Page 73 of Bending The Rules

“So,visionary,” Joseph started, looking at Jay. “Why don’t you tell us how this night is going to go?”

Jay grinned, then took a seat at the counter. “Well, I’m going to have all my family here, except Lil’ Bit, Cat, or Toni – all the women Justin ran off.” – I wagged my middle finger in his direction- “and we’re all going to sit down to a nice meal, and have a few glasses of wine. And then, in front of my family, I am going to get down on one knee—”

“You onlyhaveone knee,” Joseph and I said, damn near in unison, then laughed as we turned to dap each other up.

“Aiight, so fuckbothof y’all,” Jason said, even though he was laughing too. “That was a good one though, I should have seen that coming. But anyway – I’m going to get down on my one knee, and do right by the woman I love, by presenting her with that bomb ass ring, and asking her if she will be my wife. She’ll say yes, and then I will kick you motherfuckers out of my house, so me and my soon-to-be wife can practice on our future babies.”

“Soon-to-be wife?”

“Fuck,” Jason muttered, closing his eyes.

A few seconds later, Reese rounded the corner into view, staring at Jay with her lips parted, eyes wide. “Jay,” she whispered, “What… what were you talking about, just now?”

Neither Joseph nor I said anything – I couldn’t speak for him, but I didn’t know whattosay.

“What are you doing here already?” Jason asked, grabbing her hand. “I thought you were going to wait on your mother to finish her office hours?”

Reese shook her head. “She was running behind, so I went ahead and came home… to help with dinner. Are you going to ignore my question?”

“What question?”

Wrong answer.

She confirmed my thought by propping her hands on her hips. “Jason Wright, you know damn well what I’m talking about!”

“That depends on exactly what you overheard.”

“Jay…”

Jason released Reese’s hand to scrub his face. “Alright… it wasn’t supposed to be like this, Princess, but…”

“Holy shit,” Reese screeched, then cupped her hands over her mouth as Jason got down from his stool to make the awkward transition to a kneeling position in front of her. She quickly pulled herself together, reaching down to help him situate his prosthetic. “Jay, what are you doing?”

“You know what I’m doing,” Jason said, smiling at her as he dug into the pocket of his jeans for the black box he’d shown us at my father’s house a few weeks back. “When your rude ass tried to play me that day in the classroom, you didn’t imagine this happening, did you?”

Reese wiped her eyes. “When I thought you would get my clothes dirty, or when I implied you were too sensitive for my mother’s course?”

Jason chuckled. “You pick.”

A smile spread across Reese’s face as she shook her head. “No. I can say without reservation that I had no clue that you, of all people, would be proposing to me.”

“Who said I’m proposing?” he asked, his expression completely serious. “I could be offering an ancient commitment ceremo—”

“Jay, I amnotmy mother. I will kill you right here in this kitchen, in front of your brothers, don’t play with me.”

“You’re not tough, Princess.”

“The hell I’m not. I blazed you on the basketball court yesterday.”

“In your damn dreams,maybe. The only place you can beat me.”

Reese sucked her teeth. “Uh huh. Let’s see who beats who if I hide all of your prosthetics. How about that?”

“See… shit like that is why I love you,” Jason said, flipping open the box to show her the ring, which made her gasp. “But understand… I blow your back out on one leg all the time, I’m sure I could blow you out on the court too.”

In a choked voice, Reese told him, “Name the time. Name the place.”

“For your ass-whooping on the court… or to be my wife?”

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