Trixie’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw me. She looked between Ali and I with a puzzled expression on her face.

“Hey,” she said.

“Trix, what are you doing here?” I asked her.

“I thought I heard you in here. Um, I was just coming by to say hi. You didn’t answer your phone.”

“I’m kind of busy—”

“You should come in,” Ali said to her, and I looked over my shoulder to see her smiling warmly. Trixie pushed past me without asking for my permission, going straight to the counter and picking up a piece of the apple that Ali had been cutting.

“Trix—”

Ali laughed. “It’s okay.”

She got another one out and started cutting it, and Trixie looked at me with a question on your face.

“So are you two—”

“Yes,” I said to her. “Yes, we, uh—we’re engaged.”

She gasped and her face broke into a massive grin. “Congratu-fuckin-lations, bro.”

“Thanks,” I said to her, chuckling at her foul language, which was typical for her. One thing I loved about my sister was that she was always herself, no matter how embarrassing it was for me in front of my girlfriends.

“So,” she said to Ali, eying her up and down. “You know how to cook?”

“I’m a chef,” said Ali.

“Good,” said Trixie. “He needs fattening up.”

Ali laughed. “I can do that,” she said, winking at me. I grinned at her.

“I don’t mind.”

“He can be a jerk sometimes,” Trixie said. “Just so you know.”

“Oh, I know,” Ali said. Her eyes were glittering, playful. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her as she talked to my sister, happy and effortless, no longer self-conscious as she once had been. There had been a time when Ali hunched over, when she covered her stomach with her arms no matter what position she was in. Now, she didn’t do that, but stood up straight and proud. It was something that made her look more radiant ever, glowing and more beautiful than I could have ever imagined a woman could be.

“How did he propose?” Trixie asked. Ali and I exchanged a glance.

“It was a nice, quiet proposal,” I said. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.”

Ali smiled, a warmth spreading through her face. I leaned across the counter and kissed her. My sister chomped on her apple, watching us both with a satisfied look on her face.

“I told you she was hot, Tyler,” Trixie said. Ali blushed and I shook my head.

“I always knew she was hot.”

“You were just avoiding it because you’re afraid of intimacy,” she said in a matter-of-fact voice.

“Okay, Dr. Phil,” I said to her, cutting her off with a look. “That’s enough. Why don’t you get out of here and let us celebrate?”

“Fine,” my sister said, snickering, putting her hands up. “I’ll see you guys later. Are you—I’m going home for Christmas this weekend. Are you coming or not?”

I thought for a moment, remembering Ali’s parents, how cruel they had been. My parents had never been like that, and even though my father disapproved of what I had done with my life, he respected the fact that I had made my own way and become successful by myself. My parents had always treated me kindly, and seeing the way Ali’s parents treated her made me realize that it could always be worse.

“Sure,” I said to Trixie, and an excited expression spread over her face.

“Really?” she asked. I nodded.

“Are you bringing Ali?”

“Of course,” I said, glancing over at Ali. “If she wants to come.”

She nodded, smiling, and Trixie told us goodnight before leaving us alone. Ali yawned, eating the last piece of apple, tossing out the core and coming to me.

“I’m sleepy,” she said.

“No, you’re not,” I protested, kissing her neck, leading her into the bedroom. She giggled, giving me a chiding look.

“Tomorrow,” she said.

“But—” she put her finger over my lips, grinning at me.

“Tomorrow,” she said again, leading me into the bedroom. It didn’t matter to me in that moment when she curled up against me, her warm, soft body pressed to mine. I wrapped my arm around her and held her close as she fell asleep, smiling to myself, knowing that the future was going to be perfect.

I woke up in the morning squirming, a soft hand wrapped around my already-hard cock. I looked down to see the sheet pulled back over Ali’s head, her eyes on my face as she traced my cock up and down with the tips of her fingers, kissing the head of it with her full lips.

