Page 54

CREED

T he only sound in the suite was the quiet hum of our breathing. Serenity was curled up against me, her head resting on my chest, her fingers tracing absent patterns against my bare skin. We weren’t asleep—we hadn’t even bothered pretending.

My mind was racing.

After everything we had just done, everything we had just said without saying, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this moment was different. This wasn’t just another night. And I couldn’t let it be.

“Beautiful,” I murmured, my fingers trailing lazily up and down her spine. She hummed, not looking up, but I knew she was wide awake. “You still up?” I asked.

She exhaled softly. “Mmhmm.”

Good. Because I had something to say.

I took a breath, my chest rising beneath her. “Does this mean we’re back together?”

She stilled against me, her fingers pausing in their slow dance across my ribs.

Then she propped herself up, shifting so she was straddling me, her hands resting against my chest. Her curls were wild from how I’d been gripping them earlier, and her lips were still swollen from how thoroughly I had kissed her.

She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. And she was mine.

“I want to be with you,” she admitted softly, her eyes locking onto mine. “I've been thinking about it since… since everything that happened with Papa Joe.”

That hit me. Because I had been thinking about it too.

“I was thinking about it before that,” I admitted, gripping her hips and holding her there, just in case she got any bright ideas about moving. “But something he said before he passed really put it into perspective for me.” Serenity nodded, like she understood exactly what I meant. Because she did.

“What did he say?”

“He told me not to take you for granted, that I was blessed with a good life and that you were a part of it. He told me not to let you get away.”

“He’s a smart man.”

“I can’t go another day without you,” I told her.

No hesitation. No doubt. She blinked, lips parting.

“I want us together,” I said, squeezing her hips a little tighter.

“I want our kids in one house—not going back and forth. I want to wake up next to you every day. I want to go to sleep with you every night.”

She swallowed. I could see it—the way my words were hitting her, the way she felt them deep in her chest.

“I want that too,” she whispered, fingers sliding up to rest against my jaw. “I love you, Creed. I never stopped.”

That was it. That was all I needed. Without thinking, without questioning it, the words left my mouth before I even had time to process them.

“Marry me.”

Serenity blinked. “What?”

“Marry me.”

A slow smile started to creep across her lips. “Now?”

I nodded. Dead serious. “Yeah. Tonight. Let’s elope. Just you and me.”

Her laughter was soft, breathy, disbelieving. “Creed?—”

“I’m serious.” I sat up, forcing her to grip my shoulders to stay steady. “Right now. We can go to a chapel and do it. Just us.”

I expected her to hesitate. I expected her to tell me we needed to slow down—to think it through. Instead, she stared at me for a long second, her head tilting, really considering it. Then she grinned.

“You really wanna do this?” she asked.

I lifted a brow. “Do you?”

She bit her lip. “YOLO, right?”

I laughed shaking my head at her corny ass. “That’s a yes?”

She nodded. “That’s a hell yes.”

Excitement rushed through me, and I kissed her hard, rolling her beneath me on the bed. She was giggling, breathless, grinning like she just won something. And she had. We both had. We were finally getting this right.

We didn’t do anything fancy—just took a quick shower and changed into sweats, a quick call to our driver, and within thirty minutes, we were standing inside Blue Moon Wedding Chapel.

The place was exactly what you’d expect from a Vegas chapel—gaudy red velvet carpet, gold-trimmed everything, and an Elvis impersonator behind the counter who looked like he had seen some things.

“Y’all lookin’ to get hitched?” Fake Elvis asked, adjusting his oversized sunglasses.

“Hell yeah we are,” I said, grinning. Serenity laughed, shaking her head, but her eyes were shining.

We signed the papers, paid the fee, and before I knew it, we were standing at the altar under dim lighting with Fake Elvis officiating our wedding. Serenity was smiling the whole time, laughing when he made us recite our vows in his best Elvis accent.

When it was time for the rings, I felt a second of panic—until Serenity grabbed my hand and whispered, “We don’t need them.”

I nodded, understanding what she meant. I didn’t need a ring to prove my commitment to her.

We didn’t need some big ceremony to make it real. This was real. It had always been real.

“You may now kiss the bride,” Fake Elvis said dramatically.

I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed her, tilted her head back, and kissed her like my life depended on it. Like this was exactly where we were meant to be. When we pulled away, Serenity was breathless, grinning, and officially Mrs. Creed Langston.

“Let’s get the fuck outta here,” I murmured against her lips. She laughed, and we did exactly that.

Instead of rings, we went to a 24-hour tattoo shop down the street and got each other’s initials inked on our ring fingers.

Serenity went first, wincing as the artist carefully tattooed a “CL” in delicate script onto her skin.

“You good?” I asked, watching her face.

She smirked at me. “Tougher than you, remember?” I shook my head, grinning, then sat down for my turn. Minutes later, I had a “SB” inked on my own ring finger. She traced it with her fingertip, her eyes soft. “This is perfect.”

I pressed a kiss to her temple. “I promise I’ll get you a real ring.”

She shrugged. “This is real enough for me.” I loved her for that.

The plane ride home was peaceful. Serenity and I sat next to one another, leaning into one another; hands clasped together in solidarity.

We got stares from our friends, but also it felt like relief radiating off of them.

We had finally gotten our shit together and that part, we didn’t mind being out in the open.

When we got back to LA, we didn’t tell a soul. Not yet. We wanted to stay in our little bubble, to let it be just ours for now.

My mama was at the house when we got back, watching the kids, and the second we walked in, Cree ran straight into my arms.

“Daddyyyyy!”

I laughed, lifting her up, kissing her round cheeks. “I missed you, baby girl.” I turned to Giovanni, completed our handshake, then bent down and kissed his forehead. “What’s up Gio?”

Serenity was watching us, her smile soft, and I knew what she was thinking. This was our family, our life. And now? It was official; she was Mrs. Creed Langston.

Finally.