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“When did you turn into a romantic?” Angela wondered.

“When my best friend banged my brother. This is the best possible ending for me.” She said seriously.

Angela shook her head. Only Marcella could say something that selfish but at least her words rang with sincerity. “I’ll do it if it means that much to you but Marcie, I’m not pregnant. I can’t be.” She told her friend.

Marcella ignored her words shooing her back into the bathroom with the test in her hand.

“This isn’t going to be accurate, it’s not morning! It says you should use this thing when you go first thing in the morning so you have hormones or something!” Angela yelled out the bathroom.

“Shhh!” hissed Marcella from outside the door.

Angela rolled her eyes. Her friend truly was a basket case.

She followed the instructions and left the test on the counter as she slipped into the dress. Opening the door she found her friend bouncing outside the door.

“Are you pregnant?” she blurted.

“Marcie, I need you to lace up my dress,” responded Angela. “I can’t be pregnant. I know how to take birth control. You put the little pill in your mouth and then you swallow.”

Marcella rolled her eyes but her fingers began lacing up the back of the dress.

Angela went back into the bathroom to show Marcie the stick and tell her that she wasn’t pregnant, but stick turned pink. The words “Pregnant” read in the tiny window and for a moment she couldn’t breathe. All of the air was sucked out of the room because when she tried to take a deep breath, she couldn’t.

She glanced back at Marcie but her friend was busy peering in the mirror over the dresser and arranging her hair. Angela slowly closed the bathroom door and sat down on the toilet as thoughts flew rapid fire through her head. She’d known she was mid-cycle the first she sleep with Isaac but she’d gotten to the doctor’s office within 72 hours. Sure it said it wouldn’t work if she was already pregnant but she’d gotten her period within two weeks like she was supposed to

Angela didn’t know how long she’d sat there on that toilet trying to figure out what to do when she was jolted back to reality by the loud knock on the door. Panicked, Angela wrapped the stick in toilet paper and threw it under the cabinet before opening the door. “Sorry, using the bathroom.”

When the door opened it wasn’t Marcella on the other side, it was Isaac.

He stood there in a black suit and a yellow tie that matched her dress. His blue eyes were serious when they landed on hers. She looked around the room and saw that Marcie had disappeared. She doubted that it was a coincidence. His arms wrapped around her and she laid her head on his chest. She loved the way he smelled. That was all she wanted to think about, the fabulous smell of his cologne and the feel of his hard chest pressed to her cheek.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now.” She said quietly.

She felt Isaac take a deep breath. His lack of surprise confirmed that Marcie had indeed found him and told him about the pregnancy test.

“When?” his husky voice asked gently.

“Tomorrow,” she whispered. “Just not right now, Ok?”

He kissed her temple and when she looked up at him, he placed a kiss on her lips. The kiss started gentle and soft but when he deepened the kiss she followed his lead opening up to him. He smiled against her lips when her hands curled in the lapels of the jacket.

“We need to leave soon.” He reminded her.

She released his jacket and stepped back with a nod. She pinned up her hair with a yellow clip and a handful of pins before leaving the room. When she descended the steps Isaac held out a hand to her, which she quickly grasped. She smiled as they left the house. Whenever things had been bad in the past she realized he was always right there quietly supporting her and lending her strength. She squeezed his hand tightly, and he looked over at her with a smile before opening her door and moving to the other side of the car.

By the time they reached the ballroom of the hotel she was nervous all over again. The event was in full swing when they stepped inside. Countless couples danced on the dance floor and tables dotted the outer perimeter of the dance floor. Looking around she spotted he Whitman family gathered around a table on the far side.

Marcella was the first to notice them at the door and came over, pulling her into an embrace. “It’ll be okay.” She whispered in Angela’s ear.

“I know.” Angela smiled back.

Once at the table she greeted the rest of the Whitman family. Charles asked her to dance and she looked around for Isaac to make sure he didn’t mind but realized he had disappeared. She searched around the room and finally she spotted him heading towards the DJ.

Charles tugged on her hand and she followed him out to the dance floor and once there she spotted Jessica dancing and waved to her. She was having fun and laughing when Marcella came over as well.

She lost track of how long she’d been over there dancing and laughing with her friends. Finally she pleaded fatigue and stopped for a fruit drink from the table. Smiling she looked toward the table and found Isaac staring intently at her despite standing and talking with his father.

She licked her lips and beckoned him with a finger. He raised his eyebrows but didn’t move. With mock disappointment she sighed obviously and looked at the ceiling. When she looked at him again he was smiling but he hadn’t moved.

