Yearning For Her Curves: (A BWWM Interracial Romance) (6 page)

I glanced up and him and nodded. “Oh yeah?”

“Mmhm.  And I think I know what we should do next,” he said as I bent down to look at the artist’s name of the piece that we were standing in front of.

“What’s that?”  I asked.  I stood back up and turned to face where he stood behind me, only to be faced with a man on his knees.

“I think we should get married,” he said.  I almost fell backwards.

“What?”  I said, a bit more breathy than I’d meant for it to come out.

“I know that I can’t live without you.  I tried and it didn’t work, I was miserable.  You know that you can’t live without me for the same reason.  Why should we live without each other, then?”

“Wait, this is so… sudden,” I said.  Patrick laughed at my shock.

“It’s like everything else that we’ve been and done our entire lives, even before we got together,” he said.  “It’s passionate and hot.  It spreads quickly, like wildfire.  That’s what we are, Jacinta.  That’s what I want for the rest of my life.”

“I’m not even your girlfriend!”  I squealed, tears now running down my cheeks.  Happy tears, but tears none the less.

“Details.  I don’t want you to be my girlfriend.  I want you to be my wife.”  He took my hand in his and slipped a small jewelry box from the inside breast pocket of his suit jacket.

“You have a ring?”  I said, my voice almost a whisper now.  Patrick nodded.

“Of course I do.  You are the only woman in my life that I can honestly say that I am in love with.  That’s not something that I say lightly, Jacinta.  I planned to be the consummate bachelor, cool uncle Patrick who never settles down, and then you came along and completely derailed that life.  You are all that I think about, all the time.  I miss you when you’re not around and when you are, I want you closer.”  

I jumped up and down a little, and then threw my arms around his neck. “I love you too, Patrick.”   

He laughed and picked me up, swinging me around.

“Does that mean that you’ll marry me?” he asked again, putting me back down on my feet.  I sniffed and nodded.

“Yes, I’ll marry you,” I said.  Patrick gently opened the box and pulled the ring out, slipping it gently on my finger before sweeping me up into another tight hug that had my feet dangling.

“You’ve just made me the happiest man alive.”

“You’ve just made me the happiest woman.”

Chapter 13

We left the party almost immediately after the proposal.  Patrick raced us through the streets, back to my apartment since it was closer to the museum.  Once we’d arrived, he pulled my clothes off of me on our way through the apartment, leaving a trail until we finally arrived at the bed.  Then he lay me back and wouldn’t let me do anything but enjoy what he did to me.  It was amazing, and he seemed to know exactly what I wanted and needed at exactly the right time.  By the time we’d showered and settled back into bed together, we were happy and exhausted.

“So, when do we tell people?  You know we have to at least tell Joey and Char,” I said.

“We can tell them, we know that they can keep it a secret, but as for the rest of the world, let’s wait until after the first big away game,” Patrick said.

“This weekend?”  I asked.  I felt Patrick nod against me.

“Yeah.  The last thing I need while I’m trying to get my head in the game is the media whipping itself into a frenzy around me because the news just broke that I’m engaged.”  He laughed.  I grinned; he had a point.  And with this being the new Coach’s first season with them, he had something to prove.

“Right, that makes sense,” I said.

“Thinking about you during games is enough of a distraction as it is.”  

I playfully smacked at his chest. “Shut up, you do not.” 

“I do, I swear.  Even when I’m trying not to, I still do,” he said.  I rolled my eyes.

“Whatever,” I said with a laugh.

“As soon as I get back, we’ll go see Nick and decide the best way to release this without anything detrimental happening to you.  I don’t want the media stalking you or putting you in danger.”  He kissed my forehead gently.

“You’re so sweet,” I said, looking up at him.  He smirked.

“Sometimes.”

Chapter 14

Charlotte and I decided to meet up before the agreed upon time to meet with Isobel at the spa.  We’d made a whole package deal out of today, opting to book the lunch and relaxing afternoon package for the three of us.  We met up thirty minutes beforehand, a few blocks away at a small coffee shop that had scones that were to die for.

