“And then it’s a surprise.”
“I’ll try to swallow your whole cock later if you just give me one hint,” she bargains.
I snort. “Nice try. It’s like your favorite fucking pastime.”
She huffs, then sighs. “It’s true.”
The elevator doors slide open, thankfully, because I can see my girlfriend’s wheels turning. We hold hands as I guide her to the car and drive the short distance to the restaurant. It’s her favorite place, and I’ve rented it out so we can celebrate her twenty-fifth in style.
“Oh my gosh! This is perfect! I wonder what their special will be. Maybe they’ll have lobster ravioli. Oh! And the panna cotta with sour cherries. I love it when they have that!”
“It’s a favorite for sure.” They’ll have all of Tally’s most loved dishes, of that I made sure.
The host greets us, and Tally is too busy being excited tonotice that the restaurant is deserted as he guides us to the main dining room.
The lights come up as we round the corner and all our friends and family shout, “Surprise!”
Tally turns to me, already overwhelmed with emotion. “You are the best.” She cups my face in her palms and brings my mouth to hers. “How did you plan this without me finding out?”
“I had help from some friends.”
“I love you. You’re amazing.”
The restaurant is decorated in her favorite colors, and a banner that reads Happy 25thTallulah! is strung across the back wall. A photo booth with a stage backdrop takes up one corner of the room.
It’s full of all the people we love and who love us. Quinn even managed to make the trip out from Chicago. Kellan wasn’t wrong about manifesting a trade. Gage Steele, one of Tilton’s enforcers and Tally’s friends, was picked up by the Terror, and Quinn went to the Rage, along with Kellan. It all worked out the way it was supposed to, though. Quinn is close to his family again, and finally got the girl he’s been longing for. Steele and our new goalie have been a great addition to the team.
Tally is engulfed by her friends, and I smile as she flits around, introducing some of her troupe mates to the Terror group.
“You bring the ring?” Tristan asks quietly.
I pat my pocket. “It’s right here.”
“Good man.”
“Dada!” My nephew bumbles over, falling twice on his way, Rix following behind him, a wide smile on her face.
“You got this, little man!” Tristan crouches and holds his arms out while his son wobbles into them. He showers his little face with kisses and picks him up, then bends to kiss my sister. They jumped on the baby train after Dallas and Hemi had their first. It started a trend. And my parents finally movedback to the city so they could focus on being grandparents and be closer to us.
Tally and I aren’t in a rush. Her career is taking off and I want her to enjoy it. She’s been dancing for En Pointe and this year she has a lead role in the fall performance.
In the meantime, we love being Uncle Flip and Aunt Tally.
“You’ve outdone yourself, Phillip.” Tally’s mom hugs me. She’s dating a guy who works in tech and leaves his job at the office. She’s happy and that’s what matters most to Tally.
“She deserves the world.”
“She’s lucky to have you.”
“And I’m lucky to have her.”
She moves on to chat with Tally’s friends and Vander Zee comes over. “This is a great party, Phillip. Thank you for celebrating my daughter.”
“I live to make her happy,” I say.
“I know you do.” He smiles fondly and claps me on the shoulder. “I’ll be proud to call you my son-in-law.”
I asked him for permission a while ago, knowing eventually we’d be in the right place to take the next step.
