He glanced over his shoulder, smirking as I approached. “Never.” He extended his hand to me, which I happily accepted. “I was just taking a moment to thank God for blessing me with you. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m happy as fuck he saw fit to make you mine.”
Pulling me into his arms, he scanned my face as he used his thumb to trace my bottom lip. As we stared at each other, our hearts and eyes said what words didn’t. This was love; this was forever.
“Can I show you something?” I nibbled my bottom lip, still gazing at him. I couldn’t hide the fact that I was nervous. “Take a walk with me.”
“Anything for you, baby.”
Kissing his lips, I took his hand and led him for a short walk on the beach. The sun was setting, and the weather was perfect.The night air wasn’t too cool, and it was needed for what I had planned.
“You know, I still can’t believe you tricked me and had Marshall view the house.” I smiled every time I thought about it. “Had I seen his actual home first, I would have known something was up.”
“That’s exactly why I never took your nosey ass over there.” He chuckled, tucking me under his arm. “I knew you would love it, though. When I first saw the place, I knew it would be perfect for you. It reminds me of a castle, the perfect place for my queen.”
Lifting my hand to his lips, he kissed it gently, causing me to feel hot all over. There was never a day that went by that he didn’t tell me how much I meant to him. I would never have to worry about where I stood with him, and I loved him for that. Tonight, I wanted to assure him that through it all, I would choose him too.
“Damn!” His eyes lit up in awe when our spot for the night came into view. “This shit is dope, baby.”
The sands were lit with flickering torches, their flames dancing in the breeze and casting a glow that created a path toward where tonight’s festivities would take place. Each step we took felt intentional, almost ceremonial, as the fire kissed our skin as we passed through. The saxophonist ahead played a slow, sultry melody, the harmonious sound floating through the open air and blending with the soft waves of the high tide.
Just before the shoreline, a decorated table sat, surrounded by plush cushions arranged in an intimate circle. The food awaited us in gold steel covers, and my mouth watered. The aroma was rich and inviting, and I was excited to pair it with the chilled wine resting in an ice bucket. The doctor had said even though I couldn’t have sugary drinks, I could indulge in a glassof wine. I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face as I took it all in, excited to look at JJ and see his reaction.
“You did this for me, mama?” He pulled me into his arms, eyes misting over.
This is exactly the reaction I wanted to see.
“This shit is bomb as fuck, Bloss Baby!”
“I’ll do anything for you, baby. Tonight is all about you, Papa. You saw me as the mother of your child and chose to make me your wife. This is my way of showing you that I choose you too.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him to me for a kiss. I pushed my tongue inside as we both fought for dominance. When he began to groan, I knew we had to scale it back. “Wait, baby…” I giggled, wiping my lip gloss from his lips. “We have to slow down before I give you mysurprise.”
“Bloss Baby, we can skip dinner and get straight to dessert. That surprise can wait too,” he whined, pushing his pelvis into my lower stomach. “Do you not see how hard my dick is?”
I laughed as I dropped my eyes to the linen slacks. I pulled my lip between my teeth as I took in his third leg. Even as nightfall was on the horizon, I could see his print from where I was. It was hard for me not to say to hell with dinner too. Shaking my head, I pushed the thoughts away, taking his hand and guiding him to the cushions. After he helped me down and sat down, too, we both uncovered the multiple dishes and immediately started eating.
“How’s your dinner?” I asked after a few minutes of us munching. The private chef had done amazing with the menu options I gave her, settling on grilled salmon, steamed asparagus, crusted macaroni and cheese, and garlic-roasted potatoes. The garden salad was perfectly tossed with a vinaigrette I could tell the chef made herself. “I know it’s your favorite.”
“Wrong.” He shook his head, wiping his mouth before taking a sip of his wine. My eye arched at his response because, since when was salmon not his favorite protein? “My favorite meal is you. Come up out of that dress and let’s give Lisa Simpson over there a show.”
Flushed from his comment, I didn’t know if I wanted to take my panties off or laugh at him making fun of our musician for the night. The woman was going her thing, and for him to call her Lisa Simpson was insane. Seeing that he was almost done eating, I decided to go ahead and whip out dessert.
“I hope you have room for that.” I nodded toward the untouched white box on the table. “I know you’re not big on sweets, but I had to order this after seeing how good the chef’s desserts looked on Instagram.”
I let JJ reach for the box, sliding it to the middle of our table, as I felt under the tablecloth for the device the chef put in the sand for me. As he opened the lid and smiled in approval, my hand hit the extra-long lighter. The vanilla heart-shaped cake was beautifully decorated with pink and blue icing. A picture of our baby’s ultrasound sat on top. I was already a crying mess, but I pulled it together just enough to speak.
“I wanted this moment to be just for us.” I went into my clutch, pulled out the note, and slid it across the table. His eyes misted as he looked from me to it before taking it. “Since day one, you’ve chosen me, Jaseon. You’ve chosen our family. I think it’s time to see who’s chosen you to be the best daddy they could ever have.”
His hands shook as he opened the note to read. A tear fell down his cheek before he cleared his throat and read it aloud.
“God told me I could handpick the coolest DaDa, and I choose you. Get ready because life just got sweeter.”
No longer bothering to hold back his tears, JJ looked up at the night sky as his emotions about becoming a father overtookhim. I pulled the lighter out, clicked the trigger to ignite the flame, and placed it on top of the cake. Watching as the ultrasound picture burned away, the letters underneath came into view.
“Baby…” He stood from his seat after seeing the first letter, coming over to my side of the table and pulling me from my seat. “Are we having a?—”
Boom! Boom!
Right on cue, pink fireworks began to crackle and light up the sky. I sobbed, full of love and joy, as he looked up, wide-eyed with excitement.
“We’re having a baby girl!” I smiled through my tears, surprised and happy with the gender of our growing baby. “We’re having a daughter!”
