“Ren Asa Bell!” Clara called from the front of the shop, and I ducked behind the counter, “I swear to God you can't hide from me, I'm your mother!”

“Technically, you're my mom,” Dara laughed, coming to stand next to my hiding spot, “Why are we mad at Ren?”

“What was that InstaSnap post your father showed me about? Why was I not told you were going to ask Ren to marry you?!”

“Holy shit you're engaged?!” Nick shouted, his deep green eyes wide.

“As of last night,” Dara nodded with a smile, pulling me from the floor, “I don't want to hear anything negative about it. After 17 years of friendship and four months of finally dating, it's time to admit that I can't picture marrying anyone but Ren. So I decided to ask, and he said yes.”

“He wrote me a beautiful letter about all the ways he loves me and even admitted to being flawed. But he promised to spend the rest of his life loving me, and I feel the same way. Saying yes was the best choice I could have made,” I smiled, hugging Dara tightly.

“Congratulations!” Halley yelled as she came into the shop with Mario. She was holding a few balloons and he had a cookie cake, both reading: Congratulations on your engagement.

“Oh, thanks,” I smiled, kissing her cheek and hugging Mario.

“We get to plan a wedding,” Clara took both my hands, squeezing tightly before lifting my left hand to look at the ring, “Oh my God. I remember when Dara bought this for you! You kept it this long?”

“I always planned to give it to him. Even if it was in our fifties, and we were having some sort of old love story. I get to marry my best friend, it's all I ever wanted,” Dara kissed my cheek, and I patted the side of his head, “Are you mad, Mom? I really don't think we're rushing it, and we don't plan to get married for at least a year or two. I just… couldn't resist asking Ren to be my husband.”

“I’ve technically been your husband since we were 8,” I giggled, picking up Fern as she was whining, “We had one more pretend wedding, and you never asked for a divorce, Day.”

“Ah shit, we've both been having affairs! What's wrong with us!” He reacted dramatically, and I smacked his forehead as Halley hit the back of his head, “Ow! Dammit, I hate when you both gang up on me.”

“Stop that. We'll have a beautiful, small wedding with all our friends in a few years. Get to dress up and commit ourselves for life.”

“Ugh, that sounds horrifying,” Mario shivered, “Last thing I'd want.”

“You're literally in the minority. Everyone here is engaged or getting married,” Halley snorted, “Oh! Can I be your maid of honor?”

“Hm,” I tapped my chin before smiling, “Co-Maid of honor with Gem. She'll be pissed if I don't let her do it.”

“Nick will be my best man, but Mario, you have to be a groomsman. Jo, too, Halley.”

“Eh, we'll figure it out. Maybe Jett can be our ring bearer,” I started laughing, making Dara smile.

“Dad is so excited. We'll pay for everything,” Clara kissed my cheek before stealing Fern, “I'm off today, can I take the princess?”

“Are you sure? You had her all day yesterday, and she's teething,” Dara sighed, moving to get his station ready.

“Mhm. We'll go have fun.”

“If you want, Mum, but if she's too much, bring her back. These four can handle the appointment book so I can be home with her,” I grabbed the diaper bag, handing it to Clara, “I just changed her and fed her a snack but she's due for lunch soon.”

“You got it. We'll see you tonight.”

Clara made Fern wave before the two of them left, and I opened the shop up for business.

The next week passed quickly, and it was finally time to head to a fancy hotel in Atlanta for Nick's wedding. Dara and I sat with Halley and her wife Jo, watching the beautiful ceremony. Nick and his new wife, Crystal, were visible opposites, his hair nearly white where hers was a deep chocolate brown. Nick was alabaster pale, and Crystal had a gorgeous tan, always sunbathing when she could. Her eyes were a deep brown and his were blue, making them entirely complementary to each other.

The ceremony wrapped up, and we moved to the hotel's ballroom for the reception. Dara insisted we not drink much as we had plans for tonight, but we spent a long time dancing together. He was a wonderful partner, spinning me around and keeping me close during slower songs. At 11 pm, the reception became more of a dance party, nearly everyone drunk or at least buzzed the way we were.

I tossed off my black suit jacket, pulling Dara to the dance floor again, and he held me close as I danced against him, his hips never leaving my rear. A loud wolf whistle pierced the air and I realized it was Mario, everyone cheering as Crystal gave Nick a very sensual lap dance in the middle of the floor.

“Damn,” Dara laughed, his arm around my throat, hand tangled in my hair as we kept moving to the music, “Do that for me?”

“I kind of am right now, but when we get married, I will that night.”

“Mmm,” he kissed behind my ear, his breath hot on my skin and sending shivers down my spine, “You're so good to me, baby.”

“You're good to me,” I laughed as he slid his free hand around my stomach, pulling me further against him, “Ready to go to our room?”

“I hope you're not tired.”

I spun around, wrapping my arms around his neck and slowly kissing him, “Not at all. I want you.”

“God, yes.”

We raced out of the reception after gathering our jackets and took the elevator to the 10th floor, Dara holding me from behind, not wanting to be far from each other.

I headed into the room first, smiling again as we had been here this afternoon, the room beautiful and high end, something that surprised me.

“Want to shower with me?” I walked my fingers up his chest as Dara locked the door.

