping behind him, she nuzzled his back, placing her nose between his shoulder blades and running her hands under his shirt. She loved the feel of his skin on hers and she wanted his warmth. He gave a cute little shiver as he transferred the scrambled eggs from the pan to the plates.
"What should we do with the day?" he asked as she sat down across from him at the table.
"I don't care, as long as we're together," she said. "No office stuff, just us, okay?"
He nodded, "You got it."
"Do you want to call your mom? Tell her the news?"
He smiled, "I do, but I need to think about how to put it. I might call her tomorrow morning."
"Are you going to mention Ren?"
"That's what I want to think about today," he said.
"It's a lot to navigate," she said, taking another bite of her eggs.
"Hayden..."
She looked at him and saw his anguish. He was struggling. She put down the fork and walked around the table. She sat on his lap and held his face in her hand, "Hey, hey, it's okay."
"I just... I never meant..."
"Of course not. No one did. But there's nothing to be upset about."
"I don't know if I can..."
"You can. I know it."
"How?" he said.
"I know you," she said. "I know you in my bones, Brandon. You're gonna be a great husband, and a great father. And it's gonna be the scariest, hardest thing you ever did. And you're gonna be fine. You know how I know?" she said.
"Because you know me?" he said.
"Uh-uh," she said, shaking her head, rubbing the tip of her nose against his cheek, "Because I'm gonna be holding your hand the entire time. For the rest of your natural
life
."
"That's all I want," he said.
"How about we start with a day?" she said, taking his hand. She held it tight and pressed it to her chest, "Holding hands and... other things." She took his other hand and pressed it between her thighs. He nodded and took the hint.
She spread her legs across his thigh and felt his fingers tease her. She craned down her neck to kiss him. His tongue slid over hers with a familiar taste. She felt him push past her labia and she pulled back with a little gasp. He seized the initiative and slid a second finger in, stroking her g-spot slowly and perfectly.
She nodded to encourage him and let herself arch. She wanted to keep holding his hand, so she used her free hand to pull her shirt off, it dangled over her shoulder. She felt the cool mahogany of the kitchen table on the small of her back. He pressed his lips to her breast and she held his head as he sucked her nipple into his mouth.
Running slender fingers through crisp black hair, she guided her man to explore her chest as he fingered her deeply.
She whispered a promise in his ear as her orgasm began to build.
"The rest of your life, Brandon."
***
As was his way, her orgasm was the priority. When she was well and truly sated, all she could think to do was sink to her knees. The hand-holding continued as she performed a sloppy, sleepy fellatio. When she felt him shiver and pulse, she brought his shaft in as deep as she could. The salty dessert was a point of pride for her.
Somewhere amongst the remnants of sex and the disheveled remains of breakfast, they cleaned themselves up and began to talk. There were a kaleidoscope of questions to answer. Would they live here, or find a new place and start fresh? Would they wait for Ren's pregnancy to finish before the wedding? Should the wedding be something large, or a small, intimate event?
They talked and moved as one. After cleaning up the dishes, they changed the sheets on Hayden's bed. The talk was their tether when they couldn't touch, but every chance she got, she put her skin on his. The warmth was her reassurance that this dream really was coming true.
Brandon reframed the question as they moved back to the living room, "I think a lot of this comes down to: should we try to get everything set before August, or is it better to wait?"
Hayden looked at him curiously, "Why August?"
"School starts in August. Wouldn't it be better to have Kaya start the school year from the beginning?"
Hayden felt herself tense and release in a flash.
"You're asking about Kaya?"
"Of course," he said. "I was assuming you'd want to try to get her here as soon as you could. It's not quite summer yet, but I figured we'd try to bring her here after school let out. Do they have summer break in Poland?"
Hayden smiled, "They do, yeah. They let out in June."
"Do you want to try then?" he asked.
"To get married?" she said.
"I just meant to bring her here. It's not a ton of time, but we could at least start the process," he said.
"Um... yeah, but..."
"But what?" he asked.
"I just... I figured you'd want it to just be us for a while. Especially after the wedding. None of my exes would..." she caught herself.
He looked at her, not quite sure what to say.
"You're not
any
of my other boyfriends though..."
He smiled, "I want what you want. You want Kaya back, right?"
She nodded, "More than anything."
He went to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, "If I didn't think it would mess her up, I'd fly to Warsaw right now."
