Текст книги "Gemini"
Автор книги: Penelope Ward
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Текущая страница: 17 (всего у книги 18 страниц)
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“God, Cedric, I have so much to tell you.” After a brief pause, I said, “I was in Chicago with Ed and Elaine.” The kneading stopped and he shook his head in disbelief. “What?”
“I’m sorry. I told them not to tell you.
It was just supposed to be a quick visit to meet them, but then we bonded and I decided to stay and help out with Ed and we got really close and well, it’s like they’re second parents or something to me now.” Cedric moved back in shock. “Holy crap, Allison. How could I have not known this?”
“It’s my fault for keeping it from you.
They wanted me to tell you. I just needed time to deal with this alone, Cedric. It was all too much too fast after the truth came out.
But Elaine and Ed, especially Ed, helped me see things clearer. So much else happened out there. I really want to tell you everything later tonight or whenever you can get away 654/727
from here, but we can’t stay in here like this much longer.”
Cedric pulled my mouth into his and sucked on my bottom lip slow and hard, then released it slowly. “I can’t let you go, Allison.”
I brought his head back toward me for another kiss and our tongues collided into one another.
I pulled back, panting and said, “We should go back outside before someone comes looking for us.”
Cedric shook his head and pulled me back into him, sucking on my neck hungrily, his erection pressing firmly against me as he moaned over my skin. “No.”
“No?” I asked looking up at him.
“No…just a few more minutes,” he said, his eyes turning darker with the strongest sense of desire I had yet to experience from him.
“I missed you so much, Cedric.” 655/727
Cedric breathed heavily on my neck,
“I need to feel you…now.”
Upon hearing him say that, my knees got weak as if my legs were going to collapse and my moist underwear felt like it was going to disintegrate on my body.
I opened my mouth against his as our bodies pressed together and felt his hand move under my dress as he abruptly slipped his fingers inside me. Cedric moaned into my mouth as I moved down over his hand.
With the sound of dishes clanking getting louder in the kitchen, he pulled his fingers out of me. “I am sorry, sweetheart…I’ve just missed you so much. I got carried away.
He held me close as I put my head on his chest and could feel his rapid heart beating against my ear.
“Cedric, we have to leave this room.”
“Okay, but I need to see you tonight.
Promise me. I’ll text you and come pick you up.”
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I nodded. “Yes.”
Cedric kissed me desperately one last time. “You leave first. I have to go to the bathroom and take care of this,” he said pointing down to his bulging crotch.
“Okay.” I laughed. He was not kidding. He could not go out like that.
I started to walk out when he stopped me and grabbed both of my hands and kissed them over and over softly.
“Bye,” I whispered, slipping out the door.
CHAPTER 37
CEDRIC
It look longer than expected to get rid of the hard-on. I was so turned on and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.
Five minutes of focusing intently on images from that Sarah McLaughlin animal abuse public service announcement finally did the trick.
Allison was talking to my mother in the kitchen filling her in on where she had been all of these weeks, when I emerged from the bathroom.
My mother didn’t look at me or let on as to whether she knew we were hiding in Callie’s room together. I passed them in the kitchen, went through the sliding door to the yard and joined Caleb and Stephanie who were thankfully still talking.
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When I sat down, Caleb got up and thanked Stephanie for her advice, sneaking me a smirk, as I knew he would.
“Where were you all that time?” Stephanie asked.
“I was in the bathroom, sorry,” I said.
“Huh…that was an awfully long time to be in the bathroom.”
I lied. “Yeah…sorry, having issues.” Technically, my hard on was an issue that needed to be dealt with.
Stephanie’s eyes lingered on me and I got the impression she knew I wasn’t exactly telling the truth, but she proceeded to change the subject.
“What are we doing tonight?” she asked.
I felt like an asshole and really hated lying. I silently vowed to never lie to another woman again once I could get out of this situation today. But now that Allison was back in my life, I needed to break it to 659/727
Stephanie that we couldn’t date anymore, but this was not the right place or time. I just prayed she didn’t try to touch me or kiss me in front of Allison again.
“I don’t think I am going to be able to do anything tonight,” I said.
Stephanie raised her eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Yeah, I have a client pitch I am way behind on and forgot about an early morning meeting, so I’m going to need to call it a night after we leave here.”
“I could just hang out at your apartment, make a late dinner and stuff while you work,” she said.
She was not going to make this easy.
