Chapter 37
Allen
I held her still and stroked her hair as Nicole stared at me. I didn’t plan this and my heart pounded in my chest as I forced myself to calm down.
“I love you, Nicole. I love the way you cared for your sister all these years and gave up everything. I love that you still want to care for everyone else more than yourself, but it makes me want to spoil you even more.” I looked at her as she frowned and smiled weakly. “That night at the club, I took one look at you and I knew that was it for me. I knew that you just changed my life and I strode up to that stage and offered a ridiculous amount of money to save you from any other man on that stage. I was willing to risk it all.”
“Allen,” she murmured as I cupped her face with my hands.
“I walked away from you when I got scared and that was the worst weekend ever. I have never felt so empty in my entire life, Nicole. I couldn’t run back to you fast enough, hoping that you would have me so I could prove my feelings to you. I couldn’t wait to start our life and build it back up and sitting here with you nowI didn’t plan it like this. I didn’t know how I was going to do this tonight.” I reached back for my jeans and wanted to laugh that I was doing this naked on the beach.
Life sometimes changed right before your eyes but I couldn’t deny that her face looked beautiful in the distant lights from the pier.
I found the box that I was looking for and pulled it out as I licked my lips.
“I told Ricky that night that I wanted to take you as my wife and I meant it. I tried to tell myself it was just for that night and the dramatics but the more time I spent with you, I knew that it was true. You’re the missing piece to my puzzle I know as this life and you’re the piece that completes me. I pulled the black box out and her mouth dropped open. “Will you marry me, Nicole?”
“Oh, God. Allen,” she said as her eyes filled with tears. “Yes. I’ll marry you. I knew before this trip I couldn’t live without you.” She launched herself at me and I held her as I kept a hold of the box. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, baby.” I held her close and we kissed softly as I pulled her body against mine. “I want to take you back to the hotel and drink champagne with you. I want to see this ring on your finger as we make love in the bed and then talk about your dream wedding.”
Nicole pushed back and felt for the box as she opened it. She looked down at the delicate diamond band with the round center stone before she looked at me with tears in her eyes. Nicole slid it onto her finger and we dressed in between kisses before I looked around the beach.
We walked back to the hotel and I drove to a store to get some bubbly to celebrate. We also grabbed some snacks and I kept looking at the diamond on her hand as I paid for everything. We went back to the car and she kissed me as I opened the door for her, her lips warm and hungry.
Once we were back at the hotel, I opened the champagne and we lounged on the bed as we sipped right from the bottle. Nicole laughed happily as she kept staring at her finger and turning her finger this way and then the next to see it sparkle in the light. “I want to show Noelle but I think I should wait until we get back. This deserves more than a picture. Does Brandon know?”
“He knew that I was thinking about it but not that it was happening here. I wasn’t sure when I was going to ask.” I shrugged. “I kept telling myself that it was so fast and I should wait, but I knew I loved you. I didn’t want to wait.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” she said with a smile as she looked at me. “What kind of wedding do you want?”
“I’d like something on a beach. We seem to have a bond to it and it seems easy. I don’t know how complicated you want it but I am a simple man.” I looked curiously at her and Nicole laughed.
“I didn’t even think I’d ever find a guy like you. I didn’t dare dream about a wedding, Allen. All I care about is that Noelle is there and Brandon. I would like it on the beach as well, I think. I Just want to marry you.” She smiled and I told her how gorgeous she was as I pounced on her.
We made love, our bodies rocking together as I told her that she was going to be my wife. I took her hard as she cried out my name and pulled me closer to her, moving with me as she edged closer to an orgasm.
We came together and I drove myself into her as I filled her, knowing that I wanted Nicole for the rest of my life. No woman got to me the way she did and I buried my face in her neck as I trembled above her.
“Will you move in with me when we get back home? It seems fitting since we’re engaged now.” I asked as I held her.
“Yes. I hate the idea of leaving Noelle in that apartment alone but it’s time for me. She has Brandon now.” She spoke with a tremor in her voice.
“Noelle will always be welcome in our lives. She’s your sister,” I told her before I kissed her gently.
