Constantine: Britain's Story Part 2 (Spearhead Lake), page 31
“What?” I ask her.
“I’m just wildly jealous, that’s all,” she says, then corrects, “Not of Liam. Fuck, you know what I mean.”
I do. Because I remember sitting at lunch over margs, feeling jealous of Jess, and Tommy, and Eden, and now look where we are. Things can change in the blink of an eye, I just hope for my sake, things stay the same, at least for a little bit.
On Sunday afternoon, I slip on my favorite Dôen midi dress. Looking at myself in the full length mirror, I can see just how happy I am. There’s color on my cheeks from spending all day on the lake yesterday. My breasts seem to be getting fuller by the day, and thanks to Carly’s cooking, my belly does, too. I’m hitting my peak pregnancy body and I make a mental note to try and savor it because I’m sure in just a few short months, I’ll be hating life and uncomfortable 24/7.
I know I look happy, but I feel happy too. Somehow “happy” doesn’t even begin to describe it, though. Happy isn’t encompassing enough to define how I feel. I’m with the man of my literal dreams and my kids have fallen in love with Spearhead, my favorite place in the world. I have family in my life for the first time in decades and I’m finally building the life I’ve always wanted, with a family I’ve chosen and chooses me in return.
Alex was kind enough to drop off Georgia’s box this morning, and since then, I’ve been holed up in my room for hours going through the photos and cards that were stashed away beside her notebooks. I read all 18 birthday cards Constantine had written to me, and they were beautiful. Filled with his hopes and dreams for me, his regrets, his sadness. But most of all, his love.
Liam’s footsteps draw my attention as he walks into my closet, coming behind me and embracing me, letting his hands rest on my bump. “I love you, Bambi.” I smile at him through our reflection in the mirror.
“I love you too, Liam.” We stand entwined for a couple minutes, but eventually he releases me.
“We should probably go downstairs…” The way he trails off gives me pause.
“I just finished doing my hair and makeup,” I remind him, “and it’s only been like 5 hours since you last had me.”
“So? I always want you.”
I laugh at him. “Not right now. Sandy’ll be here any minute.”
He mockingly rolls his eyes at me, “Fine.” He turns around to walk out of my closet, but stops, turning back. “Is it too soon for you to start wearing your engagement ring again?” I’d almost forgotten about it.
“Well, seeing as how you haven’t proposed…yes.”
“Ahh, you’re going to make me do that again?” I look at him, dumbfounded.
“Yes,” I say completely straight faced.
“Right, no, you’re right,” he says, then walks out of my closet, opening our bedroom door for me.
The house seems eerily quiet. Huh. I thought there’d be more hustle and bustle and prep happening for dinner. When we get to the foot of the stairs, I turn to head towards the kitchen, but Liam stops me, taking my hand to head out to the deck.
“I want to show you something,” he says, squeezing my hand a bit firmer.
“Sure,” I say in return. It doesn’t take long for me to realize something is afoot. When we step outside, the whole back deck is covered in flower petals and the stairs leading down to the dock are lined with large arrangements of white and blue flowers. On the dock itself, I can make out what looks like…a string quartet?
“Wh-what’s all this?” I ask Liam with a trembling voice.
“Just dance with me, Bambi, nothing crazy.” He leads me down the stone stairs, all the way to the dock, and when we’re almost there, the quartet starts to play. I recognize the song, instantly. It’s “The Chair” by George Strait.
There’s a small open area on the large floating dock, and he pulls me into his arms and we dance. It feels just like the first time, except infinitely better. Because I know him, and I love him now.
When the song ends, I lean back and say, “That was nice,” and he just smiles back at me, cupping my face in his hand, and stroking my cheek gently. The quartet starts the next song, and my tears start falling without my permission. It’s “I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton and Liam’s eyes turn watery, too.
He gets down on one knee, and pulls out a familiar ring box. “Britain, I won’t make you any promises. We never even have to exchange vows if you don’t want to. But I want you to know, I will always love you. That is a fact. It’s who I am. I am the best version of me, for you, because of you. You changed my life before I even knew you, Britain. I was always yours, and you were always mine.
