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“I thought—” someone else begins, his words halting when Rick cups my cheek. “Oh shit. Seriously?”
He nods, agreeing to be mine a second before his lips brush mine.
Another round of stunned silence fills the locker room.
“Hell yeah!” Silas snaps, and then the locker room goes crazy.
Cheers laced with confusion swirl around us as we hug, and I bury my nose in his neck, needing a moment before I can face everyone.
“I love you so much,” he whispers in my ear.
“I’m going to spend the rest of my life proving how much I love you.”
“I can feel it right now.” He presses against me a little harder, and I pinch his ass to make him stop.
These guys may be cheering but turning around with an erection might push their boundaries a little too far.
“This isn’t a joke?” Jones asks.
“Catch up, would you?” Silas snaps as he approaches us, shaking Rick’s hand and then giving me a bro hug with a rather violent back slap. “You brave asshole.”
I chuckle as he releases me.
We suffer through a round of backslaps and congratulations, and just like Silas assured me it would be, everything is fine. Neither of us get punched in the face. No one calls us slurs or cringes when I look at them. I feel terrible for even considering that someone might have an issue with it. I should’ve given these guys more credit.
I pull Rick into another hug as the guys start filtering out, my teammates heading to the diamond and others either done working out for the day or heading toward the gym to lift weights.
“Why is that so hot?” a guy mutters from not too far away, but we ignore him.
“You’re crazy. You know that, right?” Rick asks, his hands resting on my hips.
“Maybe a little,” I tell him before leaning in for one more kiss. “Did it upset you?”
His head shakes. “Not at all.”
“Can’t wait to get back to the room to celebrate.” I waggle my eyebrows.
“That will have to wait until after the engagement party,” Silas says, startling me because I thought he’d cleared out with everyone else.
“What?” I turn around to face him.
He shrugs. “It’s not every day one of my closest friends gets engaged. We have to celebrate.”
He claps me on the back, not giving me time to refuse before walking out of the room.
***
“I’ve imagined this so many times,” Rick says, his voice pitched higher than normal so he can be heard over the loud music.
“I have too,” I confess, pulling him even tighter against my body.
We’re not exactly dancing. We’re simply swaying completely offbeat in the middle of Jason’s living room.
People are watching us. Of course they are, but the man in my arms is the only one in this place that has my attention. I let my mind convince me that we’re being watched because this is Silas’s idea of an engagement party, and we have their attention because we’re the guests of honor and not because we’re some oddity they can’t look away from.
“You’re a horrible dancer,” he says, but his cheeks are lifted in a smile.
“I’m a great dancer,” I argue because I’ve never gotten any complaints in the past.
“Who lied to you?”
I press a smacking kiss to his lips because I can’t think of a single person who has ever complimented me about it.
His smile grows wider as I begin to frown.
“I am, aren’t I?”
He nods without hesitation.
“I still love you,” he offers as a consolation.
“That’s all I need. Now, can we finally leave?”
He shakes his head. “I need you to drink a beer, so I can spend the rest of the night kissing the taste off your tongue.”
Now this is something I can do for him.
The night doesn’t end with just one beer, because like every other time I attend a party, people stop and chat with us. We get so many congratulations and well wishes that it leaves my head spinning and my stomach churning with regret for waiting so long.
I know Lindell University isn’t the rest of the world. People here are more accepting, but with Rick by my side, I know I can face any other challenge in the world.
Chapter 38
Rick
“You’re sure about this?” I ask, trying to keep my voice low.
Landon is smiling at me, and I catch the way his head shakes just the slightest amount, but it isn’t an answer to my question. The sparkle in his eyes says that he thinks I’m being ridiculous.
“I’m serious,” I whisper-hiss. “This is a big deal.”
Landon looks to his left. A round of chuckles echoes around the room.
“Pretty fucking sure,” he answers before muttering, “Sorry, Mom.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart.”
“Ready?” the man standing in front of us asks.
I look to Landon one last time, nodding when he does.
“We are gathered here today to join this couple in holy matrimony…”