“Good morning,” she said softly, taking the tip of my cock into her mouth and sucking on it, tracing her tongue around the rim. Her hand started to move up and down, and I groaned as she licked and sucked at just the head of my cock, teasing me, making me want to come right away. I held back, wanting to enjoy it as she lowered her face and took more of my cock into her perfect, sweet mouth, taking as much as she could. She used her hand on the rest of it, stroking me as she sucked, her head bobbing up and down. I pushed the sheet back even further, holding up her curtain of hair so that I could watch her face as she took me into her mouth. My cock throbbed, my heart pounding in my chest when she looked me in the eye as she sucked on me. It was the sexiest thing I had ever seen besides the face she made when she came.

“Ali, Jesus,” I said to her when she tightened her mouth around me, sucking on me hard, pushing me into the back of her throat. Her tongue slipped along the bottom of my cock in a way that took my breath away in how good it felt, soft and teasing, tender. My hips started to lift of their own accord, gently pushing into her mouth, meeting her downward strokes. I reached for her then, gesturing for her to climb on top of me, positioning her hips over my face while she sucked my cock. As usual, a shy look passed over her face, but I didn’t let her hesitate as I pulled her on top of me. I immediately started to devour her pussy, dipping my tongue inside of her, getting it nice and soaked with her juices before spreading them around her whole pussy.

Ali moaned around my cock, a vibrating feeling pulsing through me, making my hips jump and buck against her face. I wanted to make her moan again, wanted to make it last forever. I sucked on her clit, pulling it between my lips and flicking it with my tongue over and over, making her whimper with pleasure like a puppy. She pulled her head up, unable to breathe, but I didn’t mind as I continued to lick her. All that mattered was making her come on my face, and it was only an added bonus when she started sucking me again, savoring my cock even as she came on my tongue.

I pulled her away before I could come in her mouth, breathing heavily, pulling her body up mine. I rolled her over onto her side, her back to me, and slipped a condom on before pushing my cock up under her ass and deep into her pussy. I held her leg up, holding them open as I pushed into her from behind. I played with her clit as I did so, riding against her, bringing my lips to her ear.

“Good morning,” I said to her in a quiet voice, kissing her cheek, speeding my hips up to fuck her roughly first thing in the morning, just like she liked it. I pounded into her sweet pussy from behind, holding her legs open even when she tried to squirm away from the intense pleasure that she was receiving. I held here there, not letting her go, kissing the back of her neck as I moved inside of her. Her pussy gushed over me over and over, quivering around my cock. She moaned loudly, so loud that I was glad I was the neighbor, and we weren’t waking anybody up. It was early, but our bodies moved like we had all of the energy in the world. She came on my cock, squirming backward, moaning loudly. I didn’t give her a moment to recover before I turned her around, shifting our bodies so that she was straddling my lap, our chests pressed together. 

“Fuck me,” I said to her gruffly, kissing her hard as she started to rock her hips. Ever since the first time she had done it, back when she had walked in on me rubbing my cock to thoughts of her, I had grown addicted to the feeling of her soft body riding me, the way she used my cock for her pleasure. She bounced on my lap, holding her hair up, looking like a goddess while she rode me. I had never seen anything so beautiful before, so perfect, and I buried my face in her neck as her body moved on top of mine.

“Good girl,” I said to her, my hands on her ass, guiding her in the rhythm that I needed. It was quick and frantic, just the way she wanted, and I kissed her deeply while she came all over me again. I made her come one more time, rubbing her clit with my fingers before letting her go, allowing her to finally catch her breath. She rolled over beside me and we laid down together, our legs intertwined, facing each other in bed.

“Are you ready to meet my parents?” I asked her.

She shook her head, a nervous look passing over her face. “I’m not sure,” she said.

“They’re going to love you. Trixie already loves you. I can tell.”

“She’s just glad that she has somebody she can talk shit about you with,” Ali said.

I laughed. “You are good for that. You’re so mean.”

“I know,” she said, kissing me softly. “But I love you, Tyler.”

“I love you too,” I said to her, kissing her forehead, pulling her against me so that we could spend the morning in bed.