“She’s all I have. Noelle and you are my family now, and Brandon. He’s your family.” Tears filled her eyes as she looked at me and I thought about all the risks I took for her. It all worked out for me in the end, but I thought she was worth it. I gained the love of an incredible, strong woman. I knew that we couldn’t tell our kids the story about how we met and we’d have to make something up, but we’d always know in our hearts. That was enough for me.
We spent the following day at the pier after sleeping in late. The champagne that we nearly finished got to both of us and we also had trouble leaving the bed once we woke up.
I loved how open Nicole was with me with her needs. She was becoming aggressive and now that she had a ring on her finger, there was no holding her back. I loved this side of her as she crawled over me and seduced me with that hungry look in her eyes.
We had a late breakfast in one of the restaurants in the hotel after we got ready. I kept staring at Nicole as I thought about how beautiful she was, simply dressed in a pair of shorts and a blue t-shirt with no makeup on. She didn’t need it because she was striking without it and such a natural beauty. She sipped her coffee as we waited for our food, looking out at the beach with bright eyes.
I noticed how green they were today. They’d gotten greener with this trip and I knew it meant she was happy and settled as she smiled at me. I wanted to make them that way from now on as I reached for my own coffee, feeling a sense of happiness I’d never known from a woman before. We decided we’d stick to our plan and return home tomorrow, getting the time alone and making the most of it before everything changed in Vegas.
I knew she was worried about leaving Noelle alone, but Nicole deserved to be treated like the wonderful woman that was. I knew her sister agreed and would push for her to move in with me. I knew we’d spend a lot of time together and if I knew Brandon like I thought I did, he was getting serious about her sister. They might be making their own plans before too long.
We ate leisurely and talked about getting married soon. I didn’t want to wait too long because I was ready for her. Nicole blushed as we talked about doing it in six months on a beach here in LA, perhaps the one I proposed to her on. We’d do some searching for the best one and keep it small. I’d invite my small but supportive family, some close friends, and we’d have Brandon and Noelle standing up with us. It would be perfect.
I paid the bill and took her hand as we wandered along the beach toward the pier. I asked her how she felt about rides and Nicole admitted to being wary of some of them. She’d gone on everything with Noelle as a kid when they had the money to enjoy a carnival, so she’d be brave for me today as well.
We climbed the stairs once we reached the pier and she looked around with a wide smile. It was packed with families and there were rides and shops, along with the end that led to where people fished and just looked at the water.
We decided to walk around and shop for a little while, and Nicole picked out a few things for herself and Noelle that I happily bought for her. We wandered to the end and looked over the water as she told me she wanted to live by the ocean someday. I joked about getting a time share here or maybe a modest vacation home down the line and it made her smile beautifully.
We watched a little girl catch her first fish with her dad and I pulled Nicole close to ask her how many kids she wanted. In the eyes of some, I should know this before ever asking her to marry me but this was right for us.
“I always thought that it would be nice for Noelle to have a younger sibling, so two would be great. I want them to be as close and my sister and I were. How about you?” She smiled at me as I leaned in for a soft kiss.
“I think two would be great. I’d like them close in age so they can just grow together and I want to do everything I can with them. I see camping trips in the future, skiing, weekends at a lake, you name it. I want our life to be full.” I looked into her bright eyes as she smiled happily and nodded in return.
We made our way to the rides and I bought both of us a wristband. Noelle was brave as she started on one of the roller coasters, screaming and laughing through the fast ride. I managed to get her on everything there and it felt like we were kids again as we just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves.
We spent a couple of hours on the rides until she declared that she needed a break. We walked back down to the beach and settled on the sand as she pressed her body to mine for a long kiss. “I want to make love here again tonight.”
“It won’t come with a ring this time,” I teased her before deepening the kiss. We kissed like teenagers until I took her to get a late lunch at one of the seafood restaurants on the pier, enjoying some drinks with the fresh food. Nicole laughed about how much she drank here and warned me about the fact that she might become an alcoholic.
We ended the night in the same spot on the beach, making love again as Nicole climbed on top of me. She rode me hard and slow as I told her that I’d always want her like this.
We ended the night at the hotel, wrapped up around each other as we fell asleep to a movie on the TV. I hoped that it would always be this way for us.