until
Braxton and I were home alone for my good congratulatory kiss. Zoe led us all
to the locker room and then stepped back and let me knock. In a few seconds Sam opened the door. He grinned at me ,
wider than I had personally ever seen him grin. It was a big win for him too so
that wasn’t so strange, but when he wrapped me in a
sweaty bear hug, I thought it was a little on the far side of weird. I tried not to stiffen up too much and after a bit he let me
go.
“Congratulations, Sam,” I told him. “These are my parents.”
My dad and Sam shook hands and my mom introduced herself and said, “Nice to meet
you.”
Meanwhile, my eyes were scanning the room for Braxton. I was craving him all of a sudden.
Sam must have noticed
because he said, “The kid is getting dressed, he’ll be right out.”
Braxton emerged moments
later in a pair of jeans and a red T-shirt. His hair was still wet and the side
of one of his eyes was turning purple. God, he was gorgeous. He had a glorious
smile stretched across his face and my heart felt like
it was going to explode. I ached to just grab and kiss
him.
He came over and took me into his arms and we hugged. I made sure to tell him how proud I was of him. He grinned at me again and kissed the side of my face. My parents were
there, so I didn’t really expect much more. He hugged his sister and Zoe and
then he hugged my mother and shook hands with my dad
who as I recalled, he had never even met before. I just couldn’t figure out why everyone was acting so strangely. That was, until
Braxton pulled something out of his pocket…that little velvet box…and then he
dropped down to one knee. For a second, while I waited
for him to speak, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
He took my hand and said, “ Emmi , I have
never thought that I’d want to share my life with one woman. I looked at people who had been together forever and I felt sorry for them when
all along, it was myself that I should have been feeling sorry for. I was fooling myself, thinking that I could be happy not
having someone to share my entire life with. A lot of it was protecting myself from getting hurt. But lately, from the moment you
walked in the door…everything changed. That apartment I lived in alone, thinking I was happy, suddenly became this home that I couldn’t
wait to get to and never want to leave. I lay awake at
night sometimes and think about you down the hall and I feel comfortable and
safe and content just knowing you’re there. I thought
my heart was locked up, but piece by piece, you’ve taken it. So I give up, I
told Sam to toss in the white towel. Emmi , will you marry me and live with me forever, and have
babies with me and—”
I stopped him there. The tears that had filled my eyes
while he was talking began to spill out over my cheeks. In another few seconds I would be sobbing and unable to talk.
“Yes,
Braxton…Yes!” He stood up and took me in his arms and I finally got my kiss. When we broke the kiss he slipped the
ring on my finger. It fit perfectly. “Oh my God,
Braxton…it’s beautiful, I love it!”
He kissed me again and then we heard a throat clear. We had both kind
of forgotten anyone else was there. My mom grabbed me
in a big hug and then it was my dad’s turn. Callie hugged Braxton and said
something that I didn’t hear, but they both laughed,
so I assumed it was one of her sarcastic comments.
Then Zoe hugged us both
and I finally asked, “What are you all doing here
anyways? Mom? Dad?”
“Braxton asked us to
come,” my mom said.
“He called and invited
me to lunch the other day. While we were there, he asked for my blessing. I gave it, happily.” I hugged him again and
he whispered in my ear, “You’ll still always be my little girl. I love you,
baby.”
“I love you too, Daddy.”
I was crying pretty good once I heard those words. Zoe
hugged me next and we cried together for a minute.
“Hey, you’ve been acting really weird today, did you know about
Braxton and I were home alone for my good congratulatory kiss. Zoe led us all
to the locker room and then stepped back and let me knock. In a few seconds Sam opened the door. He grinned at me ,
wider than I had personally ever seen him grin. It was a big win for him too so
that wasn’t so strange, but when he wrapped me in a
sweaty bear hug, I thought it was a little on the far side of weird. I tried not to stiffen up too much and after a bit he let me
go.
“Congratulations, Sam,” I told him. “These are my parents.”
My dad and Sam shook hands and my mom introduced herself and said, “Nice to meet
you.”
Meanwhile, my eyes were scanning the room for Braxton. I was craving him all of a sudden.
Sam must have noticed
because he said, “The kid is getting dressed, he’ll be right out.”
Braxton emerged moments
later in a pair of jeans and a red T-shirt. His hair was still wet and the side
of one of his eyes was turning purple. God, he was gorgeous. He had a glorious
smile stretched across his face and my heart felt like
it was going to explode. I ached to just grab and kiss
him.
He came over and took me into his arms and we hugged. I made sure to tell him how proud I was of him. He grinned at me again and kissed the side of my face. My parents were
there, so I didn’t really expect much more. He hugged his sister and Zoe and
then he hugged my mother and shook hands with my dad
who as I recalled, he had never even met before. I just couldn’t figure out why everyone was acting so strangely. That was, until
Braxton pulled something out of his pocket…that little velvet box…and then he
dropped down to one knee. For a second, while I waited
for him to speak, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
He took my hand and said, “ Emmi , I have
never thought that I’d want to share my life with one woman. I looked at people who had been together forever and I felt sorry for them when
all along, it was myself that I should have been feeling sorry for. I was fooling myself, thinking that I could be happy not
having someone to share my entire life with. A lot of it was protecting myself from getting hurt. But lately, from the moment you
walked in the door…everything changed. That apartment I lived in alone, thinking I was happy, suddenly became this home that I couldn’t
wait to get to and never want to leave. I lay awake at
night sometimes and think about you down the hall and I feel comfortable and
safe and content just knowing you’re there. I thought
my heart was locked up, but piece by piece, you’ve taken it. So I give up, I
told Sam to toss in the white towel. Emmi , will you marry me and live with me forever, and have
babies with me and—”
I stopped him there. The tears that had filled my eyes
while he was talking began to spill out over my cheeks. In another few seconds I would be sobbing and unable to talk.
“Yes,
Braxton…Yes!” He stood up and took me in his arms and I finally got my kiss. When we broke the kiss he slipped the
ring on my finger. It fit perfectly. “Oh my God,
Braxton…it’s beautiful, I love it!”
He kissed me again and then we heard a throat clear. We had both kind
of forgotten anyone else was there. My mom grabbed me
in a big hug and then it was my dad’s turn. Callie hugged Braxton and said
something that I didn’t hear, but they both laughed,
so I assumed it was one of her sarcastic comments.
Then Zoe hugged us both
and I finally asked, “What are you all doing here
anyways? Mom? Dad?”
“Braxton asked us to
come,” my mom said.
“He called and invited
me to lunch the other day. While we were there, he asked for my blessing. I gave it, happily.” I hugged him again and
he whispered in my ear, “You’ll still always be my little girl. I love you,
baby.”
“I love you too, Daddy.”
I was crying pretty good once I heard those words. Zoe
hugged me next and we cried together for a minute.
“Hey, you’ve been acting really weird today, did you know about
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