44
Now…
“You quit? You really quit your job?” she asked from her perch on my lap. We were still on her sofa and still naked as I explained to her how I quit my job, caught an Uber back to the hotel, called KC to give him a heads up about what had happened since he put in a good word for me to get the job, got my stuff, made a couple of stops to handle some business, and took the first flight I could get back home, to her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, concern clouding her eyes. “I know how much that job meant to you.”
“Don’t be. I’ll be okay. I was able to save most of my salary over the last few years, because the company always covered my traveling costs, paid for my lodging and rental cars. I can handle the bills. I ain’t gonna be up in here being a deadbeat. And I have a plan for our future, too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I was thinking of ways we can grow your channel on the plane ride here.”
“Our channel? What’d you come up with?”
I grinned. “I was thinking we could add a series of videos where we debate music groups like we do all the time. You know, which one is better? We could call it, ‘Who You Got?’ Or ‘Verses Versus.’ It could be a weekly thing. And I think we should go to more conferences and film while we’re there and upload it. I got that idea from KC. He was telling me how he and Sarita wanna go to an event, but it’s hard with the baby. That got me thinking there are probably other people who would love to see footage from events.”
“Wow, that sounds great, baby.”
“And you can teach me how to edit so I can help with that, and that way we can crank out more videos every week. Oh, and we need to start selling merchandise, t-shirts and stuff like that. I have a friend who can put us a website together.”
“You’ve really been thinking about this, huh?”
“Yeah, baby. So what do you think?”
She smiled. “I think I love everything you said and I know I’ve missed you and I’m glad you’re back. And I’m sorry I let you go without me.”
“It’s all right. If you hadn’t stayed, I wouldn’t have realized how much I hated that job or that this is where I need to be. That job served its purpose by bringing me here to you. Now it’s time for me to move in a different direction with you.”
“But I still owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have pressured you about marriage when I knew you had commitment issues. I know it’ll happen when the time is right.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You don’t want to get married anymore?”
“I didn’t say that. But I can wait. I just wanna be with you. I don’t ever want us to be apart again.”
“Me either, baby. That’s why I got this before I left Arizona.” I dug into my pocket and pulled the ring out. “Will you marry me?”
I stared down at the gorgeous ring and blinked back tears before lifting my eyes to Ryan’s face. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to do this just because you know it’s what I want.”
“It’s what I want, too. Am I scared? Yeah, but I know I love you and I know I always will. I know I want to spend every day of the rest of my life with you, Angie. Baby, if you’ll have me, I wanna be your man, permanently. So…will you marry my unemployed ass?”
I hugged him tightly. “Yes!”
He squeezed me to him, kissing my neck and whispering, “I love you, Angie. We’re gonna have a good life. A great life.”
I nodded against his shoulder. “As long as we’re together, it’ll be the best life.”
My phone buzzed in my purse for the one-hundredth time since I pulled Ryan in the door, and I knew it was probably Nicky. “I never made it to my mom’s for dinner, and I was late before we…you know. That’s probably Nicky now wondering what happened to me. I better answer.”
He nodded as he rubbed the back of his thumb down my cheek.
I slid from his lap onto the sofa and began searching for my phone. By the time I dug it out of my purse, I had missed Nicky’s call and quickly sent her a text letting her know I was okay, wouldn’t be able to make it to dinner, and would call her later. When I turned back to Ryan, he was beside the sofa on bended knee.
“Thought I’d do this the right way,” he said. “Give me your hand, baby.”
I fought back tears as he slid the ring on my finger and rejoined me on the sofa, kissing me deeply.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you for loving me like you do.”
He shook his head. “Naw, baby. Thank you for letting me love you and for loving me back.”
“I didn’t have a choice.”