Page 21 of Step By Step

“Brilliant, my boy,” Terrie grins at me with pride in her eyes.

“Thank you,” I tell her as my face heats. “We did it better this time. They seem to love it, yeah?”

I nod at the teeming crowd, but again, I barely see them. My eyes keep circling the vast lot. I am looking for one thing. Long, sexy legs, a tight neon pink top, and a perfect ass in a little miniskirt. When I spot my target, my heart flutters in my chest.

Jenna still takes my breath away each time I see her.

Rushing my way, she cuts through the crowd, her eyes never leaving mine. I have only had eyes for her since the day we met. I am lucky it seems to be the same for her. I hurry to meet her halfway, dismissing my boss and the raucous show entirely.

“Hello, beautiful,” I call as reach her. My hands go to her hips, just the way they did the day we met, pulling her close.

Closing my eyes, I sigh as she pushes up on her Reeboks, brushing her sweet lips over mine. I deepen the kiss, licking her lips, sighing again when she opens for me. It has been hours since I was buried between her thighs, and I just want to take her home and get back where I always want to be.

Jenna giggles, pushing at me gently. Yeah, she knows just what I am thinking. Grinning down at her, I grasp a handful of her plump ass, telling myself I can wait. Besides, I promised her a date. A good boyfriend never breaks a promise.

We took things slow at first, going on lots of dates, meeting each other’s friends and families after a few weeks. I am not sure why we bothered with going slow. I was in love with her the moment I set sight on her. I knew it was her for sure when I took her home to meet my sister.

Josie was as enamored with her as I was. They talked about things girls talk about, but it was much more than that. Jenna spoke to her like an adult, not my kid sister. Within a few weeks of their meeting, Josie was more herself, lighter, breezier, smiling more, even going without the dark makeup and blaring death metal.

Their bond grew even more when I asked Jenna to move in after the New Year. They team up on me sometimes, but I don’t mind. I love both of them so much, and the way my girl loves my sister means everything.

“Ready for our date, babe?” I wonder as we walk away from the crowd.

It may be my event, but Terrie learned pretty quick nothing is more important to me than Jenna. I still bust my ass at the station, work on other events, go to all the shows I can, but she is my priority. When Josie and I both graduated a few months ago, Jenna was there for each of us, cheering us on and telling us how much she loved us, how proud she was.

Nothing else comes before her, not even a damn good show.

“Can we do Hot Dog on a Stick?” She teases me, turning to playfully drag me inside the mall.

“Whatever you want, girlfriend,” I tease back, letting her drag me. To be honest, her request makes things much easier for me.

At the food court, we talk about the show, about some music Jenna just sold to a band out of Baton Rouge. Donna still gets a lot of her work—they worked through their rough patch, and I grew to like her best friend when she was not hitting on me—but she started selling songs.

Glancing over at her now as we stand waiting to order our staple of cheese dogs and a coke to share, I smile. These brief moments with her they mean everything to me, and I cannot wait to make more. I smile so big I must look like an idiot. I don’t care.

Who cares about looking like an idiot when they know their entire life is about to start?

“Hey, Lisa,” I call to the girl behind the counter who smiles just as big, her eyes darting between us. Yeah, she knows what I am here for, so I hope she does not give it away. “Can we get our usual?”

Giving just the smallest giggle, she nods. Beside me, Jenna grins, as if assuming Lisa’s reaction is still about her being friends with the cool DJ. I grab the food, my hand shaking when I feel the specially wrapped one. I take a deep breath, wink at Lisa and thank her again.

Going back outside, we take our seat where we always do. We often have dates here at the mall. Jenna does not need to work at Tape Deck anymore, but she loves it, so she’s still there. Speaking of, I glance over my shoulder in time to see Tina, peeking out the window, barely hidden behind the band poster she is making no genuine effort to hang.

These people will give away what I am up to if they ain’t careful. It might seem cornball of me to do this here, but it feels right to me. Might be even cornier doing it the way I am, but I think my girl will love it.

“Here you go, babe,” I offer her the Coke first, hand tightly clenched around the treat on a stick.

“Give me,” she teases, reaching for her cheese covered hot dog, playfully tugging it away. I watch her closely as she unwraps it. I can’t hear anything for a moment besides my heart thumping in my chest. “Uh.... uh... Jordan?”

Grinning when her dark eyes come to mine, glittering with tears before I even go down on a knee, I heave a sigh. This is right. Right here, right now, this way, with this girl, it is right. Carefully, I take the small diamond ring from the stick, sliding it down until I can hold it out for her.

“Jenna,” I start, my words shaking as I go on. “I love you. I have loved you every single day since we met. You were the best chance I ever took, and I will never regret it. I want to take chances with you, on you, on us, for the rest of my life. Will you marry me, Jenna?”

Jenna nods so fast her glasses slide down her nose. I grin and fix them with one hand, the other taking her left hand. I clumsily slide the ring on her finger, just the sight of it there, knowing what it means—a lifetime of this woman at my side—bringing tears to my eyes.

“Yes! I love you! Yes, I will marry you, Jordan!”

Pulling her off the bench to gather her close, I kiss her hard, tasting the sweet Coke and her. Behind us, I can hear Tina hooting, and the band starts up to a roaring crowd, setting a soundtrack to our special moment.

Their song could have become our new song, but it doesn’t. Because our song is her fingers on ivory, her voice singing off-key as she writes beautiful music. It is the sound of us in bed at night, talking about starting a life together, having babies, and living out our dreams together.

That is our song, and the melody is beautiful.