Valencia!

Fourteen

Valencia tugged on her little black wrap dress, silently thanking the Goddess for the stretch fabric. Without it, she wouldn’t have stood a chance of getting it over her ever-growing baby bump. She really needed to go maternity shopping, but between classes, appointments, and the overwhelming chaos of her new reality, time just slipped away from her.

Lately, she'd resorted to leaving her jeans unbuttoned and swiping Tylon’s shirts from his closet. It worked, for now. But she knew the days of makeshift solutions were numbered. She applied her makeup with careful precision, trying to bring back a touch of glamor to her tired features.

Her long black hair, usually cooperative, stubbornly refused to hold a curl. With a sigh, she switched to her straightener instead. The finishing touch was a spritz of her favorite high-end perfume, the kind she only wore on special occasions.

Just as the scent settled around her, Tylon walked into the bathroom. He stopped in his tracks, eyes sweeping over her with unabashed admiration. “Valen, you look absolutely breathtaking,” he said, stepping forward to pull her into a warm hug. He inhaled deeply. “You smell amazing... and I’m pretty sure your breasts got bigger overnight.”

She smacked his shoulder with a mix of mock-annoyance and amusement. “Seriously?” “I couldn’t help it,” he said with a grin that made it impossible to stay mad. “Are you ready to go?” He asked, clearly pleased with himself. Valencia nodded and followed him into the living room, where Mrs. Sydney was lounging on the couch in her pajamas, bundled in a cozy blanket with a hilariously dramatic expression on her face.

“I’m feeling a little under the weather,” she said with a fake cough that was worthy of an amateur theater award. “You two will have to go without me.” Valencia burst out laughing. “What are you and your mom plotting?” She asked Tylon, narrowing her eyes. He feigned innocence. “How could you even think such a thing?” “Because I know you both,” she replied with a smirk as he held the door open for her.

Tylon pulled up to a high-end restaurant nestled along the shimmering bay. The moment Valencia stepped out of the car, a wave of self-consciousness hit her. The elegant stone entryway alone gave off serious luxury vibes. Once inside, it felt like another world entirely. Soft candlelight, crystal chandeliers dripping from vaulted ceilings, and gold-embroidered tablecloths glinting beneath the ambient glow.

“Do you have a reservation?” the poised hostess asked. “Under Sable,” Tylon replied smoothly. “Right this way, Mr. Sable.” With an air of old-fashioned charm, he offered Valencia his arm and led her toward a secluded table overlooking the water. The moon’s reflection shimmered across the waves beyond the glass, casting everything in silver light.

He pulled out her chair like a true gentleman, and once seated, Valencia looked around, stunned. “This is incredible. How did you even find a place like this?” Tylon chuckled. “I have my ways.” Valencia opened the leather-bound menu and blinked at the prices. Every dish was over a hundred dollars. Granted, they were all three-course meals, but still . . . this was well beyond her usual dining experience.

After some deliberation, she ordered a dish featuring winter squash, alliums, miso, and caviar. Half the ingredients were a mystery, but it sounded impressive. When the plates arrived, her meal looked more like abstract art than food.

“I don’t even know how to eat this,” she whispered to him with a helpless smile. “With a fork and spoon . . . like normal people,” he teased, reaching across the table to boop her nose with his fork. She giggled, shaking her head. “Thank you for bringing me here, Ty. This means a lot.”

“Anything for you, Valen,” he said, smiling that slow, warm grin that never failed to make her chest flutter. As the meal went on, his tone shifted, becoming more serious. “I know I’ve been working a lot lately,” he admitted. “It’s harder to make money outside the pack than I expected. But I want to be ready when the baby comes. I want to be someone you can count on.”

Her eyes welled with tears before she could stop them. Damn hormones. “You’re so good to me, Tylon. I don’t even know what I did to deserve you.” He reached across the table, brushing a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “Valen, don’t cry.” His voice dropped to a softer note. “Honestly? Sometimes I wonder the same thing. It’s like I’m bewitched. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a witch . . . oh wait.”

She burst out laughing even as the tears fell. “You’re such an idiot.” “A charming i***t,” he said with a wink. After dinner, Tylon drove them to Parsons Garden, a hidden gem tucked away with winding stone paths, sculpted hedges, and blooming roses. String lights were strung through the trees, casting warm glows that danced along the cobblestones.

Valencia eyed him suspiciously. “What are you up to?” He chuckled. “Can’t I just enjoy a night with you?” “Not when you’re you,” she replied, bumping him playfully. They strolled hand-in-hand beneath the twinkling lights, and everything felt easy . . . like the world had taken a breath and decided to let them have this night.

