After he left, it only took two minutes to hear Mama holler from her bedroom. “Oh my God! My son’s getting married!”

“Easy, Mom. I haven’t asked her yet,” he replied.

“Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmyGOSH! There’s so much to do, so much to plan!” she bellowed. “I’ve been waiting for this day my whole life!”

I smiled, knowing she wasn’t kidding. I also smiled because it was the happiest I’d heard her sound in years.

“You okay today, Magnet?” My favorite words. Brooks stepped into my room later that night with a bag in his hand and joined me on my bed. “So, rumor has it there’s going to be a wedding sometime soon. I guess a girl who loved a boy said yes to a question and accepted a ring. I went out with the group for a celebration dinner, and all I could think about was how I wished you were there. So, I left early and brought dinner to you.”

I leaned in and kissed him. We began eating more French fries than anyone should’ve ever eaten and stuffing our faces with giant burgers.

“You ever think about getting married, Maggie May?”

Yeah.

“You ever think about getting married to someone like me?”

I took his hand and squeezed twice.

I snuggled into his body, and he held me close to his heart.

“Someday I’m going to marry you. We’re going to get married and be the happiest people in the world. Then, we are going to have the chubbiest kids ever, who smile all the time because they copied our smiles. We’ll have a dog named Skippy and a cat named Jam, and we’ll get a big house, with a place for you in the backyard to escape and drink wine when you need a break from the kids. A she-shed. You’ll work on your dream, whatever your dream becomes, and we’ll be so happy, Magnet. I can see it so much in my head, our lives. We’re gonna be happy forever.”

I loved his words, his hope, his plans. His plans were mine, too. Everything he wanted, I may have wanted more. I believed it was all coming our way, too. We deserved it, he and I. Just like my brother and Stacey, Brooks and I deserved happily ever after. This time is forever.

I heard about you guys getting in trouble for missing the concerts. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to mess up your music.

“No big deal,” Brooks spoke softly, sitting beside me with his leg brushing against mine. “It’s just music.” Music was his life, and he put it on hold for me. “Besides, there are bigger dreams.” His eyes met mine, and he said everything with his lopsided smile and with silence. I heard him loud and clear, and I hoped he could hear my voice, too.

I love you, too, Brooks.

We fell asleep that night after making love to one another. It was the middle of the night when I awakened to his touch, his hands against me, his lips locked on top of mine.

“Maggie,” he whispered breathlessly, lying on top of me in the darkness. Our clothes were tossed in a pile in the corner of the room, and I could feel his hot breaths brushing against my neck as he kissed me. His mouth traveled down my body, inch by inch, making it harder for me to catch my breath, which was fine. At that point breathing seemed a waste of time. His hands wrapped around my legs, and he parted them in a slow, controlled manner. I watched attentively as he took his hand and stroked himself. With his other hand, he slipped two fingers inside of me, making me curl my fingernails into the sheets. When his fingers pulled out, he brushed himself against me before he slowly slid inside. I felt myself relax against him with every inch, every thrust, every moan.

Yes. Yes…

He leaned forward and kissed me gently against my lips. “You okay?” he asked.

I nodded. Yes. Yes…

He pushed himself in deeper, pulled out slowly, and reentered me over and over again, making my mouth fall open in disbelief. Fast and hard, slow and deep.

Brooks…

How? How could such simple movement feel so… Wow…

He made love to me as if he were apologizing for all the years we missed. With each thrust he silently promised to never love another, and with every wild kiss, I promised him the same.

“You don’t have to speak,” he whispered, running his tongue against my bottom lip, loving me hard, deep, fast, and slow. His mouth grazed against my ear before he sucked it gently. “But by all means, you’re more than welcome to scream.”

“Indoor or outdoor wedding?” Mama asked Calvin and Stacey the next morning. The dining room table was completely covered with wedding magazines and planners. Mama hadn’t stopped rushing around ever since she’d found out Calvin was going to propose to Stacey, and once he had called saying Stacey accepted, she’d gone into roadrunner mode. “Oh, have you thought about a destination wedding? Paris. Oh! Bora Bora! What about an autumn wedding? Maybe spring? Spring weddings are always so beautiful, and I just love the peachy blush colors. Have you two picked out colors yet?”

Stacey laughed, leaning against the countertop and flipping through a magazine. She was so effortlessly beautiful, with her caramel skin and curly honey chestnut hair. She always looked so put together with her perfect smile and stunning brown eyes that almost smiled more than her lips. I stood in the kitchen next to the refrigerator, a few steps back from the commotion, drinking my glass of orange juice. They hadn’t turned around to see that I was only a few feet away from the dining room. They were too busy breathing heavily, eating powdered donuts, and staring at Stacey’s ring finger.

I stood up straighter and sipped on my orange juice. Daddy walked into the kitchen with a book in his hand and smiled my way. He came over to me and handed me my next read: Looking for Alaska by John Green.

“A girl was reading it in class yesterday,” he said quietly before picking up a powdered donut hole and popping it in his mouth. “It must be good, seeing as how she ignored my entire lecture.”

I smiled and ran my fingers over the cover of the book. I turned and grinned. Thanks, Dad.

“You’re welcome, Sport.” He leaned back against the refrigerator and stared across the way at Mama and the newly engaged couple. “Wedding planning?”

I nodded.

“I was really hoping they’d elope. We’re going to have a mother-of-the-groom-zilla for the next few months.”

We stood back, watching said mother-of-the-groom-zilla ask more and more questions. Truth be told, it was the most excited Mama had been in a long time. Stacey remained her calm, sweet self as she tried her best to reply. “We haven’t really had much time to decide anything, Katie, but it’s all so exciting, isn’t it?”