Feeling naughty she glanced around to make sure no one appeared to be paying her any attention. She locked eyes with Isaac and allowed her lids to drop a bit. She swirled her finger in her glass then sucked the finger between her lips. She closed her eyes as though savoring the taste and then she opened her eyes and again. She made eye contact with Isaac for just a moment, and then she pulled the finger from her mouth and turned away. She deliberately added an extra sway to her hips as she walked away back toward the dance floor.

She wasn’t surprised when Isaac caught up to her seconds later. She laughed when he grabbed her by the waist pulling her into the cradle of his hips.

“That was naughty.” He whispered in her ear.

“Was it?” she asked softly. “I want to dance with you.”

Isaac groaned but he allowed her to tug him into the sea of people dancing. She finally stopped near the center of the crowd. She moved her hips to the beat of the music turning around so that his chest was pressed her back and his hips were pressed into her. His hands found her hips and together they swayed with the music. After a couple dances Isaac gripped her hand and they were leaving the dance floor when a new began to play.

When she realized it was the song “I swear” by All-4-One, she tugged on his hands. “I love this song!” she told him. “Last dance?”

Isaac smiled and pulled her into his arms. They were swaying side to side when she finally worked up the courage to say the words she’d been holding trapped inside for so long.

“I love you, Isaac.” She said looking into his eyes.

“A lot or a little?” he teased.

Angela laughed as they continued to sway with the music. “A lot. I love you a lot.” She told him and smacked in the shoulder. What a horribly unromantic thing to ask!

“Enough to marry me?” he asked.

Angela’s lips parted in surprise. In shock she watched as he reached into his pocket and took a step back. “Oh my god, Isaac what are you doing?”

Isaac sank down onto one knee and grasped her hand in his. “I’m asking you to marry me because I’ve been in love with you since you were 15 years old. Every night that I go to sleep, I wish I was next to you. Every time I wake up and see your head on the pillow next to mine, I feel like the happiness man alive. Say yes. Say you’ll be the mother of my children. Tell me that you love me too and I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure you never have reason to regret it.”

Angela nodded her head yes and she wiped the tears of happiness from her cheek as he slid the ring on her finger. When Isaac was standing once again, she leaps into his arms, hugging him tightly. When she heard clapping from the people around her she ducked her head in embarrassment. Truthfully she’d forgotten about everything and everyone else in the room except her and Isaac.

His family began to congratulate the two of them and hug the two of them.

“Oh my god, I’m so excited. You’re legally going to be my sister! And a little niece or nephew” Marcella wiggled excitedly before reaching out a hand and touching her stomach.

Angela pushed the stomach away. “That has not been confirmed and we aren’t saying anything about it unless a doctor and a blood test prove it.”

Grandma Lila came up behind Marcella. “Congratulations, sweetheart, you two make a beautiful couple.”

Marcella hugged the older lady “Thank you.”

“And your dress is so beautiful but maybe we should talk about those clear heels. I’m under the impression that only strippers wear clear heels.” she said in a hushed tone so as not to be over heard.

Marcella clutched her stomach and bent over laughing.

Angela tried really hard not to laugh but it was too much. “I am going to ban both of you from watching any more black comedians!” she exclaimed.

“It’s not true?” asked Grandma Lila. “I think he was serious. Granted I haven’t been inside of a strip club but I have to say it does lack a certain sophistication.”

“Keep it off the pole Angela. Off the pole.” teased Marcella before falling into laughter again.

The sincere look on the older ladies face was too much for Angela and soon she was laughing along with her best friend.

Stripper shoe or not, Angela was keeping the heels. After all wasn’t pole dancing an awesome form of exercise?

###

As a child I was an avid reader. Any book, magazine or newspaper lying unattended was subject to perusal. Until the day my mother went into labor with my youngest brother. I was 8 years old and began to cry and quote the contents of an article outlining the perils of cesarean delivery. Needless to say, my reading options were quickly limited.

My life in rural Wisconsin, with my young daughter and family, is never boring. If a kidnapper wanted to lure me into a trap, all he would have to do is leave a trail of coupons littering a path to his home with a large sign advertising “Balance your family budget and increase your 401k in 10 easy steps!!” I’d find myself tapped in a basement clutching a hand full of coupons and wondering if there was an episode of MacGyver that could help. I was always an imaginative and quirky child. It would be safe to say that not much has changed as an adult.

I’m in love with romance. The emotional tug of war between two people is intriguing to me. The ability to open yourself up to another person and leave yourself open and vulnerable to another person is one of the most difficult things you can do. Yet, finding love is probably the most fulfilling thing you can find on this earth. So I write about love. The thing I believe no person can live without.

Connect with me online!

My blog:
www.lanayiacribbs.com

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