She broke just a bit, loving him for never thinking to make this a problem. Her arms wrapped around his neck. She kissed him and blinked back tears.
"Thank you," she said.
He waved it off like it was nothing, "You think Vlad will have any objections?"
"He might. But I think he'll listen to her. And I think she wants this." Hayden said. "She's getting into that time where it's nice to have a mom around."
He dried her eyes with a soft finger, "Am I going way too fast here?"
"You're going the right amount of fast," she said, crying lovely tears again.
"I ask because you're leaking a bit, and you do that sometimes when you're not happy," he said.
She laughed and playfully swatted his chest, "I do that when you make me really happy."
"Okay," he said. "So, how's this engagement going so far?"
She laughed and nodded, "Good."
***
They decided to make the calls tomorrow. The afternoon was for cuddling, lovemaking, and the occasional conversation. Each was an affirmation. They agreed on a vision for the road ahead and planned for the bumps that would inevitably come.
As the sun slipped towards the Pacific, Hayden suggested a dinner at the same steakhouse that they'd gone for their first date. Brandon's memories of the place were nothing but good, and he quickly agreed.
She chose a green dress and strappy sandals. He wore a polo like the one he'd had for their first date. It was a nice touch.
"Are you hoping this'll go the same way it did before?" she said.
"What do you mean?"
"A blowjob in the parking lot before we eat," she said, poking him softly as he started the car.
He shrugged, "I mean... I'm not gonna turn it
down
..."
She poked him harder and he laughed. At the end of the street, he made a wrong turn. She looked at him with a question.
"The restaurant is the other way," she said.
"I just wanna make a quick stop first," he said.
She smelled one of his conspiratorial surprises and decided to play along. Ten minutes later, he parked the car along the shoreline. There were the ever-present swimmers and surfers, but he'd found a spot of beach that was relatively empty and turned off the car.
"What are we doing?" she asked.
"Just an errand," he said.
She gave a wry look and stepped out of the car with him. He came around the front and took her hand, leading her out onto the sand.
"Perfect weather," he said, idly, as they walked to the water.
"Yep," she said, figuring what he was planning.
He turned to put his back to the water.
"Sweetie... you don't have to..."
"Yes I do. Let me get through this," he said, sinking to a knee.
She clucked her tongue and watched him kneel.
"Hayden, I live in a sea of uncertainty. The way you make me feel is the only thing I know for sure. It's like the sunset. I know it'll be here every day. Trying to describe it would be like trying to lasso the ocean. You are the only thing... the
only
thing I've ever been sure of. I love you beyond hope. All I'm asking is for you to let me spend the rest of my life trying to make you as happy as you make me."
He brought out a box from his pocket. The classic black velvet. He flipped it up and she saw the diamond encased in gold.
She gasped and gaped at the ring and the words. She felt her knees go weak and she nodded fast. Her tears fell as she did. He caught her as she fluttered down to the sand. She kept nodding and kissed him.
"Yes. Oh my God, Brandon. Yes. I love you so much," she said, barely able to get the words out from the emotion that shoved them forward.
He found her hand and slipped the ring on. It was a perfect fit and she squeezed his hand with hers, determined to never let go.
She felt his arms hug her close and cried happy tears on his shoulder. That could only last a moment before she kissed him. It was a kiss filled with love and warmth, rather than fire and passion. As it broke, she realized something and looked down at the ring again.
"You... you haven't left my side since last night," she said, finding his eyes.
"Yeah..." he said, not understanding.
"You already had this ring?" she said.
"Yeah..." he said, still uncomprehending.
"So you were..."
"I've been planning this since I asked Kaya if she was okay with me asking," he said.
"You talked to Kaya?" Hayden asked.
"We had a little chat," he said, grinning.
"When!?"
"I asked her on the Dumbo ride at EuroDisney. She was strongly in favor," he said, as though he was describing a business meeting. His smirk absolutely killed Hayden and she realized that she wouldn't surprise Kaya at all when she called tomorrow.
"You've had this since Paris?" she asked, barely able to tear her eyes from the diamond.
"Kaya helped me pick it out," he said.
"When did you have the time?" she said.
"Remember when she wanted to walk around the pyramids at the Louvre? And you were tired so you hung out in that café?"
"You guys were gone for like forty-five minutes," she said.