Before I could come up with another excuse, Allison reentered the yard and I could see Stephanie’s eyes fixate on her. Allison didn’t make eye contact with me and went straight over to sit with Callie.
I swallowed nervously, somehow sensing that Stephanie knew something.
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When Stephanie got up to refill her wine, I looked over at Allison. To my horror, I spotted a gargantuan hickey on her beautiful neck.
Fuck.
I tried to signal for her to move her hair over it, but she wasn’t paying attention.
Callie then moved behind Allison and said, “I want piggy back.”
“Callie, you’re too big for that,” I heard Allison say.
Callie could care less and began climbing on Allison’s back.
“Ugh…you’re gonna crush me, girl,” Allison laughed and lifted up off the chair with Callie now climbing on her back.
Stephanie reappeared and sat down next to me with her legs crossed, sipping her wine, but not saying anything. We sat silently watching the show that Allison and Callie were putting on.
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Callie was laughing hysterically enjoying the ride Allison was giving her around the yard, when all of a sudden she started sniffing Allison’s neck.
“Smell…smell…smell like Cedric. Allison smell like Cedric!” I heard Callie shout as she laughed and sniffed Allison’s neck.
This stunned me for two reasons.
One: Callie had never used words that well, describing how something smelled. Two: I was fucked.
Stephanie turned to me slowly and glared at me with daggers in her eyes. “You know…I must be the dumbest fucking woman on the face of the Earth. When she walked in the door, I overlooked the fact that your jaw dropped at the sight of her. I overlooked the fact that her name was the same as the one you shouted out in your dreams last night. I overlooked the fact that you were making googly eyes at her throughout lunch and I even overlooked the fact that she 662/727
disappeared with you and magically emerged from your mother’s house with a hickey in the shape of the state of Florida. But that…that…what your sister just said over there…just about seals the deal, doesn’t it?” I was speechless. There was no way to deny it, so I decided to concede to the truth.
“Stephanie, I am sorry.”
Before I could blink, Stephanie threw her full glass of white wine on my shirt.
“Fuck you,” she said before grabbing her purse and storming off through the gate.
That was the end of Stephanie.
All eyes were on me as I sat in shock, my shirt soaked. Thankfully, my mother was still in the kitchen with Denise and hadn’t witnessed it.
Allison kneeled down slowly so that Callie could climb off her back.
Caleb had his head in his hands while he tried to contain and hide his laughter; he was doing a horrible job at that, by the way.
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Allison walked over to me. “I’m sorry, Cedric…that was bad.”
I squeezed my white Ralph Lauren polo shirt to rid it of the excess wine. “I am not
sorry
at
all…you
shouldn’t
be
either…C’mere.” I pulled Allison onto my lap, not caring who was watching and planted a kiss on her lips.
“Cedric, what are you crazy? We shouldn’t do this here in front of everybody,” she said.
“Allison, every single person in this house already knows how crazy I am about you.”
Her face turned a beautiful shade of pink as she blushed, before taking a piece of my wet shirt jokingly into her mouth.
“Mmmm…I love Chardonnay.” She laughed.
“Seriously, you should go inside and change your shirt.”
Caleb wiped his eyes from tears of laughter and walked over to where we were 664/727
sitting. “Bro, I think I have a spare shirt in my truck.”
“Gimme the keys, shithead,” I said as I got up and reached for Allison’s hand.
We walked through the gate to the driveway at front of the house, where I opened Caleb’s backseat to find a navy button down shirt.
I put my hand on Allison’s cheek. “I was gonna offer to drive you home, but I just realized we took Stephanie’s car here, so I am carless.”
“Join the club. Looks like someone’s going to have to slum it and take the train like the rest of us.” She winked.
“Let me go inside and clean up and then we can leave.”
We walked back through the gate and Allison sat down to wait for me while I went into the house and changed. I looked back at her and couldn’t believe that this was real, 665/727
that she was really here. I couldn’t wait to get her home and be alone with her.
My mother was just finishing up the dishes in the kitchen while Denise wiped them.
When I tried to sneak past them, my sister-in-law interjected, grabbing me by the shirt. “Uh-uh, no you don’t. What’s going on out there? You smell like the dumpster behind the pub,” she said.
“What do you mean?” I tried to play dumb, but my guilty smirk probably gave me away.
Denise laughed and glanced over at my mother who was also smirking. “Liar.
Caleb’s been texting me a play by play.” That shithead.
“Stephanie left,” I said.
