We are both breathing heavily. Her head his on my chest. My hand caresses her back and her damp hair. “I love you too, Tymber.” It’s crazy fast but you know what it doesn’t matter. We have the rest of our lives to figure shit out.
“I can’t believe I said that,” she says laughing.
“Did you not mean it?”
“No, I definitely meant it.”
“Then don’t worry about it. I feel the same way. Despite the insane timing or lack thereof, it is what it is. I always knew it would like this for me.”
“I didn’t,” she says. “I thought it would never happen. I imagined my life snuggling nieces and nephews, never knowing that kind of joy for myself. You want to know the real reason I don’t have a job?”
“Yes,” I say. I am curious.
“I want to be a mother. I want that to be my job. Deep down, I’ve always known that. That’s why I picked two obscure ass things to study in college. I am practically unemployable on purpose.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that, Tymber. You know your own mind and heart. I think that’s amazing. I am also ready to start a family. Get married.”
“Well, I hope so. You came so much inside of me, it’s leaking out,” she says laughing. She runs her fingers through my chest hair.
“I’ll get you a ring tomorrow,” I say. Her fingers pause.
“I’m sorry. What?”
“You’re marrying me, love. No way I’d let you go now.”
“We don’t have to get married or even engaged to be together. I don’t want you to regret anything.”
“Love, you have nothing to worry about on that front.” I kiss her soundly. Damn, I’ll never get tired of that.
She falls asleep in my arms, right where she belongs.
I could get used to this, I think as I cover us up.
5
Tymber
I don’t regret telling him that I loved him last night. Shit, I always thought instalove was something authors made up, but boy was I wrong. I didn’t even know I could feel this way about another person and so fucking fast, but here I am. Muscles I didn’t know I had are sore as fuck this morning, besides the obvious ones. Even with that, I’ve never felt better.
“Will you come to dinner with my family tonight?” I ask over coffee in his huge gourmet kitchen. I want him to meet my family more than anything. I know they will love him. We are all Goliaths fans.
“Of course, love. Should I bring anything?”
“No. It will all be taken care of.”
“Are you spending the day with me?”
“I need to change, but we can hang out at my apartment,” I say. I need a shower as well.
“Sounds good.” I am just wearing his flannel shirt. It’s like a dress on me, so I gather up my dirty clothes and we head out. In the garage, we take a different car than last night. This one is a two door sports car with a name I can’t pronounce. I give him directions to my building. Green Hills is pretty much a traffic jam at this time of day, so it takes us a while to get there. We make a quick stop at a jewelry store on the way.
“Are you coming in with me?”
“No, I want to be surprised by what you come back with,” I say.
“Okay, sit tight love. I’ll be right back.” He kisses me and hops out of the car.
Fifteen minutes later he’s back. He holds open the box and I gasp. The ring is fucking huge. It’s a platinum princess cut engagement ring. He slides it on my finger.
“Marry me?” he asks.
“Fuck yeah,” I say kissing him. We get going again and I marvel at how heavy the ring is.
Once inside the building, we take the elevator up to the thirty-eighth floor. On the way over, I explained that my family has the whole floor, so he isn’t surprised when there are about ten kids aged 18 mos to eight playing in the hallway. Most of the apartment doors are open, but I don’t see any adults. The kids come up to me one by one for daily Auntie Tymber hugs and I indulge them because I live for them too. When I turn around, just to see if he is overwhelmed, he is carrying Brianna and holding the hand of of my nephew Benji. My ovaries explode.
“Guys, this is Hayden,” I say introducing them to him.
“Where have you been,” Rachel says laughing from her doorway. “Brianna had a fit when you didn’t answer your door.”
“I was out. Aww, Bri-baby. Did you need me?” I say holding my hands out to her. She leans over and I lift her up.
“Yes,” she says and I gasp. She was on that no kick for a while.
“I’m sorry, baby. I’m here now,” I say as she buries her head in my neck.