“Over here!”  Char said, waving as Al tried to copy the motion from her lap.  I grinned and nodded, stepping up to the counter quickly to order us a few pastries.  I could almost see her rolling her eyes, and I wasn’t even facing her.

“Shut up,” I said as I sat down across from her and pushed one of the scones across the table to her.  She shook her head.

“I didn’t say a word, did I?”  She snorted.  Al immediately began reaching and she gently pushed the treat from his grasp quicker than I would have been able to manage.  She was getting good at this mommy thing.

“So, what is the plan for today?”  I asked.  Char sighed and sat back a bit.

“I’m not sure.  Do we just come out and tell her that we’re worried about her?  Or do we pretend that this is just a friendly outing?” she asked.  I shrugged.

“I don’t want to alienate her from us, and you and I both know that the normal default response to someone poking at something you aren’t ready to talk about yet is anger and some variation of storming off.” 

“Right.  That’s the last thing we want for her to do,” she said.  We sat there in silence for a bit, nibbling at our food.

“Maybe we could kind of test the waters, you know?” Char suggested.  “One of us says something about being a little concerned and then we see if she starts getting red, like she does when she’s about to blow a gasket.” 

“True, it’s pretty easy to tell when she’s about to be upset.  We should take her tanning sometime, she really is alarmingly pale,” I said with a laugh.

“She doesn’t tan, she burns, remember?”  Char said.  She had a point, Izzy went from ghost white to tomato red in nothing flat.

“There has got to be a way around that,” I said softly, not really to Charlotte.  More to my thoughts.

“Later.  Today, we need to see how close we can get to telling Isobel that she’s in a pretty deep funk,” Charlotte said.  Al let out a wail as she put the last bit of scone in her mouth without giving him any, and she looked down at him with a smile, reaching in her diaper bag and pulling out a small bottle that Al immediately took and shoved into his little mouth.

“We ought to get going,” I said.  Char nodded and slipped Alton into the stroller beside the table.  The diaper bag hooked over the back and Char’s purse slid into the basket underneath.  I grinned, standing.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing.  You just have totally become a mom, haven’t you?” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“You put your purse farther out of reach than the diaper bag.  You hand Al the bottle because you know that he can hold it himself now, so you’re not worried about it anymore.  You put him in the stroller like it’s nothing, when a few months ago, putting him in the stroller required a few minutes of thought and some finagling.”  A few months ago, it had been almost a ten minute ordeal for her to get Al plus all her bags and things arranged to leave the house.  I’d timed it once.

“I guess I’ve just gotten used to it now.”  She shrugged.  We laughed as we walked out of the shop and started walking towards the spa.

“I’m really glad.  I’ve always thought you’d make a good mom, but that first bit right after Al was born made me worry,” I said.  Charlotte bumped hips with me playfully.

“Shut up, taking care of a little human being is not an easy task.”   Al screamed, but it was the scream that was the happy one, not the crying one.  We’d gotten pretty good at telling the difference without having to look at him.

“You take care of Joey, isn’t it pretty much the same?”  I giggled.

“The smells aren’t quite the same, though there seem to be just as many of them,” she said.  I wrinkled my nose.

“Ew, that’s gross!”  

Char grinned. “Boys are gross, Jacinta.  Haven’t you figured that out by now?”  She said. 

I sighed. “Patrick isn’t gross.”  She tossed a disbelieving glance at me.

“See, that is how I know you’re in love.  I’ve seen that boy lean over the sideline and do a farmer’s blow.  He is most certainly gross,” she said.  I laughed; I remembered that game.  She was right, that was gross.  But he’d never done anything like that with me around.

“He was on the field during a game, what was he supposed to do?”  I asked with a laugh.  Char rolled her eyes.

“I’m just pointing out that you not thinking he is gross is clearly a case of love goggles,” she said.  I sighed.

“Maybe.”  I murmured.

