Page 80 of Tension

He shook his head. “Nah. I’m nervous. Which is crazy, ‘cause I know what I want. I've been knowin’.”

Vel shifted, then slowly got down on one knee in front of me.

My heart stopped.

“I’m not perfect,” he said, voice thick now. “I’m rough around the edges. I got a mouth on me. I get jealous sometimes. I fuck up. But I will never hide from you. I will never scare you. I will never leave you to figure shit out on your own.”

Tears spilled over before I could stop them.

He reached up, wiping them away with his thumb, his own eyes shining. “You make my life make sense, Chris. You made me want more than I ever planned on having. A home. A family. A future that doesn’t feel empty.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, opening it with hands that were definitely shaking now.

Inside was the ring; elegant, perfect. It looked like it had been meant for me.

“I don’t need a crowd,” he said softly. “I just need you.”

His voice broke on the next words.

“Christina Banks, my Honeydew, will you marry me?”

I didn’t answer right away because I was crying too hard. Ugly crying. Vel laughed under his breath, eyes wet, leaning his forehead against my knee.

“Baby,” he murmured. “You gotta say somethin’.”

“Yes,” I sobbed, nodding. “Yes, Vel. Of course I’ll marry you.”

He let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a choked-off breath, then stood and pulled me into him carefully, one arm around me, one hand cradling my stomach like second nature. He slid the ring onto my finger, then kissed me. Slow, deep, and full of promise.

When we finally pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine.

“You’re stuck with me now, Honeydew,” he whispered.

He looked down at my stomach, then back at me, eyes soft in a way that surprised me.

“Both of you.”

The lights glowed around us, and candles flickered.

Somewhere inside the house, our future waited.

I placed my hand on top of Vel’s, where it rested on my stomach, our baby stirring beneath his palm.

For once, I wasn’t bracing myself. I wasn’t waiting for the other shoe to drop. I wasn’t staying out of fear or habit or loneliness.

I was here because I chose to be.

I chose peace.

The End