Page 33
Story: Carnal Desire
“I love you too,” she panted. “So fucking much.”
I wrapped Ariel in my arms, holding her close until her breathing evened out, telling me that she’d fallen asleep. And for the first time since I was a little girl I fell asleep imagining a future that included a happily ever after.
Epilogue – Ariel
One year later…
“Okay, enough working. It’s time for Found Family Dinner.”
I saved my document before Sadie could close my laptop. My little girlfriend got strict with me about not working too much, and I couldn’t say that I minded. For some reason Sadie’s bossy side was hot as hell. Especially when we were in bed.
Plus thanks to her I had a much better work/life balance now.
After a year of living together we’d fallen into a nice rhythm. Sadie decided to use part of the money she got from her ex-girlfriend to enroll in school part-time. She was also working for the AGM Foundation, the charitable organization that Grace,Maeve, and I had started many years ago to handle most of our philanthropic endeavors.
At first Sadie had been hesitant to accept a job with the foundation, but my friends and I convinced her that we needed someone with experience using the services system to help us assess where to direct our resources. She was good at what she did and even better, she loved the work. She was already talking about changing her major from social work to non-profit management and staying with the foundation.
As for me, Sadie didn’t only keep me from working too hard, she also kept me grounded. It wasn’t unusual for her to drag me to a food cart somewhere or insist that I visit the grocery store with her. Not that we didn’t still enjoy the benefits of things like food delivery and a car service.
After freshening up, I grabbed Sadie’s hand and headed downstairs to our reserved room for dinner. The room was more crowded than usual. Maeve, Grace, and I were all in committed relationships now, and a few newbies had joined the group as well.
Sadie slid into a chair at the end of the table, and everyone suddenly got very quiet. She looked around in confusion.
“What?”
Then her mouth dropped open as she realized that I’d dropped onto one knee next to her. I held up a small black velvet ring box.
“Sadie my love, you’ve made me incredibly happy this past year. The only thing that would make me happier would be if you did me the honor of becoming my wife.”
She stared at me for so long that I thought she’d say no.
“Show her the ring,” Theo called.
I opened the box, showing her the small emerald surrounded by two tiny diamonds set in a white gold band. Theo had gone with me to pick it out, assuring me that it was perfect for Sadie.
“The ring isn’t ostentatious,” Sadie finally said, sounding surprised.
I tilted my head in confusion. “What? You don’t like it? We can get something different. Something bigger if you want.”
Damn that Theo. He’d insisted that Sadie would want a small ring.
My girlfriend shook her head, and I noticed that her eyes were filling with tears.
“No, this ring is absolutely perfect. I love it.”
“Told you,” Theo sing songed.
Ignoring him, I focused on Sadie. “What do you say? Will you marry me?”
“Of course I’ll marry you, Ariel.”
Sadie flew out of the chair and dropped down onto the floor next to me, pulling me in for a quick, hard kiss. I slipped the ring on her finger, and we both looked at it for a long moment before we kissed again. Dimly, I heard our friends clapping.
“I can’t wait to marry you,” I said as we got back to our feet.
“I don’t want some giant spectacle of a wedding,” she warned.
“I was thinking we could get married on my boat at sunset, with just our closest friends there.”
Her face lit up. “You really get me.”
I nodded. “And now I’m going to keep you forever, Goldilocks.”
“Yes you are.”
***
I wrapped Ariel in my arms, holding her close until her breathing evened out, telling me that she’d fallen asleep. And for the first time since I was a little girl I fell asleep imagining a future that included a happily ever after.
Epilogue – Ariel
One year later…
“Okay, enough working. It’s time for Found Family Dinner.”
I saved my document before Sadie could close my laptop. My little girlfriend got strict with me about not working too much, and I couldn’t say that I minded. For some reason Sadie’s bossy side was hot as hell. Especially when we were in bed.
Plus thanks to her I had a much better work/life balance now.
After a year of living together we’d fallen into a nice rhythm. Sadie decided to use part of the money she got from her ex-girlfriend to enroll in school part-time. She was also working for the AGM Foundation, the charitable organization that Grace,Maeve, and I had started many years ago to handle most of our philanthropic endeavors.
At first Sadie had been hesitant to accept a job with the foundation, but my friends and I convinced her that we needed someone with experience using the services system to help us assess where to direct our resources. She was good at what she did and even better, she loved the work. She was already talking about changing her major from social work to non-profit management and staying with the foundation.
As for me, Sadie didn’t only keep me from working too hard, she also kept me grounded. It wasn’t unusual for her to drag me to a food cart somewhere or insist that I visit the grocery store with her. Not that we didn’t still enjoy the benefits of things like food delivery and a car service.
After freshening up, I grabbed Sadie’s hand and headed downstairs to our reserved room for dinner. The room was more crowded than usual. Maeve, Grace, and I were all in committed relationships now, and a few newbies had joined the group as well.
Sadie slid into a chair at the end of the table, and everyone suddenly got very quiet. She looked around in confusion.
“What?”
Then her mouth dropped open as she realized that I’d dropped onto one knee next to her. I held up a small black velvet ring box.
“Sadie my love, you’ve made me incredibly happy this past year. The only thing that would make me happier would be if you did me the honor of becoming my wife.”
She stared at me for so long that I thought she’d say no.
“Show her the ring,” Theo called.
I opened the box, showing her the small emerald surrounded by two tiny diamonds set in a white gold band. Theo had gone with me to pick it out, assuring me that it was perfect for Sadie.
“The ring isn’t ostentatious,” Sadie finally said, sounding surprised.
I tilted my head in confusion. “What? You don’t like it? We can get something different. Something bigger if you want.”
Damn that Theo. He’d insisted that Sadie would want a small ring.
My girlfriend shook her head, and I noticed that her eyes were filling with tears.
“No, this ring is absolutely perfect. I love it.”
“Told you,” Theo sing songed.
Ignoring him, I focused on Sadie. “What do you say? Will you marry me?”
“Of course I’ll marry you, Ariel.”
Sadie flew out of the chair and dropped down onto the floor next to me, pulling me in for a quick, hard kiss. I slipped the ring on her finger, and we both looked at it for a long moment before we kissed again. Dimly, I heard our friends clapping.
“I can’t wait to marry you,” I said as we got back to our feet.
“I don’t want some giant spectacle of a wedding,” she warned.
“I was thinking we could get married on my boat at sunset, with just our closest friends there.”
Her face lit up. “You really get me.”
I nodded. “And now I’m going to keep you forever, Goldilocks.”
“Yes you are.”
***