“And?” she laughed.
“And she threw her wine at me.” Denise’s jaw dropped. “And that was…because…”
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I threw my head back and ran my hands through my hair. I just wanted to go to the bathroom, change and get out of here with Allison.
“Because she figured out that Allison and I snuck away after lunch and were making out in Callie’s room.”
“What?!”
Denise
yelled
as
she
smacked the counter.
“I knew it,” Mom said smiling.
“You knew what?” I asked.
“I knew that the second she walked in that door, that you’d end up together. I could see it in both of your eyes, she smiled. “And I also knew the entire time you two were holed up in Callie’s room.” She laughed. “I was playing lookout, you just didn’t know it.” My mother winked.
I knew how she felt about Allison, but found that a little disturbing.
“Thanks, Mom…I think.”
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“Plus, she has a hickey on her neck that looks like the state of Florida,” Ma laughed and Denise and I joined in.
“You didn’t take off your shirt, did you?” Denise asked. “If she sees it, she’s gonna think you’re a psycho, you know that, right?”
“I was a psycho…for a while, after she left. And no, she hasn’t seen it yet,” I said.
When I emerged from the bathroom in Caleb’s shirt, Allison was in the kitchen with my mother and Denise. The three of them smiled at me in unison and I knew they had been talking about me. The look on Allison’s red face was so sweet and affectionate and I was bursting with love for her, a love I hadn’t even ever professed to her directly. I needed to tell her I loved her as soon as the time felt right.
“Ready to go?” I asked.
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Allison hugged my mother and Denise and went to say goodbye to Callie and Caleb who were still outside as the sun was setting.
As we walked hand and hand to the train station, Allison told me all about her trip to Illinois. I didn’t think my feelings for her could get any stronger, but when she told me how she decided to stay there to help Ed during his cancer treatments, my heart just about blew up. I wanted to tell her then and there how much I loved her, but decided to wait.
The story of how she ran into her brother at Amanda’s grave was also unbelievable. If her car hadn’t stalled, she would have never met him. It makes you wonder about how divine intervention plays in our lives.
Once on the train, I led Allison to the very back of the car so we would have the most privacy. As we swayed with the 669/727
movement of the train, we held each other and kissed the entire ride to her stop. The train car was almost empty, but if there were people watching us, we probably didn’t notice. Thirty minutes felt like three.
After the train ride, while walking to Allison’s house, the skies opened up and rain came pouring down on us. Even though the torrential rain had us soaked from head to toe, we could have cared less and stopped to kiss under the deluge. It was one of the hap-piest moments of my life.
We laughed in the rain as we ran all the way to her doorstep. I couldn’t contain my excitement over being alone with her. Allison told me her roommate Sonia was down the Cape for the night with friends, so when we arrived at her house, I dragged her up those stairs so fast, she almost fell.
We were drenched and I hadn’t had sex in months, but it felt like ten years. She was the only woman I wanted from the 670/727
moment I first laid eyes on her and for a long time, I thought I would only ever be able to experience her again in my dreams and memories. This moment, of being happy here with her like this again, in the same place we first made love, was a dream come true.
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CHAPTER 38
ALLISON
Cedric wouldn’t let me come up for air and I loved every second of it. From the moment my apartment door burst open, he pressed his rain-drenched body against mine, then moved to the couch on top of me, kissing me passionately. I wanted him inside of me so badly, I thought I would burst.
He broke from kissing me only long enough to lift off my wet shirt and loosen my bra, throwing it on the floor, as I pulled off my soaked skirt. When he lowered himself back down, I snuck my hands under his shirt to feel the warmth of his bare skin and his tight abs. I started to nudge his shirt to pull it off and he pushed back, breathing heavily.
“Take it off,” I said.
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“Wait,” Cedric said as he pulled back and kneeled above me, looking down into my eyes. His hair was wet back from the rain and his face was turning red. “I have to explain something first.”
I crossed my arms over my bare breasts, suddenly cold. “What do you mean?” He shook his head. “It’s nothing bad. I mean…I hope you don’t see it that way.”
“Ok, now you’re scaring me.” He bent down to kiss my forehead.
“No, no, no, no…don’t be scared…it’s not like that.”
“What, then?”
Cedric took a deep breath. “When you told me not to contact you after you read the letter and then you disappeared, I was really screwed up. I was sure I had lost the one thing that mattered to me most. And to be honest, until you told me you forgave me and missed me earlier today, I was sure that I had lost you forever.”