“I wish this could last forever,” she murmured. “No stress, no classes, just us.” Tylon didn’t say anything. He just squeezed her hand a little tighter. When they returned to the apartment, the lights were all off. “Where’s your mom? I thought she was ‘sick’?” Valencia asked. “She texted me. Said she had to run out for bingo with the girls,” Tylon said with a shrug as he flipped the lights on.

“At this hour?” she asked, arching a brow. “She’s a grown woman. Let her live,” he teased, nudging her as they took off their jackets. “Well, if she’s not back by midnight, she’s grounded,” Valencia said with a grin, making her way toward her room. She opened the door and froze.

The soft flicker of candlelight illuminated the space. Red and white rose petals were scattered across the bed and floor in a breathtaking display. The room looked like something out of a fairy tale. “What is this?” she whispered.

“I don’t know, Valen,” Tylon said, grinning wide with zero innocence. He stepped closer, took her hand, and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles. Then, his eyes met hers, sincere and full of something deep. “Valen . . . we’ve been best friends since the fifth grade. You’re the most loving, intelligent, and selfless person I’ve ever met. Somewhere along the way, I realized I fell in love with you.”

He took a breath. “I promise I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy, even on your worst days, and you have some intense worst days.” A watery laugh bubbled from her lips, but the tears were already forming again. “I can’t imagine my life without you in it,” he continued. “So . . . would you please, for the love of the Goddess, let tonight count as our first official date?”

Valencia laughed through her tears. “Damn it, Ty. You always make me cry.” He pulled her into a tight embrace, and she clung to him as the happy tears streamed down her cheeks. “In a good way though, right?” He whispered.

“In a good way,” she echoed, her voice soft against his chest. He kissed her hair, then stepped over to the corner of the room and picked up a phone. “I recorded it . . . just in case you wanted to show your family back home. If not, I can delete it.”

Valencia let out a shaky laugh. “You’re ridiculous.” “Maybe. But Goddess, Valen . . . you are so beautiful. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this.” And somehow, in that quiet, glowing room filled with candles and petals and everything she never knew she needed, she believed him completely.

Valencia stepped closer, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest. “You sure about this?” she asked, searching his eyes, even though she already knew the answer. Tylon cupped her face, his thumbs brushing the curve of her cheeks. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

His lips met hers slowly, reverently at first, like he was savoring the moment, memorizing the feel of her. But it didn’t stay slow for long. The kiss deepened with hunger, all the months of longing and restraint unraveling between them like a tightly coiled thread finally snapping loose.

Her fingers gripped the front of his shirt, tugging him closer as he carefully backed her toward the bed. The soft press of rose petals beneath her heels made her feel like she was floating. He broke the kiss just long enough to whisper, “Tell me to stop, and I will.”

She answered by pulling him down with her as she sat on the edge of the bed. “Don’t stop.” He kissed her again, more urgently this time, his hands roaming the familiar terrain of her body with new purpose. She melted beneath his touch, lost in the way he worshipped her curves, the way he caressed even her growing belly.

“You’re stunning,” he murmured against her skin, peppering kisses along her collarbone, her jaw, her throat. “Every part of you. I want all of you.” “Then take me,” she whispered, breath hitching as his lips brushed the base of her neck. “I’m yours, Ty.”

His hands slid beneath the fabric of her wrap dress, easing it off her shoulders with agonizing care. She reached for the buttons on his shirt, her hands trembling. Not from nerves, but from the sheer intensity of what was finally happening. Of what they were choosing.

Clothes were shed in soft rustles, kisses growing deeper, slower, then more urgent as they stretched out on the bed together. He trailed one hand over her belly with quiet awe, and she saw the look in his eyes when he whispered, “I already love him, Valen. Because he’s a part of you.”

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes again, but this time she didn’t try to blink them away. She welcomed them . . . let them mix with the warmth of his skin and the softness of the candlelight. They made love like it was a promise. Like it was sacred.

Every touch, every sigh, every whispered word between them carried the weight of years. Of friendship, loyalty, and unspoken longing, finally given permission to bloom. She felt cherished, adored, and claimed in the most tender way.

Later, wrapped in the aftermath of shared breath and tangled limbs, Valencia rested her head on Tylon’s bare chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart. “Was that . . . okay?” he asked quietly, running his fingers through her hair.

She looked up at him with a sleepy, contented smile. “It was everything.” He kissed her forehead, tucking her closer as the candles burned low and the petals crinkled beneath them. “Good. Because I plan on loving you like that for a very, very long time.” And as sleep gently pulled her under, Valencia knew, for the first time in a long time, that no matter what challenges lay ahead . . . she wouldn’t face them alone.