Free Man of the Year by Bianca Giovanni Page B

more than anything, Lo,” I whisper to her, rubbing her back.
    “Right back atcha, stud,” she exhales, resting her arms on my shoulders and nuzzling under my neck for a minute.
    “Will you love me when I’m just some regular dude and we don’t get to stay in badass hotel suites like this?” I joke.
    “Yep,” she nods adorably.
    “Will you love me when I’m all old and I have to take Viagra to get it up?”
    “James, if I know anything about you, it’s that you will never need Viagra to get it up,” she grins.
    I laugh loudly and kiss her, nodding my head in agreement.
    “And yes, I’ll love you when you’re old and gray, when you’re sick, when you do stupid shit that you know will get you into trouble but you do it anyway,” she teases. “There’s not a moment of my life when I won’t love you.”
    It sounds so good that I have to close my eyes as I hear it.
    When I open them again, she’s gazing at me with so much love that I feel like my heart could explode. Heavenly. She's a fuckin' heavenly creature. The only difference between my beautiful, kind, sweet, affectionate girl and an actual angel is the wings.
    “Lola,” I say before I can filter my thoughts, “will you marry me?”
    Her eyes get huge and her eyebrows shoot straight up. “Seriously?” she asks with a stunned smile.
    “Yeah,” I nod, feeling totally vulnerable all of a sudden. That just slipped out. I was so overcome that I blurted it out without any kind of lead in. What if she says no? Does stuff like that happen or do girls always say yes?
    “You’re asking me right now?” she giggles. “While you’re still inside me?”
    I laugh loudly and give her an apologetic shrug before I joke, “What? This isn’t the fairy tale scenario you’ve dreamed of since you were a little girl?”
    She snickers and shakes her head. “Not exactly. But that doesn’t change the answer.”
    Here it is. Fingers crossed .
    “Yes, James,” she says, giving me a little kiss on the lips, “of course I’ll marry you.”
    “Really?! You seriously will? For real?” I excitedly ask her.
    “Dude, did you think I was gonna say no?” she snickers. “I fucking love you and I have since I was, like, six! Remember when I used to make you play house with me and you were my pretend husband? I’ve been training for this for years.”
    I’m totally fuckin’ beaming and I hug her tight around her waist as she squeezes me back. “Jesus Christ, Lola, you have no idea how happy that makes me!” I say into the curve of her neck.
    She laughs and pulls back, brushing her fingers through my hair as she looks at me with the warmest smile I’ve ever seen.
    “Hey, can you wait right here for a sec? I need to get something,” I say, remembering the little surprise I had for her.
    “Sure,” she says, sliding off of me and sitting up on the bed.
    I hop over to my suitcase and dig through it, all the way to the bottom. Here it is. I take out a roll of old socks and open them up, reaching way down into one and finding what I’m looking for.
    She’s watching me curiously wondering what the fuck I’m hiding an old-ass pair of socks.
    “Ok, here we go. Marriage proposal, take two,” I smile, gesturing like a clapboard with my arms as I drop to one knee at the side of the bed.
    Her jaw drops when she sees that I’ve got a big-ass diamond ring in my hand.
    “Lola Caraway,” I start, “I have loved you for as long as I can remember. You are my soulmate and I want to spend the rest of my life holding you and kissing you and lying next to you. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
    She puts her hand to her chest and she still looks surprised. I see two tears trickle down her cheeks and I do everything I can to memorize this moment. That look on her face … fuckin’ priceless!
    “Uh-huh,” she nods rapidly with a giggle. “Yeah! Fuck yeah, definitely!”
    I laugh and take her hand, slipping the ring on her finger.
    “Dude, have you had this