Zip, Zero, Zilch

“What was that all about?” I ask Peck.

She shrugs. “What are you making for dinner?” She grins at me, and dips her face into her shoulder like the question embarrassed her.

“What would you like?”

“Anything you want to make.” She lifts her shirt and smells it. “But I need a shower, because I smell like a kid threw up on me over and over.”

I walk close and sniff her. “You kind of do.”

She scrunches up her face.

“Need help with your shower?” I grin at her and waggle my eyebrows.

“Not unless you’re a glutton for punishment.”

I kind of am. So I follow her to the bathroom. We aren’t going to do anything. But I can touch her. And look at her. And just be with her. This having-a-girlfriend thing is pretty awesome.

Peck

The whole Reed clan shows up to see us off. I should have expected that, since Logan and Emily are going with us. But still, the Reeds en masse are a force that can be a little overwhelming. They’re just so damn big and there are so many of them.

We’re flying to Vegas, and then from there we pick up the tour and we’ll be on a bus the rest of the travel. Two full weeks in Vegas, and then four more weeks of going all over the place. I’m excited, but I’m also apprehensive.

Logan and Emily arrive last at the airport. They get out of the car and Logan is wearing a toboggan. “Dude, what’s up with the hat?” Pete asks him.

Logan ignores him. He has dark shadows under his eyes and I’m a little bit worried about him.

Sam shoots Pete a look, and I see Paul studying Logan hard. Logan ignores them, and keeps unloading the luggage from the car.

Sam pulls me against him and whispers in my ear. “The next time I see you, I’m going to fuck you so hard.”

I choke.

Sam laughs as he pats me on the back, holding me tight against him. “Sorry, was that too graphic?” he asks me.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

He growls and kisses me.

Suddenly, someone shoves his shoulder and knocks him off balance. “Dude, you’re in public,” Matt says, but he’s grinning.

My sisters watch as hugs go around the group, and Emilio and Marta bullshit with the Reeds right up until it’s time to go through security.

Marta adjusts the neckline of my shirt and says, “Call me every day.”

“I promise.” I grin. I love that she’s like this.

She wipes a tear from her eye, and Emilio grabs me and hugs me, swinging me around. “Love you, Woody,” he says close to my ear.

“Love you too,” I murmur back, my face stuck somewhere near his armpit. He does the same with my sisters, and until we all finally break free.

“This is way too much hugging,” Lark says as the Reeds tell them goodbye, too.

Sam whispers something to Emilio and then Emilio steps back and hitches his hip against the wall. He grins. Something is up. I just don’t know what.

“So,” Sam says really loudly.

Friday is holding her phone up and she has the video on. What’s going on?

I glare at Sam, because apparently I’m the only one who’s not in on the joke. “What?” I ask him.

Then he pulls a box from his pocket and drops down on one knee in front of me. I cover my mouth with my hand.

He pops the top of the box and I see a great big diamond ring shining back at me. “So, you wanna?” he says.

“Do I wanna…?” I repeat. My heart is in my throat.

“Marry me, cupcake.” He stares up at me, blinking those beautiful blue eyes.

“Now?” We’re about to leave. I jerk my thumb toward the airport. I can’t make any more words.

He laughs and shakes his head. “Not right this second, but soon. We can make little cupcakes together. You can be my plus-one. Or it can just be me and you. But you and me is not negotiable. I kind of need you, cupcake. Have ever since I met you.”

I look down at him.

He adjusts his stance. “How much longer are you going to make me kneel here on my bad knee?” He grins at me.

“Oh, God!” I cry. I help him up and then I hold out my hand. “P-put it on me. I w-wanna.”

My hand is shaking in the air, and he takes it in his and slides the ring onto my finger. That’s when I realize it’s Emilio’s mother’s ring. I look at him and he shrugs and smiles.

Then Sam picks me up and spins me around. I’m dizzy when he finally sets me down and I cling to him.

Cameras snap all around us, and I bury my face in Sam’s chest. He laughs and holds me close. “You sure?” he asks me quietly, so only I can hear.

“More sure than I have ever been of anything.” And I mean it. I really do.

Emilio gives me one last hug.

“Did you know about this?” I ask him.

He shrugs. “He came to see me yesterday to ask me for permission.”

“And?”

“And he just asked you, didn’t he?” He chuckles. “He’s a good one.” Emilio brushes a lock of hair back from my forehead. “I wouldn’t let just anyone marry one of my daughters. Particularly not the first one I ever had.”

My eyes fill with tears and I blink them back furiously.

Sam gives me one last kiss and I wave at him until I can’t see him anymore. This time, I don’t want to see him as a speck in the distance. It’s not where he needs to stay. Not now. Not ever.