Part 22

                                    

                                          
"Thank you, Bry. This means the world to me."
We laid on the blanket, staring up at the stars. "I've never felt like this about anyone. I think this whole time, nothing ever worked out because the universe knew that it was always supposed to be us," Bryce said, intertwining his fingers in mine. 
I leaned over and kissed him. His teeth tugged at my bottom lip, and I opened my mouth, deepening our kiss. His fingers traced my collarbone, sending tingles all over my body. I ran my fingers through his soft, jet black hair and breathed in the sweet scent of his favorite cologne. "I could get used to this, to us," I breathed as he kissed his way down my neck. He stopped at my collarbone, planting soft kisses before making his way back up to my mouth. He hovered above my lips softly before he spoke. 
"Let yourself get used to it because I'm not going anywhere."
As we entangled ourselves within one another, it suddenly occurred to me that we were outside, in the park, where anyone could see us. 
"Bryce," I murmured as his hands roamed over my body, "we can't do this here. We'll get arrested if we get caught."
"I've been arrested before, it's fine," he replied, never taking his eyes or hands off of me. 
I laughed. "I haven't, and I'm not ready to start now. Besides, we always have more fun when they tease us for being loud the next morning."
                          
Bryce picked me up, never breaking our kiss, and I wrapped my legs around is waist. "What about our stuff?" I asked, breaking the kiss. 
He scooped our belongings up in one hand and returned to kissing me, no longer slow and passionate, but rather urgently and filled with a burning desire. 
"Fuck, I don't want to stop yet," Bryce said, sliding me into the passenger sit. 
"Get in, and I'll show you just how thankful I am while you drive."
Bryce didn't hesitate and ran around the car and into his seat. 
                          
As Bryce settled into his seat, I leaned over and quickly unbuttoned his jeans. "Keep your eyes on the road, and let me know if you want me to slow down," I said as he backed out of our parking spot. 
Within minutes, we were nearing the house. "We're close," he said. "In more ways than one."
We both sped up, enjoying the thrill of being caught, but not actually wanting to be. I sat up as we pulled in the driveway, and Bryce buttoned his pants. 
                          
Nessa and Josh were sitting in the kitchen when we got back, and Dixie and Noah were walking down the stairs. 
"Um, did you two have fun?" Nessa asked, looking us both up and down. 
I shook my head yes. "Bryce had a lot of nice surprises planned."
"Did one of those surprises include fucking your hair and makeup up?" Dixie asked, laughing. 
I could feel my face getting red. "We're gonna go to bed now," I said, taking Bryce's hand. 
"We know they aren't doing any sleeping," I heard Noah say as we ascended the steps. 
                          
As soon as the door shut, Bryce kissed me with that same burning desire that made my stomach do flips such a short time ago. He laid me on the bed gently and began slowly removing my clothing, planting kisses on my face and moving slowly down to my neck, my collarbone, my hip. 
                          
We laid together, our bodies intertwined, and I was unable to tell where my body stopped and his began. Suddenly, we heard JJ crying. "Oops, I hope we didn't wake him up," Bryce chuckled, looking at me. 
"I feel bad," I said. "I'm gonna go check on him."
I put on a robe and softly shut the door, tiptoeing to the nursery. "Come here, JJ. Auntie Kate's got you," I whispered, picking him up from his crib and rocking him softly. 
                          
"This will all be you one day," I heard a voice say from the doorway. 
"What do you mean?" I asked, turning and seeing Nessa leaning against the doorframe. 
"One day, you'll be holding your own baby, rocking him back to sleep because Mommy and Daddy were loud," she replied, laughing at me. 
"I don't know," I replied. "Bryce kept bringing it up while we decorated the nursery, but in all the time I've known him, he's always said that he doesn't want kids. He made a joke this morning that he would be the fun parent. I just think that's a big step for us."
Nessa shook her head. "That man loves you more than anything. He doesn't see it as a big step. He sees it as a step you take together."
"I still don't know, Ness. You know I can see spending the rest of my life with him, but I don't see the big wedding. I don't see the glowing pregnancy. I don't see the waking up at three in the morning to rock a crying baby back to sleep."
"Give it time, Kate. He loves you. If you can't get him back to sleep, I would get Jaden. Josh wasn't kidding when he said he uses some sort of voodoo magic or some shit. Goodnight, love," she said, turning and heading back to her bedroom. 
                          
I held JJ and walked back down the hall to my own room. "Bryce, I can't get him to go back to sleep."
"Let me try," he replied, holding his arms out. I placed JJ in his arms, sitting down on the bed next to him. "Hey, little man. Look at you. You're so sleepy. Let's go back to sleep, huh?" My heart exploded as Bryce rocked him slowly back to sleep. "I'll go put him back in his crib," he said, getting up gently so he wouldn't wake him back up. 
                          
When he returned, he slid back into the bed next to me, and I turned to face him, burying my face in his chest. As I drifted off to sleep, I heard Bryce mumble. 
"God, I want to marry you."