You’re my home, and my favorite person, and I don’t want to spend another day where you’re not mine forever.” He pauses to swallow, then says, “I’m already the luckiest bastard alive because you’re here. Can you make me the happiest one, too, and marry me?” Yes. It’s a no-brainer. I fall to my knees beside him, and kiss him like it’s the end of times. But it’s not, it’s just the beginning of our beautiful life.
I release his mouth and whisper out, “Yes,” as tears fall down my face. He kisses me again, then opens the ring box to slide his ring back on my finger, where it belongs.
Liam looks down at my hand, then back up at me, and I can see how much he loves me reflected in his eyes. When the song ends, the group of musicians set down their instruments to clap and cheer, but it’s the high-pitched yapping sound that pulls my attention away from my fiancé.
I look at Liam with wide eyes and he nods. “You didn’t,” I say.
“I didn’t, but we did.” A golden retriever puppy comes bounding down the deck stairs, a large bow tied around its neck. The girls follow closely behind and when the puppy gets to the bottom, it bolts straight for us, jumping on my chest to give me kisses. I laugh because, damnit, I knew we’d have a dog before the end of the week.
“Hi, puppy!” I laugh at the way his tongue tickles my chin. The girls join us, dropping to their knees, too, as we all huddle around the newest family member. Eventually Caroline and Elodie offer us congratulations, giving me, then Liam, each a hug.
“So, what’s the pupper’s name, huh?” I look around to the girls and Liam.
“Well, we’re a bit undecided at the moment,” Liam says. “I like Harry.”
“And I like Fang,” Elodie adds.
“But I think Draco is fitting,” Caroline says. I can’t help but agree, the puppy has really light, almost white, fur.
“Wow, we’re really leaning hard into the Harry Potter theme then. So, it’s a boy?” They all look at each other then shake their heads no. “No? Well, isn’t it obvious then? Her name should be Luna.”
“You’re so right, Mom!” Elodie exclaims. “Luna Lovegood Scott-Millar is our new puppy!” I smile and look at Liam, and he smiles back at me. Caroline picks up the puppy, nuzzling its soft fur, and Elodie claps her hands with excitement. This time it’s my turn. I turn and mouth a “Thank you” to Liam.
Eventually there’s clapping and cheering coming from the top deck, and reluctantly we make our way back up to the house. I thank the string quartet before we leave, and then Liam’s right behind me, a gentle hand on the small of my back supporting me the whole way up.
I double check the ring on my finger, and just like everything with Liam is and has ever been, it fits so naturally, perfectly. It’s just right.
THIRTY-TWO
Britain
When I go to crawl into bed at night, I find my pink negligee laid out on top of the duvet. I wonder where he’s been hiding this? But I smile, slipping it on over my naked body, then wait for him. He comes in through our bedroom door, making sure to lock it behind him, then starts undressing.
From my spot on the bed, I watch him strip for me, savoring how handsome he is. Admiring how his abs look cut from a slab of marble. How his hair falls slightly forward, the silver strands catching in the low light. My core turns to liquid heat, pulsing with need when he drops his pants exposing his long, thick cock. I bite down on my lip, not even bothering to avert my gaze from my favorite part of his body.
He crawls onto the bed with me, but he doesn’t make any moves to be intimate. He just pulls me tight to him, my back flat to his chest and my ass up against his engorged cock. He moves one hand over my belly and the other bends down, resting softly on my breast. When he touches me, I can’t help but push my ass back against him. The heat gushing between my inner thighs has me clenching and needy for my fiancé’s touch.
“I used to dream about this, baby. You, in our bed, pregnant with our baby, my ring on your finger,” he says softly in my ear, making my skin flush. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have those same dreams.
“Yeah, were we doing anything in this dream?” I egg him on.