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I blinked rapidly and sat up. “Okay—” He continued. “One night, I had gotten a little drunk and was staring at myself in the mirror at the tattoo I got in memory of Amanda and came up with the bright idea that I wanted another one. So, I walked down to Kenmore Square.”
“You got a tattoo…where is it?”
“That’s the thing…that’s why I had to tell you before you took off my shirt.”
“Ok, let me see it.”
“Promise you won’t think I’m crazy.” I crossed my heart. “I promise.” Cedric ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “Because…I was…a little crazy.” He laughed. “But I’m not anymore.”
“Can I see it please?”
“Okay…here goes nothing.”
He lifted his shirt slowly showcasing his beautiful abs and then as he pulled it over his head I saw it.
Oh. My. God.
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It was of my initials…in same font as the A.R.T. on his torso, except this tat was higher on his chest over his heart: A.O.A.
That wasn’t all though. Underneath the larger letters of my initials, was a scrolling sentence written in small calligraphy that ran across his chest to his underarm. I struggled to see what it read: When I saw you, I fell in love and you smiled because you knew.
I recognized it immediately. “It’s Shakespeare,” I whispered.
“Yeah…an ode to our middle names.” Words could not describe the amount of love I felt for this man as I rubbed my hand over the words slowly following the path of the sentence.
“It’s beautiful.” I gasped.
“You really like it? It doesn’t freak you out?”
“God, no. I love having a part of me on you permanently. I earned it, dammit,” I said as we both laughed. “And you’re right, 676/727
Cedric. Our connection has always been so strong, from that first moment. I guess deep down inside, even though you never said the words, I always did know. That’s why I came back.”
He kissed me tenderly and said, “I got this tattoo, because no matter what happened, I never wanted to forget how you made me feel. I’m not the type of guy who can give my heart to someone twice. You are the only woman who has ever claimed it. It’s yours forever, take it or leave it. I love you so much, Allison, more than my life, more than anything.”
My heart just about burst into flames hearing him say the words I had longed to hear for so many months. “I love you too, Cedric.” I pulled him down onto me. “So much,” I said as I held his head to my naked chest.
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When he lifted his head to look at me, his eyes were watery. “Sweetheart, thank you for coming back to me,” he said.
I wiped the tears from his eyes and from my own and held his face in my hands and said, “You thought you took something from me, by waiting to tell me the truth. But you actually gave me the greatest gift: the opportunity to experience what true love was.
Your finding me not only gave me you, but Callie, the Thompsons and now my brother.
It’s all because of you, Cedric. Because of you, I am not alone anymore.” As soon as the words came out of my mouth, they seemed to ignite something inside him. Cedric kissed me so hard I thought my mouth might fall off and I could feel his pounding heart on my chest.
His hands trembled with need as he pulled my underwear down. His jeans weren’t even all the way off when he suddenly plunged into me, moaning into my mouth on 678/727
impact. I gasped upon the initial burn and almost immediate intense pleasure that followed as he kissed me hungrily, while pushing into me repeatedly deep and hard.
“I fucking love you so much, he whispered over my mouth as he moved inside me. “You have no clue…”
“Oh, God. Deeper, Cedric. I want you deeper.” My fingernails dug into his back as I pushed him into me.
“I can’t get enough of you…can’t get deep enough. I love you…I love you…I love you,” he said hoarsely over my mouth.
We were still connected when Cedric flipped us over swiftly continuing to pound into me while squeezing my breasts hard. He looked intensely into my eyes while I grinded my hips on top of him for several minutes as his eyes seared into mine, never looking away.
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Tears streamed down my cheeks as the intensity of what I was experiencing with him overwhelmed me.
His hands moved down to my hips guiding the motions to push himself deeper into me.
After a few minutes, his eyes moved from mine and seemed to roll back in ecstasy, almost like he was possessed. “I’m gonna lose it…you feel too fucking good. I can’t hold out anymore…I want to come inside you,” he said.
Hearing him say that made me crazy and brought my orgasm to surface fast. I started to scream as the intense pleasure overcame me. Cedric’s loud moan followed and I felt his hot release as he pulsated inside me.
He turned us over in one movement, so that he was on top of me kissing my face softly, professing his love again with each kiss.
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We had sex several times throughout the night after moving from the couch to the bed, then in the shower and even against the kitchen counter when we were supposedly going to have a midnight snack. Cedric was insatiable and I was a more than willing participant.
