In Your Arms (18 page)

              There are a million more reasons I could say why I love her, but my blog has a word limit. So I'll be the first to say it. I, Braxton Wright, have fallen in love with Ashton Pennington.

              I love you, Ashton.

-Braxton Wright.

              He loves me? I opened the door and Braxton was standing there with my letter. The letter where I said I loved him and wrote down my LA address.

              “We are so stubborn.” I say and smile.

              “I don't want to waste anymore time.” He takes two steps and leans down to kiss me. “I love you.” He whispers.

              “I love you.” I whisper back before he kisses me.

              I'm pressed up against the wall. He's pressing his body against mine, he knows what I want, I know what he wants. I could feel him against me, I wanted him. Now.

              I began to pull his jumper off, but he stopped me. I looked at him with wide eyes, and he looked to be embarrassed.

              “What?” I ask while heavily breathing. It's weird. Kissing Braxton, I never feel out of breath until I stop kissing him. He's like air.

              “I don't exactly have a condom with me or in this apartment.” I laugh.

              “How do you not? Weren't you supposed to be some kind of womanizer?”

              “I never took them here. This is my safe space. Now it's a space that I want to do you in over and over again.” He nips at my ear. “I need to go to the store.”

              “Well, how about this.” He pulls back to look at my face. Sigh. Those blue eyes had a very strong hold on me. “Every three months I get a shot that prevents me from getting pregnant. My last appointment was two weeks ago.”

              “How long have you been on birth control?”

              “Since I was sixteen. I didn't tell you-”

              “No. I understand why you didn't tell me, your choice.” He gives me a smile. “I'm just really happy right now I don't have to run out on my hot horny girlfriend to go get a condom.”

              He starts pulling his jumper over his head and I start kicking off my black platform heels. I jump onto him and kiss him, as he once again presses me against the wall. I feel him get a grip on my legs and he gets me onto the bed.

              Braxton hovers over me, his hands slide up to my panties. I was wet and sensitive as he slipped his hand inside, and I gasped as he began began pumping two of his fingers inside me. It's definitely been too long.

              “As much as I want to take it slow, I really need to be inside you right now.” He says and I nod in agreement. “Lets take this dress off.” He fingers slipped out and he tasted me on his fingers. “You taste good.”

              I could sense that I was blushing, so I looked to my side to begin unzipping the black floral dress. Braxton helped me out of the dress, and took my panties along with it. I watched him take off his white v-neck and then pants and boxers.

              I kept my eyes on him and watched as he spread my legs open and positioned himself at my entrance. Slowly, he entered me, I lifted my hips so I could meet him. Once fully inside, he began his rhythm. Braxton leaned down and began kissing me, first my lips then my neck. He got to my collarbone and he sucked on my sensitive spot. His hands were on my breasts. I was on overdrive, and I knew I was close, and so was he. His movements were getting faster.

              “Brax.” I managed to get out.

              “I know.” He said and we both managed to peak at the same time.

              It was close to six in the morning and we'd barely slept. Braxton was running his finger up and down my arm, and I was hugging him with my head on his chest, hearing his heartbeat. I was never a cuddle after sex kind of girl, but with Braxton...I wanted to be that girl.

              “What time does your flight leave?” I hear him ask.

              “Ten.” I knew I needed to get back to the hotel to pack and get the numbers of all the places we were going to be in Berlin so I could make sure they were ready for my boss.

              “I'll drop you off at your hotel.” He says, but makes no effort to move.

              “What are we going to do now?” I ask.

              “When does your internship end?”

              “I fly back to LA Sunday, but my last day is Monday.”

              “Are you coming back to New York?”

              “Yes.” I knew that New York was where I wanted to be because that's where Braxton is. I made the decision when our eyes met at the book signing.

              “You know, you don't have to come back, you can literally move to the moon and I would follow you.”

              “I love you.” I say and look up at him and he smiles.

              “I love you.” he presses his lips against my forehead.

Epilogue

Braxton Wright

One year later...

              I closed the door as quietly as I could and I set my suitcase down. I've been traveling for my latest book for the past two weeks, Ashton couldn't join me because she had finals to study for and take. I got word from her mother that she passed them with flying colors.

              I opened the door to our bedroom to see Ashton asleep at four in the afternoon. She only has the summer semester left to do, and she'll achieve her degree in interior design. She took enough classes at Northwestern to graduate almost a year early from NYU.

              I slipped into our bed and Ashton opened her big gray eyes to look at me. She was a light sleeper, I'm sure she woke up as soon as I opened the front door.

