Page 39 of Plea
“Did you really think I was going to let that pussy take your shit and not get you something better?”
“Ah!” she yelled, hopping in the seat and clapping her hands. “OMG! That’s literally the one I wanted. Is that mine?”
“All yours,” I confirmed, referring to the custom olive green CLE 450 Cabriolet. “I paid cash for it, so no note, and it’s in your name. No one, not even me, will ever be able to take it from you.”
She looked at me with watery eyes as we pulled in front of the car with a big, red bow on it. After unbuckling her seat belt, she came over to my side of the SUV and sat on my lap. With her arms wrapped around my neck, she kissed me with tears falling from her eyes.
“Thank you,” she muttered against my lips, “thank you,” she repeated before kissing me again. “Thank you. I love it, and I love you.”
Before I could respond, she was hopping out of the car, not even bothering to wait for me or the driver to open the door for her. I watched her as she ran around the car hopping and cheering. It took me a second to get out because I wasn’t expecting her to say she loved me. Not this soon. I loved her. Shit, I loved her the moment I laid eyes on her. If I felt like telling her so quickly wouldn’t have pushed her away, I would have said it the moment she left her wedding to be with me.
Clearing my throat, I got out and pulled my phone out so I could take some pictures and videos of her with the car. I thanked the driver and let him know he could put our bags in the convertible while I grabbed the paperwork. Once I was done, I gave everything to my sunshine, and she took us for a ride. This was probably the only time I’d be okay with being in the passenger seat.
We ended up riding around the city for a little over an hour before landing at the beach. As the sun set and beamed down on the crashing waves, I realized this was the first time I had a more beautiful sight. It was her. Stroking her hand with my thumb, I stopped walking and wrapped my arm around her to pull her close. Venus smiled and rested her hands against my chest.
“I love you too,” I declared, making her giggle.
“I didn’t say that for you to say it back, Carson.”
“I know, that’s why I didn’t say it back immediately, but I do love you. I never believed in love at first sight until I laid eyes on you. I tried to convince myself that wasn’t the case but…” My head shook as I stared into her eyes. “I am so in love with you.”
“I tried to fight it too. From the moment our eyes locked, a part of me knew you were the one. I didn’t want to accept it because I felt like I was being disloyal if I acknowledged myfeelings for you while I was with someone else, but I’m so in love with you too.” Venus paused. “You don’t think we’re moving too fast?” she asked, wrapping her arms around me.
“Nah. If anything, we’re not moving fast enough. I just got you. We got a lot of lost time to make up for, and the rest of our lives to do it.”
She released a soft laugh. “That’s big talk from a man who hasn’t even asked me to be his girlfriend yet.”
“I’ve been thinking about it, and it really didn’t make sense to me to ask you to be my girlfriend when you’re already my wife. If anything, I’m just going to give you an engagement ring.”
Venus sniggled until she realized I was serious, then her mouth hung open. “Carson…”
“For the sake of society’s standards, I will ask you to be my girlfriend, but I honestly planned to propose to your ass next weekend.”
“I know you fucking lying.”
Her shocked expression as her head jerked made me laugh.
“I’m dead serious. Ask your sisters. The only reason I didn’t was because they told me it would mean a lot to your father and brother if I met him first and asked for your hand in marriage. Otherwise, yes, I was going to ask you to be my wife next weekend. I know it’s fast and we have a lot more to learn about each other, but I know you’re the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with, and I wasn’t going to waste any time.”
When we came back from Tulum, I started thinking of ways to make us official. Even with the drama going on, I knew she deserved a special proposal. I kept telling myself I was planning to ask her to be my girlfriend, but the more I planned, the more I wanted to ask her to be my wife. At first, I thought I was crazy, then I realized God had given me the desire of my heart, and I had to honor her place in it and my life.
I reached out to Paisley on social media and met up with her and Mariah.
I knew Venus wasn’t close to her brother, but I intended to honor her father’s wishes, especially because of how we’d gotten together. Truthfully, I didn’t give a damn. She was mine, and I was hers. I didn’t want to do anything to cause tension within her family though, just because I wanted her to cleave to me so we could eventually have our own.
“Me and my brother haven’t spoken in over a year because Trevor proposed to me without asking him.”
“Did he ask your father?”
“Yes,” she said through her laugh, but I saw the sadness in her eyes. “My daddy told him we were his responsibility and to start preparing to take care of us just as well as he did for after he transitioned. I guess my brother thought that meant Trevor had to ask him as well.”
“Damn. I mean, I know brothers are protective of their sisters, but that’s crazy. I could see if your father had already left this Earth, but if Trevor asked him for your hand in marriage, I don’t really see a problem with that.”
Venus sighed and looked out into the ocean. “Yeah. I feel like there was more to it, but since he just started ignoring me and cut me off, we never really had the chance to talk.”
“How does that make you feel?”
With a shrug, she rested her head on my chest. “I don’t care anymore. Used to hurt a lot. I think when people lose someone that’s close to them, even if it’s not in death, you’re forced to grieve the relationship. And when you do, you either find it very easy to let other people go or very hard. I’ve accepted the fact that I held on to Trevor too because I lost my brother over our relationship, and I didn’t want to feel like it was a waste.”
