We’re somewhere between Iowa and Nevada when Henry pulls the car off the highway on our little anniversary road trip. It was his idea, which I found very romantic and nothing at all like the practical, sensible man I met a year ago. Neither of us are anything like the two people we were the first time we made this trip.
As I pull out the checklist on the dash, I give him a wink, checking the little box next to rest area. It’s almost empty, only two other cars parked quite a ways down.
“I’m going to use the bathroom,” I say with a smile, but before I can open the door, I feel his hand against the back of my neck as he pulls me toward him, crashing his lips against mine.
I let out a soft hum, melting into the kiss.
“Sorry,” he mumbles. “I’ve been dying to do that since Omaha.”
With a blush on my cheeks, I finally get out of the car and jog up to the women’s restroom. I can’t seem to wipe the smile off my face. This past year has felt like a dream. Henry and I made the return trip to Boston, but it felt nothing like the trip to Vegas. Well, we still made a lot of pit stops and didn’t make it home as fast as we should have, but everything between us was different.
Then when we made it home, we were inseparable. And, over the summer when he asked me to move in with him, I kept waiting for the bad news, the terrible consequences that we both feared when we decided to take the risk and be together officially, but it never came. Kirsten is ecstatic that we’re together, although I could use less jokes about her trying to hook up with my dad since her and Andy broke up.
When I get to the women’s restroom, I find it empty and small. It’s also freezing, but that’s the price we pay for having an anniversary in January. After actually using the bathroom, I see a familiar pair of shoes under the stall door.
“Knock, knock,” he whispers, tapping on the metal. A flush of excitement flows through me as I open the door to let him in. My hands slide into his jacket as he pulls me in for an embrace, and I lean up on my toes to kiss him.
When my fingers move toward the buttons of his pants, I feel him shudder.
“Nope. I can’t do it in here. This is disgusting. It smells and your hands are freezing.”
A laugh bubbles up from my belly, and soon we’re both lost to the humor of this situation.
“I have a better idea,” he mutters against my lips.
Back on the road, he skips the entrance to the freeway and stays on the access road. When I see the turn up ahead, my heart skips a beat.
Every part of this return trip has been a trip down memory lane, but also exploring something new. Instead of punching my ex in the parking lot of the strip club, Henry and I actually went in where he paid for me to get my own private dance while he watched, something that somehow felt so dirty I could hardly wait until we were back in our hotel room to rip his clothes off, the same hotel where he nursed my hand with ice of course.
As he pulls off the road and parks in a secluded and almost private spot off the road, he turns toward me and says in his annoyingly sexy accent, “Get in the back.”
I don’t waste any time jumping onto the folded down seats with blankets already in place. When he starts to rifle through his bag, my heart skips a beat. What is he doing? I admit, I’m sort of expecting/hoping that Henry pops the question this week, but I’m mentally begging him not to do it here on the side of a dirty old highway in the back of his old Subaru.
As he climbs into the back with me, something bulky hiding in his pockets, my eyes widen, and I stare at him.
“I have a surprise for you,” he whispers.
Oh no.
I mean obviously I’ll say yes no matter where he asks me, but I’d just rather it not be here and now. My jeans are already halfway down my legs, so I’m not exactly in a romantic, proposal position.
When he reaches into his pocket, my breath stops. But a moment later, something small and bright pink slides out, and I let out a cackling laugh.
“Remember this?”
How could I forget? On our first trip, I bought that tiny pink vibrator thinking I would be single and in need of…stimulation. But I was so wrong. In fact, I completely forgot I bought it. It must have gotten shoved in my closet somewhere after the trip, and I assumed I lost it during the move.
With a little twist at the bottom, it suddenly comes to life, filling the car with a loud humming vibration, and I cover my bright smile with my hands. Trailing it down my stomach, I let out a squeal. Good God, that thing is powerful.