              “Good afternoon, love.” I pressed my lips against her and she smiled.

              “What time is it?” She yawns and sits up.

              “Four. Our parents will arrive in a few hours.” She froze.

              “That's today?” I could see her internally freaking out, and I smiled.

              “Yes, but I have everything set for dinner, and the show tonight. All you need to do is get ready.” Tonight was going to be a special night. I told Ashton that I wanted a family dinner for my birthday, which is in two weeks, but I wanted to celebrate early. I was going to ask her to marry me, already got her fathers permission and all.

              The way it was going to go was, we'd have a family dinner before going on late television because I had to be on to promote my book. Charles, Callie, Sarah, and her brother, Matthew, all were getting the roof, from her penthouse building, ready for the proposal afterward. I'd take her upstairs and propose.

              “You're just the best. How was Italy?” My books were very successful in Italy, they demanded I come for a signing, and I did talk shows there as well.

              “Good, but I would have rather been here.” I run my finger over her lips. “I do have to say that I enjoyed those pictures you sent me.”

              Ashton sent me racy photos of herself, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw them. Ashton blushed and turned her head away, but I put a finger under her chin and turned her head back towards me.

              “You know you have nothing to be embarrassed about, love.” I say and kiss her cheek and then her neck. I could hear her breathing getting heavier.

              “What time do our parents get here?” She asks.

              “Six. Why?” I knew exactly why. I gently sucked on her collarbone and slid my hands under her t-shirt, softly running my fingers up and down her stomach.

              Ashton brings my face up to hers and kisses me. I moved the blankets away, getting in between her legs. This is a fun welcome home present.

Ashton Pennington

              I opened the door to find Braxton's mother and my parents. I smiled and hugged them all. They stepped into our very spacious apartment that we moved into a few months ago. It took him months to convince me to move in with him, and I told him I'd only accept if we got a new apartment.             

              “This is lovely.” Braxton's mom says.

              “Thank you.”

              “How's school?” My mother asks even though she already knows. Even though I'm twenty one, and the school is big on privacy, my mother knows what I got on my finals and my classes all because she is an alumni with connections.

              “Only got the summer semester left.” To say I was ecstatic to get my degree was an understatement.

              “That's great, honey.” My father says and kisses me on the head.

              “Are we ready for dinner?” Braxton asks as he comes out of our room. Our room. That feels so weird to say. Not that I have a problem with it, I don't. I love living with Braxton, and we were practically living together before, we rarely spent a night apart, this just made it more official for our relationship.

              Braxton wraps an arm around. Everything felt right for once. I smile up at him, and he smiled back. Gosh. I love him.

              Braxton insisted we go make sure my parents were settled at my old penthouse, and his mother wanted to see her father, so she came as well.

              We were sitting in the cab. Braxton was playing with the hem of my dress. His appearance on the Knight show was amazing. He seemed so nervous for it, and I found that endearing.

              “How about Spain?” He asks.

              Braxton wanted us to vacation after I graduate. He says it's like a graduation present except I don't get to decide alone where we go. We both have to agree.

              “We went there for Christmas.” I don't know what was with him and Spanish food, he just absolutely loved it. “Sydney?”

              “It's winter this time of year.” He paid off the cabbie and we got out of the cab. Our parents were in front of us, and I guess they went upstairs without us.

              “Fine. Greece?” He knows it's one of the few places I've never been to.

              Braxton gives it thought and grabs my hand. “Sounds perfect.” We walk into the building. I notice that the elevator  has been fixed, it's no longer the crappy one they had before. I haven't been here since I moved out.

              “My grandfather says it leads straight to the roof, and they made it into a patio. Want to check it out?” I nod.

              “Sure.”

              As we're riding up the elevator, I remember the conversation I had with Braxton when I first met him on this elevator. He said he could get me into handcuffs in less than a minute. Then I thought about every little moment we had, and how we denied ourselves, and look at us now.

              The elevator opened up directly on the roof. There were faerie lights and candles and roses in vases. My mouth dropped.

              “This is beautiful.” I say as I walk out and look around. I guess it still wasn't hitting me what was happening until I turned and Braxton was down on his knee with a ring in his hand. My hands went to my mouth. I was not expecting this.

              “Ashton. Words cannot describe how much I love you, I could write you a million novels and it still would not be enough. From the moment I met you, I knew I wanted you. I knew you were the one who I wanted to marry. I will cherish you for the rest of my life, and I will take care of you. I love you. Will you marry me?”

The End.