Page 112 of The Downside of Love
“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy,” he adds, moving his lips down my neck. “It’s likely I’ll be re-stationed to another state at some point, but I promise you, if that happens, I’ll make it work. I’ll visit you as much as I can. And when it comes time to re-station, I’m putting in for Schriever or even the smaller base on the Academy with the hopes that I can stay here in the Springs. I’ve got four years left of service, but after that, we can do whatever the hell we want.”
“Four years with a possible re-station . . . are you sure you’ll still want me?”
He lifts his head and presses his palm against the mattress to prop himself up. “I’m not only going to want you, but I’m going to need you.” He reaches down into his pocket and pulls out a small velvet box.
My eyes widen.Is this real? Is he really going to ask me . . .
He takes a deep breath, nerves eclipsing over him.
“I love you more than anything, Rory. You were there at my worst, you saw the ugly man I could be, but you’ve also seen the good in me, the potential I have to be a better man. You’ve stuck by my side as a friend and as a partner in this crazy life. I can’t imagine walking another mile in this journey without you by my side.” He opens the box to a glittering solitaire diamond. “Make me the happiest and luckiest man and marry me.”
There is no doubt in my mind what I want as I throw my arms around his neck and bring him to my lips as I say “yes” over and over again.
Tears stream down my face as we clumsily place the ring on my finger, our lips smashing together, our clothes being peeled off at a rapid pace, unable to get close enough to each other quickly enough.
Hovering above me, naked and so damn beautiful, Stryder presses the tip of his cock against my entrance, biting down on his lower lip as he says, “I’ve missed you so fucking much, Rory.”
I move his hips so he’s forced to insert himself inside me. His length stretches me in all the right places as I spread my legs wider.
“I’ve missed you, Stryder, but now you’re mine, forever.”
“Forever,” he repeats, his hips rotating, the muscles of his chest flexing, the cords in his neck strained.
His mouth finds mine and as he moves in and out of me. I found my soul mate, the man who makes me a better human whenever he’s around. I’ve found my person, my match, my forever. I’m so incredibly lucky.
Right now, with Stryder inside me, loving me, making me his forever, I feel like a brand new person. No matter what comes our way, we will thrive together as we lean on each other.
The downside of love is heartache and uncertainty, but the upside of falling is finding an everlasting love that will carry you through a lifetime of happiness.
Life is full of chances. Opportunities. Challenges. But it’s what you do with them that counts. I took a chance on love . . . twice. Opened my heart. Allowed two men to share something I now know is special.Me.
In their love, and in different ways, I found myself. Grew in confidence. I’m more than a dancer, more than a sister, more than a friend. I let go of one love, knowing he needed to soar. My heart, my soul, knew who it ached for. Yearned for. Needed to love. So I’m glad I was willing to take my chances, because my prize is this man. This wonderful, inspiring man who I will love forever.
Epilogue
COLBY
“Dude, I think it’s time to call it a night,” Bent says, clapping me on the back.
Head bent forward, I bring my tumbler to my mouth and take another sip of my rum and Coke. “Nah, not ready.”
“It’s midnight.”
“I understand the time of the night . . . Mom,” I snap, taking another sip.
“Watch it,” Bent shoots back. “I have a squadron I’m responsible for. We may have the day off tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean you can waste it with a hangover. I need you in prime condition at all times, Flyer.”
“Life isn’t always about flying.” I down the rest of my drink only to have Bent spin me around and pin me against the bar, his face inches from mine.
“Life is about flying when you’re a goddamn fighter pilot for the United States Air Force. You have a responsibility to protect and to serve, to put service before everything else. So get your ass off this stool and to the car.”
He hits me hard with a stare, one that tells me if I don’t move he’s going to take his lecture a step further, a step I don’t want to witness.
Grumbling to myself, I lift off the stool and turn toward the bartender where I pull out my wallet to drop a couple of twenties on the bar top.
I stuff my wallet in my back pocket and turn toward the front door when something—or someone—catches my attention out of the corner of my eye. Tucked into a booth to the side is a very familiar face I haven’t seen in a long time. I know that face, but from where?
I watch, staring at the woman with fear in her eyes as the man in the booth next to her speaks aggressively to her.