Epilogue: Ali

I stood outside, breathing in the warm, clean air. My eyes met Tyler’s in the crowd—he gave me an encouraging grin and a thumbs-up, something that made my heart still in my chest. I felt less nervous just looking at him, knowing that he was there to support me. It made me feel strong as I stood there, looking out at the crowd next to Melissa. She gave me a giddy smile as Owen approached us through the crowd.

“I’m not going to speak very much, because this isn’t about me,” said Owen. “But the moment I had this girl’s cooking, I knew that I had something special.”

He gestured to me and I gave him a grateful look.

“These two women know how to run a restaurant, and together they have arranged one of the most unique and beautiful rooftop diners in the city. Let’s give them a round of applause for their success.”

The crowd applauded then, none louder than Tyler, who was beaming at me with pride. He winked at me as Melissa cut the giant ceremonial ribbon that I had thought corny of first, but had now decided that I’d liked. The crowd cheered—it was made up entirely of regulars of our small, original restaurant, the people who had been loyal to us since the very beginning. Owen let the customers inside while I stood there and greeted people as they walked in the door. Constance Maybury was last, and she wrapped me in a hug when she saw me.

“Congratulations,” she said. “I’m excited to try your shot at something fancy.”

“I hope it’s good,” I said, smiling at her, but I had no real doubt that it would be. I was good at what I did, and my success recently had only proved it, made it all come to fruition in opening the restaurant of my dreams.

“It will be, darling,” she said, sweeping past me. Tyler was at the end of the crowd, and I waited for him to get to the door. He kissed me softly, excitement in his eyes.

“You ready?” he asked. I nodded and we went inside, waiting for the elevator. Once we got on, he wrapped his arms around my waist, looking into my eyes.

“I just wanted to tell you something before we go up there,” he said to me.

“What is it?” I asked him, looking up at him adoringly. There was nothing that I didn’t love about Tyler now that I knew him—he was gentle and kind, funny, sexy and perfect in every way.

“You’re not going to be cooking tonight,” he said. My face screwed up in confusion.

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “It’s the grand opening.”

“Melissa and I had something else in mind,” he said to me, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “What is it?” I asked him. He took my hand, squeezing it, facing the elevator doors as they opened. My mouth dropped open in surprise when I saw our rooftop restaurant, the awning decorated with thousands of white twinkling lights. The tables were set up with candles, the diners all in their places, and when I looked around I saw other faces there too. Tyler’s family was there, and Trixie waved at me excitedly once we stepped off the elevator. I looked to see that there was an arch set up on the stage we’d had built for live shows, and raised my eyebrows at Tyler.

“I want to marry you,” he said to me, taking my hand, kissing the backs of my knuckles. “Please say yes.”

“Right now?” I asked him, looking around. “But everybody’s hungry.”

The diners laughed, and Melissa came over and wrapped her arms around me.

“We’re here for you,” she said to me. I felt my eyes well up with tears despite myself and wiped them away, glancing at Tyler.

“Yes,” I said to him, and he kissed me softly. The music struck up then and I saw that there was a violinist at the corner of the stage, playing a soft song as Tyler and I walked up the aisle together. We stood under the arch, holding hands as the minister delivered his sermon. I barely paid attention to what he was saying, instead looking into Tyler’s eyes and saying my own vows in my mind, delivering a prayer that he would always love me, that we would always be happy together. When he said ‘I do,’ I knew that he meant it, and I meant it just as much when I said it back.

The music started to play again and we walked down the aisle. Tyler took my waist, sweeping me over to the spot where they had set up the dance floor. I had never felt comfortable dancing, never as beautiful and elegant as the dancers I had seen, but there in my husband’s arms I felt like the prettiest girl in the world. I couldn’t stop smiling at him as we danced, our foreheads pressed together, the entire world around us disappearing as we swayed.

“Do you remember the first time we met?” he asked.

I laughed, nodding. “I think I called you insufferable,” I said.

“Something like that,” he said, grinning and kissing my lips. “I’m so glad I moved into that building.”

“Me too,” I said to him softly, wrapping my arms around his neck. We danced together for the rest of the night, moving slowly, enjoying each other and the first night of the rest of our lives together.