“Sometimes,” he says, leaning over to run his tongue along the edge of my ear before he bites down softly. “I just want to eat you, baby. I can’t fucking get enough.” He grinds his dick between my ass cheeks at the same time I push back, and we both moan. “I just feel like the luckiest bastard alive…I don’t deserve you, baby.”
“We deserve each other, Liam,” I say, sliding a hand over his, where it sits on my belly. He moves his hand down, though, reaching to the hem of the negligee and sliding it up over my hip. He checks me first, slipping a finger between my folds. It comes as no surprise I’m already slick with desire.
He removes the finger, then slides it in his mouth, sucking it clean. My breath starts coming in short bursts, and I beg. “Liam, please. I need you inside me.”
He lifts my leg and adjusts slightly, then slides deep inside. I arch my back into the feeling of my man inside me, where he belongs. Bringing my leg back down, the tight pressure causes me to clench down hard and grind my ass back.
“I’ll only be good for 2 minutes, if you keep that up,” Liam says, a hand coming down on my ass hard, spanking me. I cry out, but he shushes me. “I’m going to have to start punishing you every time you scream, baby.”
“I can’t help it.”
He thrusts into me hard, and brings his hand over, between my legs to rub my swollen clit. “You better start learning to try, Bambi, or you're going to find yourself bent over and I won’t let you come.” Fuck me. I reach up and pull my breasts out of my negligee, to roll and play with nipples. Liam licks his lips in response, his eyes plastered on watching me play.
“You’re just going to use me, daddy?” I ask, eliciting a moan from him.
“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” I nod my head up and down against his back as he continues thrusting.
“You can have me, use me, anytime you want. I’m yours, William.” His grip on me tightens, loving the words coming out of my mouth.
“You’re my little slut aren’t you? You want me to fuck you anytime, anywhere, is that right?” YES! I fucking love when he talks to me like this. I want to scream, but I try to hold it in, the pressure building to its crescendo.
“Yes, daddy.”
“That’s right, baby,” he laughs a low, seductive laugh at the use of my name for him. His finger increases the pressure on my clit in approval, but it’s his words that send me flying. “Who does this pussy belong to, Bambi? Your asshole. Whose is that? Those sweet lips around your filthy mouth. Who owns them?”
“You!” I whisper-shout as my back arches.
“Mine,” he says gruffly, slamming into me as we ride out our orgasms together. I make smaller pants and noises as we experience the last of our release, and Liam laughs at me lightly.
“It’s impossible for you to be quiet during sex, isn’t it?” I nod in response as the last of his throbbing subsides and he starts showering me with kisses across my shoulders and neck.
When we crawl back into bed after cleaning up, he pulls me in tight again and moves his hand instinctively to its new favorite spot, my belly, and holds us close. I find myself smiling uncontrollably. Home. Mine. His. Ours. He’s the only person who’s ever felt like home to me. He’s the only place I want to be, and the only one I’ll ever want. I feel like I’ve never truly belonged anywhere because all along, I’d belonged with him.
I might have had something with Damian, even something with Matthias. But with Liam, it’s everything. He’s always been my everything.
EPILOGUE
Liam
“We aren’t having any more kids after this, Britain.” I slide my hands through my hair to try and release the tension. “I can’t take it.” When I look up to where she’s sitting in the hospital bed, she laughs at me. Fucking laughs at me!
“I didn’t know you wouldn’t be able to hang today,” she says with a smirk on her face.
“I just watched them insert a needle into your back that was the length of my forearm!”
“And look how much better I feel already? Relax, come here.” She gestures for me to join her on the hospital bed. I sit down beside her, almost scared to touch her with all the wires, and monitors, and drips she’s hooked up to. “Do you want to watch a movie? We probably have a couple hours,” she says while she gently rubs my back. My wife is too good for me.
“Fine, sure.” She laughs at me again, then tells me to pull a chair over so we can watch TV while we wait. “How bad is the pain now?”