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CHAPTER 39
CEDRIC
Waking up in Allison’s bed was surreal and I had slept like a baby for the first time in months. Despite the fact that we had sex at least six times last night, I couldn’t wait to wake her up again. She looked so peaceful, though, so I decided to just stare at her.
It’s no wonder she was out like a light.
We had spent the entire evening alternating between having sex and drowsy pillow talk.
Allison had told me more about her time in Chicago with Ed and Elaine. The role Amanda’s parents played in convincing Allison to give me another chance really touched me. I also opened up to her about the years I spent in Chicago after Amanda’s death, 683/727
something I hadn’t really talked about with her before. She was less than impressed to hear how I started my career as the lover of my much older boss. But I vowed to tell her everything about me…no more secrets.
The moment last night when she told me that she wasn’t alone anymore because of me, had given me the first sense of real peace and closure since Amanda died. I would never fully forgive myself for the past, but somehow having a positive impact on Allison’s life made me feel like I had reversed some of the damage.
It was 11:00 am now and I was itching to wake her up. When she moved and turned herself around, I moved in behind and spooned with her. I was hard as a rock when she leaned into me and said, “Mmmm.” Kissing the back of her neck softly, I said “You know you’re going to have to kick me out of here, right? Because I’m never leaving on my own.”
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“Well, then I guess you’re staying a while, because I want to make up for lost time.”
“We lost so much time, Allison. Never again, okay?”
She turned herself to me and kissed my nose softly. “Never again.” If being apart from her had felt like my heart was ripped out, at this moment it was safely returned to its rightful spot.
Allison had the day off since she wouldn’t be returning to the diner job until tomorrow and she was still waiting to hear back about being reassigned to her cases at Bright Horizons. So, I called into the agency sick. There was no way I was going to leave her to go to work today when I had just gotten her back.
After we made love two more times in bed, Allison said, “I need to take a shower.”
“Can I come with you?” I asked.
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She smirked. “Haven’t you done enough of that?”
She started to get up when I pulled her toward me and started tickling her. “Let me rephrase that…can I shower with you?” Allison broke free from my grip and walked to the bathroom, showing off her beautiful naked ass. “Follow me.” Apparently, we were completely in-capable of keeping our hands off each of each other. I washed every inch of her body with my mouth and she returned the favor with a happy ending.
It was almost noon and the sun was blazing through the bedroom window.
Allison was in the bathroom blowdrying her hair and I got dressed into my jeans and back into Caleb’s sweatshirt from yesterday.
I was looking up places to get brunch nearby on my phone, when Allison’s phone 686/727
chimed indicating that she had received a text, so I instinctively grabbed it.
My heart dropped as I checked the message.
I can’t wait to spend time with you.
When are you coming back?
Who was Jake and what the fuck was this? A tremendous cloud of jealousy washed over me instantly and before I could overreact, Allison emerged from the bathroom.
“Who the fuck is Jake?” I asked with the phone shaking in my hands.
She looked panicked. “What’s going on with Jake?”
That wasn’t an answer.
“Jake can’t wait to spend time with you.” I threw the phone on the bed. “Who is he?” My blood was boiling.
Allison ran to grab the phone and looked at me in shock. “Cedric…Jake…is my brother!”
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My insides settled and I fell back onto the bed in utter embarrassment. I felt like an ass. “Oh, Shit.” I smacked myself on the head. “Sweetheart, for some reason, I didn’t remember what you said his name was…or that you even said his name at all. I am sorry for overreacting. I thought it was some dude you
met
while
we
were
apart
or
something…who was trying to get in your pants. God, I feel so stupid.” She laughed shaking her head. “You know, you had that coming right…with all the girls I’ve had to witness you with?”
“Come here.” I pulled her onto my lap and held her.
I loved her so much it hurt. And just that taste of jealousy was enough to make me almost go off the deep end. I guess I still had a little psycho left in me after all.
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CHAPTER 40
ALLISON
Three Months
Later
Cosmic bliss is coming your way, and soon Gemini will be the Zodiac's favorite child.
You look and feel better than ever, as the stars are aligned nicely. Soon it will be raining lollipops, and that's a good thing, especially for your sweet tooth.