“Absolutely.”

We slowly undressed each other as the water grew warm, our lips connected the entire time as pants and moans escaped my throat. By the time we were in the shower, my entire body was burning, craving Dara’s touch.

“God,” he groaned, cleaning me slowly as I leaned against the wall, my right foot up on the side of the tub, “Let me fuck you in here real quick. I can't take much more, and I swear it'll be good when we finally get to the bed.”

“Why do you think I'm standing like this?” I laughed, pulling him close.

“I'm too tall for this to work, but I love seeing it,” he teased me with his fingers before spinning me around and turning the shower head mostly away from us, “hands and knees, baby.”

I did as he asked, grateful there was a bathmat, and Dara dropped behind me, pushing my legs open a little wider. He took a bit to work me back up, knowing that I needed it, before slowly sliding in, a gasp escaping my throat.

“Shit you're tight,” he groaned, his fingers digging into my hips, “Can you take it rough?”

“Mhm,” I muttered, letting out a cry as he started slamming hard, one of his hands now tangled in my hair, “D-Day!”

“Does it feel good, baby? I'm so deep inside, you're squeezing the hell out of me. Molding to me. Damn,” he spanked me and I smiled, rocking back against him, “Th-that's it. Keep moving. Show me how much you want me.”

I continued rolling my hips back, Dara meeting me every time before he grabbed my thighs and started pulling me faster, harder than I thought possible, a scream coming from me as I finished, my brain foggy, vision pure white.

“Oh shit. I didn't know you could do that,” he grunted, suddenly freezing as deep chested growls came from his lips, warmth flooding me, “Ren. Deep breaths. Just breathe.”

“Unhh,” I whined, resting my forehead on my arms, trying to find my voice.

“That's it. Good job,” he whispered, caressing my back to help me come down, “Deep breaths. You're safe. I'm here. Listen to my voice and the sound of the water. I've got you, baby.”

I finally managed to breathe again, my brain slowly clearing as Dara stayed still, only his hands massaging my back to relax me.

“You took me well. Exactly how I needed,” he pressed a kiss to my spine, and I smiled, “I swear to be gentle when we get in bed, I just couldn't hold back anymore.”

“I loved it,” I croaked out, “You take such good care of me.”

“Always will. Can you stand?”

“I don't think so.”

“Okay, I'll clean you and carry you to bed,” he pressed hard on my stomach as he slid out, and I moved to sit on my rear, resting against the back wall.

Dara slowly cleaned me up, using a damp wash cloth and the shower head once he pulled it down, and carried me to bed, wrapped in a towel.

We cuddled close once I dried myself, and he cupped my chin, slowly kissing me as I caressed his upper back, my arms tight around his neck.

After an hour of gentle touches and affection, Dara climbed between my legs and slid in, a soft moan falling from my lips as I tilted my head back, holding him flush to me.

“Th-this was my original plan,” he laughed breathlessly, slowly rocking his hips, “To cherish you, hold you close to me for as long as I can. If I feel it coming too soon, I'm going to pull out and relax. I want to spend as much time as we can tonight.”

“Me too,” I smiled as he kissed me again, his right hand resting against my throat, his left arm wrapped around my waist, “I love you,” I whispered against his lips.

“As I love you. Forever and always.”

The next morning came too fast, my body ravaged and sore everywhere. Dara had truly kept to his word of making things last, and I enjoyed every second I had him close, feeling alive and truly loved for the first time in my life.

“Good morning,” Dara murmured, pressing a soft kiss to my bare shoulder as we both woke up, “How sore are you? Scale of 1 to 10.”

“A four,” I giggled, pulling the blankets further up to keep us warm.

“Oh good, I was worried I hurt you,” he laughed, kissing my shoulder again as I felt him press against my rear, “Can I have you one more time before we check out? You don't even need to move.”

“God, yes.”

Dara reached down, using his hand to spread me a bit before pushing in, forcing a cry from my throat. He gently bit my shoulder, wrapping one arm around my chest, the other gripping my stomach as he started to roll his hips, keeping me tight to him.

“Y-you weren't kidding about your drive,” I laughed breathlessly, tilting my head back against his shoulder.

“It was more of a warning when we started dating. I'll try and do this most mornings if I can swing it,” he slowly bit the side of my throat, marking me once again.

“Just make sure I'm mostly awake before you do. I don't care, I want it all the time. We were made for each other.”

“Say it again,” he whined, moving a bit faster.

“I was born to be your husband, Dara.”

He turned my head and kissed me deeply, his tongue sliding against mine as he gripped my throat, groaning the entire time. My eyes rolled when I finished, and he started twitching, filling me for the fourth time since the night before,

Just like our time in the shower, Dara calmed me through soft touches and whispered words of love, never pulling out or moving away.

“I love you,” he whispered in my ear, running his fingers through my hair.

“Oh, I love you too, baby. More than anyone. I think that's the one thing I regret. Us not being together sooner.”

“We have each other now and for the rest of our lives. We're young, we have a long life ahead of us.”

“Promise?”

“I swear,” he took my left hand and gently spun my engagement ring, “Ren and Dara O’Connor. It has such a beautiful ring to it, doesn't it?”

“Absolutely. It always has.”