Page 76 of The C*ck Down the Block

So, yes,” he said, his voice laden with emotion but strong and clear. “Hell, yes.”

He lifted me up into his arms and I squealed, wrapping my legs around his waist, and our lips met in a kiss that felt like a victorious end and an exhilarating new beginning all at once. I felt it, I felt truly seen, and not just by Chris, but by the world. And for the first time, it didn’t scare me.

The room erupted into pandemonium, reporters jostling, cameras flashing, but in that moment, I didn’t care. I had taken up my space. We had. And it felt like finally coming home.

The applause and cheers filled the room, and as Chris and I separated from our kiss, I looked out and saw a sea of faces. Our families, the cowgirls, our friends, they were all beaming at us, their smiles almost brighter than the flashbulbs going off around the room.

Chris turned to the crowd, holding my hand up high like we’d just won the championship game. “Ladies and gentlemen, I told you there’d be hot celebrity gossip at today’s press conference. If you didn’t catch the memo,” he glanced at me, his eyes shining with love and mischief, “Trixie and I are now officially engaged.”

The room erupted once again, and this time it was full of genuine joy rather than just professional curiosity. The cowgirls started whooping, and I spotted Jules in the back making heart fingers at me. Chris’s dad was grinning from ear to ear.

“We’ll leave the rest of the details for later,” Chris continued. “For now, we’re going to celebrate. Anyone who wants to toast to love, to breaking the norms, and to never having to say you’re sorry for being truly, unapologetically yourself, you’re welcome to join us. Everyone who’s mad that the haters didn’t take us down? Well, you can fuck off.”

With Chris’s last words still hanging in the air, I felt the world tilt on its axis, shifting into a reality where anything seemed possible. We left the podium to an ocean of applause and Maguire ushered us into a side door to the stadium where he had a private room where the press wasn’t allowed. Chris’s brothers took up standing guard at the door to ensure we weren’t followed. They all understood that hell, we needed a minute to ourselves.

Once the door closed behind us, I took a deep breath, absorbing everything that just happened. Chris kissed me and his hands drifted south like he was going to try and pull up my skirt. I started giggling so hard that he actually stopped.

“What’s so funny?” He pressed his forehead to mine and smiled against my lips.

“You were going to ask me? I thought I was being all spontaneous, and all along you already had a ring?”

“Yeah. All along.” He grabbed my hand and kissed my finger with the ring on it. “But you’re the one with the steel ovaries. I was going to wait until after the press conference. Why do you think Maguire had this room ready for us?”

“Who else knew?”

“Everyone.” He shrugged and gave me that cute smile that he had when he knew he was in trouble, but that I was going to forgive him anyway. “Well, not the press. But my family, Johnston, Marie, which, since she knew, the rest of the cowgirls did too.”

“Lulu?” I was going to kill her if she knew.

“I thought you’d probably want to tell her.” Ooh. He was a smart, smart man.

He handed me his phone, since I hadn’t had time to get a new one yet, and I called Lulu, my best friend, my confidant, and the one person who needed to know what just went down before the rest of the world did. Outside of everyone Chris had already told.

“Lulu, you’re not going to believe what I just did,” I blurted out as soon as she picked up. My voice was tinged with exhilaration.

“Oh my god. I’m basically scared to answer your calls right now. But you’re not crying, so tell me you just won the lottery or something.”

“Better.” I may or may not have let out the girl gossip squeal. “I just asked Chris to marry me. In front of reporters, cameras, the whole shebang. This is going to be all over the news.”

“Holy shit. No way, get out. I don’t believe you, but I do. Tell me everything, immediately if not sooner.” Lulu’s voice crackled with excitement. “No wait, scratch that. Let me tell you something first because you’re gonna wanna add this to your excitement.”

What could possibly add to the happiness of this morning? “What?”

There was a brief pause, and then Lulu said, “I used my finely honed Dark Net Nancy Drew skills and found out that Creepy Karter has been sneaking onto your computer at the library when you’re not there, and using it for some, let’s just say, less-than-savory online activities. Tried to frame it on you too.”

My jaw dropped. “Are you serious? That’s just—”

“—All kinds of messed up? I know. Turns out, he’s a card carrying member of the Sunshine Babcock club. He used his fucking credit card on your computer to pay for the subscription.”

Oh ga-awd. What a dick. And a dumbass.

“And wanna know who tipped me off? Mike, the cutie security guard. Then his girlfriend, who works in IT, did a little digging. She’s some kind of genius with computers. We sent everything to HR this morning. He’s been caught red-handed, and he’s probably being fired as we speak.”

“Good.” I wasn’t normally the kind of person who reveled in someone else’s misery, but that little bastard was getting what he deserved. “He shouldn’t be working in the library, and he shouldn’t ever be allowed to work around teens or women or people.”

“You might be able to get your job back now that we’ve proven he set you up.”

“I don’t know. I love the library, you know that I do.” If my life was getting flip-turned-upside-down, I might as well embrace all the changes the universe was throwing at me. “But I think I might be ready to do something... bigger.”

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