“Excited?” he whispers, and I’m overcome with emotion at the weirdest time. He’s sitting next to me with a wicked grin, and I can’t help myself. Latching my arms around his neck I pull him down for a kiss.
“I love you,” I whisper against his mouth.
“I love you too.”
Quickly, I peel off my pants and shirt, pulling him down to rest between my legs as he touches the vibrator to my core, sending me into a tailspin of pleasure. He doesn’t go easy and he watches my face through every second of the violent orgasm that rips through me. With anyone else, I bet I would feel self-conscious about letting them see me climax, but with Henry, all the walls are down. Maybe because this is how we started, but I couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else.
After he turns off the little pink torture device, he sheds his clothes, and we have dirty, loud, roadside sex with the sounds of the highway playing in the background. I swear if he ever tries to get rid of this car, I’ll throw the biggest fit ever.
There are no torrential snowstorms this year so when we get to the outskirts of Denver that night, we have plenty of hotel options available, but there’s only one real option for us.
Surprisingly, Rhetta from the bar still remembers us and has our cabin ready. Naturally, we enjoy the same fried foods and dark beer as we did last time. When I make my way over to the jukebox, fully clothed this time, I put a ten dollar bill into the machine. Scrolling through the options, I put every one of our songs into the queue, a playlist I know by heart.
Suddenly, I feel his arms behind me. His lips leave a quick, dry kiss on my neck, and I turn to see him smiling down at me.
“We’re never going to make it through that playlist, you know.”
“Oh, I know. But it’s tradition.”
And he was right, we don’t make it through the whole playlist. We finish our beers, laugh with the locals, and get our keys from Rhetta. I notice the way she winks at Henry, and a sting of fury and jealousy rush to the surface.
Henry notices my sour mood as we make our way out to the car. “What’s gotten into you?”
“Did you see the way she winked at you? Right in front of me!”
He laughs, and it only irritates me more. Squeezing my body against his, he plants a kiss on my forehead. “I promise you, she wasn’t flirting with me.”
With a huff, I get in the car and shake my head. “I love you, Henry, but you’re clueless.” This elicits another laugh from him just as he starts the car.
When we pull up the cabin, I notice immediately that the lights are on inside. When I look at him suspiciously, he shrugs. “Rhetta just said she’d get it warmed up for us. She must have left the lights on.”
Under my breath, I mutter, “Yeah, I bet she’d like to warm up more than the cabin.”
With a smile, he goes to the back to get our bags while I gather up our stuff from the front. When I get out, he tosses me the keys. “Go on in, love. I’ll be in in a moment.”
Not thinking anything of it, I unlock the door and walk into the cabin. It’s exactly how I remember it, and just as promised, it’s nice and cozy and warm. There’s even a bottle of champagne on ice on the kitchen counter. Wow, Rhetta really pulled out all the stops for Henry. I should probably watch my back while I’m here.
Heading straight for the bedroom, I stop in the doorway, my bag dropping to the floor as I take in the room. There are rose petals scattered across the bed, a fire lit in the fireplace, and our song playing softly from the speaker in the corner.
“Henry!” I call to him just before turning around.
I let out a yelp as I turn to find him, resting on one knee in the middle of the living room, a shimmering diamond ring in his hand.
“Oh my God…” I gasp.
His eyes are moist and he’s staring right at me. “Laila, when we first met, I was a miserable man, too afraid to take risks or live my life. I never saw myself settling down, and I never expected to fall in love so fast. I have never been so excited for the future, and I promise I won’t miss a moment of our life together.”
Tears well quickly in my eyes as I stare at him, remembering how I felt that first day compared to now, how perfectly we fit together and complement each other.
“Will you marry me?”
“Yes, of course,” I practically yell, rushing at him to tackle him. He scoops me up in his arms and soon we’re lying on the warm rug by the fireplace unable to pull our lips apart.
As he slides the ring onto my finger, the first thing I think is that I have to text my best friend to let her know…I’m about to marry her dad.