“Definitely.”  She chuckled.

~~~

Izzy met us in the lobby of the spa a few minutes after Charlotte and I had arrived.  We’d been there long enough to get Al settled into the daycare center and grab two arm chairs by the door.  She came in with a wide grin and the tension in my chest eased a bit.  She was having a good day, that was promising.

“Hello ladies,” she said, sitting on Char’s lap and hugging her with a giggle.

“Hey Izzy,” I said.  The three of us stood and Isobel came and gave me a tight hug.

“So, we have to pick a package, right?” she said.  Charlotte shook her head.

“Nope. We picked the full half day package.”  

Izzy’s eyes widened. “The one that includes lunch and everything?” 

“Yup,” Char said.  Izzy bounced a bit and clapped.

“Awesome, because I am starving.” 

“Well come on, we already let them know that we’re here, so there should be a table for us soon,”  Char said.  The three of us linked arms and walked into the spa restaurant.

Chapter 15

We settled into our outside table as a warm, gentle breeze blew around us.  Char ordered the three of us a bottle of wine to split and an appetizer, giving us a bit of time to talk before the waiter came back to take our lunch orders.

“So,” Char said.  Izzy looked up and smiled.

“So?” she asked.  Char and I shared a look.

“How are you feeling, Isobel?  We’ve been so busy that we haven’t been hanging out as much as we used to.”  I asked, watching her face carefully.

“I’ve been okay.  I’ve been having a hard time, so I went to my doctor and got a recommendation for a therapist.  That’s been helping a lot,” she said.  I gave her a surprised look.

“Really?”  I asked.  She nodded.

“I felt so bad talking to you guys about it, like I was dumping on you when you’ve got enough going on in your lives.  But talking to the therapist, I don’t feel guilty, so I can actually unload.  I think it’s really helping.”

“I think so too, Izzy.  You look almost back to your happy, bubbly self,” Char said.

“Mmhm.  I have a tougher time at night than during the day, but it’s still way better,” she said with a smile that lit up her entire face.

“You can come out to the house, if you need to crash somewhere where you’re not alone, you know,” Char said.  Izzy nodded.

“I know, and thank you.  But I’ve got to get past this.  If it gets to be too heavy, I promise I will come out there with a bag packed.”

“Well!  That was easier than I thought it was going to be,” I said without even thinking about it.

“Wait, was this about talking to me?  This spa day?”  Izzy asked.  Char and I glanced at each other, and Char blushed a bit.

“We were worried about you.  We were afraid that you were falling into depression, but we weren’t sure how you’d take us bringing it up to you.” 

“So we decided to bring you here, and maybe get you all relaxed so that we ran less chance of you getting angry with us,” I finished.

“I wouldn’t have been angry.  Thank you guys, so much,” she said, reaching across the table and taking our hands in hers.

“Really?”  Char asked.  Isobel hesitated.

“Okay, I might have been angry, but I wouldn’t have really meant it,” she said.  The three of us laughed.

“We just want you to be okay again,” I said.  Isobel gave my hand a squeeze.

“I know.  I’m getting there, I promise.  I’ll be back to my old self in no time,” she said.

And that was that.  We ordered our food and laughed all the way through the meal.  The wine was gone by the time we were ready to move on to the sauna, which was the first stop in our day, and we were all laughing and talking about all the good times that we’d had together.  Almost back to normal.  Almost.

~~~

“How do you get your hair to do that?”  The girl working on Charlotte’s hair asked.  Char glanced over her shoulder.

“Do what?” 

“It’s over halfway down your back, but it’s not breaking off or splitting ends or anything.  My hair hits my shoulders and all hell breaks loose,” the girl said.  Char grinned.

“I used to have a problem with it, but I found this great conditioner that I have to order online because it’s made in South Korea, but it is amazing.  I’ll show you,” she said, pulling her phone from her pocket and beginning to type away on it.

“Is it expensive?” she asked.  Char shook her head.

“Nope, but I always buy at least three bottles, otherwise the shipping isn’t worth it.  But, three bottles will last you forever.”