The volume of the music seemed to fade with the feel of the brisk wind that blew in the door when he walked in and sat in booth number three. It wasn’t just the fact that most gorgeous man I had ever laid eyes 690/727
on came in and ordered a salt bagel with butter and a side of coffee. But this stunning man seemed to be staring at me. I could feel his eyes on me when he thought I might not be looking. From the moment I first noticed him, it was like everything turned from black and white in here to color.
So, this was turning out to be a far from typical Monday because this man, the man I loved was here, and I needed to break the news to him.
“Hi honey…you made it! I see Delores already took your order,” I said as I walked over to his table.
Cedric smiled. “You know what this reminds me of?”
I grinned. “The first time you came here. You sat right here at this table and followed me around with your beautiful eyes. It was love at first sight for me.”
“It was more than that,” he said grabbing my hand. “You owned me from that 691/727
moment. I fucking ran because I was so scared of how you made me feel. I’m still scared of it.”
I bent down to kiss him. “Eat your bagel. I’ll be right back.”
As I tended to the other customers, Cedric alternated between reading the paper and following my every move.
His stunning beauty never gets old.
Every time I met his stare, he would flash his beautiful smile at me and I would melt wondering how I got so lucky.
He would have to get back to work soon, so I asked Max if I could take my break early. I brought Cedric a piece of coconut pie from the kitchen and dressed it with a huge dollop of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.
“Ah, I get the whipped cream and cherry this time…I am officially off your shit list…nice!” he joked.
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“Yes, honey, you are,” I said planting my lips on his, wanting the world to know he was mine.
Cedric dug into the pie and fed me every other bite as I sat next to him in the booth. He stuck his finger into the whipped cream and dabbed it on my nose, licking it off and we both laughed.
The past few months with Cedric have been the best of my life. We were inseparable and had talked about maybe moving in together.
I was also back working with Callie two days a week and had given my two weeks notice at the diner to accept full-time hours at Bright Horizons as part of a program where they would also pay part of my tuition to return to Simmons College so long as I agreed to work for them for a minimum of three years post-graduation. I was supposed to be going back in January to start a masters degree program in Applied Behavioral 693/727
Analysis, a specialized therapy for kids with autism.
During Thanksgiving, Cedric accompanied me back to Illinois where we spent the holiday with Ed and Elaine and took a day trip to the city to finally meet my birth mother. Vanessa was only forty-five and looked more like my sister than my mother.
Things were cordial, but I couldn’t say I felt the same immediate bond with her as I did with Ed. Vanessa was a good person, but it would take more than a short trip to get to know her and trust her.
Jake, on the other hand, was a different story. My brother and I had developed a real relationship over the past months through emails, texts and Skype. Even though Jake had a rough exterior with piercings and tattooed covered arms, he was actually quite bright and a straight A student.
He would be applying for colleges soon and wanted to major in engineering. We were 694/727
planning to fly him out here for Christmas and he was thinking of looking at colleges in Boston, like Northeastern. The thought of possibly having my brother here warmed my heart.
So, everything seemed to be going my way lately, until earlier this morning. That’s what I needed to talk to Cedric about. Maybe I would wait until tonight when we got home. I didn’t want to ruin his pie.
“Sweetie, I have to get back to the office,” he said.
“Okay.” I sulked.
Cedric kissed my forehead. “Can you get the bill?”
I shook my head. “It’s on the house.”
“No, I insist. Get me the bill. I’m going to hit the bathroom, just leave it on the table.”
“Okay.”
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I walked over to the cash register and wrote up the bill charging him for the bagel and coffee, but not the pie.
When I got back to booth number three, Cedric was still in the bathroom.
On the table was a crisp lone fifty-dollar bill. I laughed as I realized the joke Cedric was playing on me giving me the same tip he did on that first day.
As I took the money, I noticed the words ‘I Love You…Turn Over’ were written on the front. My heart flipped and tears started to form when I saw the words ‘ Will You Marry Me?’ written on the back.
I covered my mouth with my hands and turned around toward the bathroom.
Cedric was walking toward me slowly and landed right in front of me on his knees. His eyes were filled with more love than I could ever hope for and one tear streamed down his cheek.
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As I looked around, I noticed that Max, Delores and Mr. Short, all had smiles on their faces and I was pretty sure they were in on this the whole time.
Cedric grabbed my hand and kissed it.
“Allison Ophelia Abraham, you are the single most precious thing to me in this entire world. If someone had told me last year, when I first laid eyes on you here at this diner, that you would end up loving me half as much as I loved you from that first moment, I would have thought they were crazy.