“I can’t feel a thing, and I won’t. Silas will have to come tell me when to push because I won’t know it’s time.” I nod silently. She’s a fucking warrior. When we walked into labor and delivery, I could hear the screaming and I knew I wouldn’t be able to take it if Britain started screaming in pain. But, of course, all my girls are fucking champs, and Britain just bared the pain quietly, clenching her eyes, squeezing my hand, and then releasing a deep breath when the pain subsided. I don’t know how she does it.
Luckily, the epidural kicked right in, and she’s even fallen asleep.
I check my phone, seeing texts from our girls, Sandy, Alex, Constantine, Max, and even Jess, but I’m waiting. I’ll let them know when it happens and not a minute before. I just want to be in it with her.
Silas knocks on the door before entering.
“Hey, man,” I greet him. He’s only checked on Britain once since we got here. I think he said she was at six centimeters then.
“Hey, Liam, you ready?” He greets back, and I nod. “Alright, Britain,” he says gently, patting her leg. “Let’s see where we’re at.” Britain wakes easily, nodding along, and giving me a reassuring smile. Silas lifts the sheets and does a quick check.
I move to hold her hand, and then Silas looks at us and smiles. “You ready to push, Brit?” he asks. She nods ecstatically. Thank god she’s a seasoned pro at this. I’d be dying if she showed even the smallest amount of worry, but I’m happy she’s excited.
Silas calls in a slew of additional people and it quickly becomes overwhelming, if not a bit frightening. They turn on lamps over the baby bed, and start getting out all kinds of supplies. It’s a flurry of movement.
But Britain is just sitting there, smiling, chatting with Silas like this isn’t the most important moment of my entire life. Silas repositions the bed to get her ready to push, and I zone out at the monumental shift I can feel happening right beneath my feet. I’m going to have to share Britain with this other human. What if this changes things? What if I’m not good at it, and she resents me?
“Liam, Liam?” They have to say my name twice. Britain laughs at me again, taking my hand in hers, like she’s supporting me now. She never ceases to amaze me.
She tells me, “We’re just waiting for the next contraction and then I’ll push.”
“Okay, how long will you push for?”
“I dunno,” she scrunches her nose. “I spent 3 hours pushing with Caroline and 10 minutes with Elodie.” Oh my god, I can’t take three more hours of this. She just shrugs, though.
“Alright, here we go, Brit, you know what to do,” Silas says and with that, Britain bears down while a nurse counts beside her. Then Silas is telling her to stop. And they do that 3 more times, when I hear the wail. Britain sits back looking instantly relieved, like she just finished a light jog, not bringing a human into the world.
I lean forward to look at my son, and yeah, my whole fucking world just changed. Like I’m the fucking Grinch who’s heart just grew three sizes. I turn back to Britain, gripping her face in my hands and I kiss her hard, my affection and adoration for this woman at an all-time high. “You are a fucking rockstar, baby. I love you so much, Britain Millar.” She nods, holding onto my arms.
“How is he?” she asks me and Silas both.
“Perfect,” Silas says, bringing the babe up to her bare chest, laying him down. Silas elbows me as he moves to sit back down at the foot of the bed, and says “Congrats, Dad.” All I can muster out is a nod because it’s taking a lot of strength to not break down and cry right now. I want to cry from relief, but mostly because I’m so in love. With Britain, with our son, with our family. How did I get so fucking lucky?
While Silas works on Britain, he asks, “Do you two have a name picked out?” We sure do. I look to Britain and see she’s crying as she coddles our son.
“I think we’re going to let his namesake be the first to know, though,” I answer for the both of us. And Silas just nods.
“So, no William Millar the third?”
“Not this time.” Yeah, now that the birthing part is over, we are absolutely doing this again.
Britain
When the peanut falls asleep, I give him a gentle kiss on the forehead and breathe in his baby shampoo and newborn smell. My heart warms a few degrees and I smile. Our baby is perfect.
I reluctantly pass him off to Liam so I can stuff my face with the box of food Carly delivered to the hospital. There’s a small quiche, and cinnamon rolls, and chocolate chip cookies — all my favorite things.
