Chapter 13

Chapter 13

I woke up the following morning, and I had a splitting headache. I didn't remember much of the previous twelve hours. I did remember having mind-blowing birthday sex with Rio in the club bathroom. I also remembered Annie barfing outside then drinking half a bottle of Dom Perignon in the limo. Then I vaguely recalled Rio throwing me over his shoulder and throwing my drunk ass on the bed before I passed out. It was a damn good birthday. I was still in my dress when Marcus came running into our room with Rio following. Marcus jumped on the bed, and I smiled. He gave me a giant hug, and my heart melted.

"Happy Birthday Andy," Marcus said sweetly.

"Thank you, bud. I was hoping I would get to celebrate with you!" I exclaimed. I saw Rio smile out of the corner of my eye.

"Daddy says we're going to go to brunch, then you and mom are going to the spa for the day," Marcus said smiling, his little loose tooth popping out.

"Oh yeah? That sounds like a plan, my dude. I'll get dressed real quick, and I will meet you and your momma downstairs, okay?" I said as I fist-bumped him. He ran downstairs, and Rio ruffled his hair when he passed. Once Marcus was gone, and the door was locked, I groaned and rubbed my temples. Rio laughed.

"How you feelin' my queen?" He asked, leaning against the long dresser.

"Like death. Nothing a little family time won't cure." I said as I got up and peeled my dress off. I looked into the mirror above our dresser and groaned at how trashed I looked. "Oh god, I look terrible. This is going to take a minute to fix." I said as Rio came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. He kissed my shoulder and buried his head into my neck.

"You look beautiful." He whispered. I smiled.

"Well, thank you, but I am gonna clean up a bit. I'll be down soon, yeah?" I said as he let go, and I headed into the bathroom. I did my best to clean up my face, and after about ten minutes, I looked presentable. I put on my black boho lace maxi dress and shoved on my Doc Martin boots. I donned my look with a chic brown hat and put on my sunglasses. I had a feeling the light of day would blind me. I came down the stairs, and Rhea was sitting on the couch while Rio and Marcus were wrestling on the floor. Rhea saw me and smiled. She set her coffee down and got up to hug me.

"How you feelin' birthday girl?" She asked as she hugged me tightly.

"Ugh, don't remind me. I wish you could have come last night." I said.

"Ah, we'll have a girls' night soon. Couldn't find a sitter for the little man." Rhea said as Marcus squealed on the ground as Rio tickled him.

"I've got you covered, ladies. Just let me know when." Rio said as he fake body slammed Marcus.

We went to my favorite brunch restaurant, and I caught myself smiling at what I had. I had a family. Sure, it wasn't conventional, but it was real. Marcus told me about his friends at school. Rhea told us she got a promotion at the doctors' office she worked at. It was a good birthday brunch. When Rio had paid the bill, he took Marcus while Rhea and I went next door to the five-star spa. We got mani and pedi's, then finished with facials and massages. It was a blast. Rhea was so much fun to hang out with, and it was nice that it wasn't weird.

"So I gotta ask, are you seein' anyone?" I asked. Rhea smiled and shook her head slightly.

"I mean, yeah...I don't know. It's not...ideal, I guess." She said as we were sitting in the sauna sipping champagne.

"Ideal? What do you mean?" I asked.

"Her name is Eva. She is so amazing." She said, waiting for my response.

"That's great! I didn't know!" I said.

"I go both ways. I think that's why she is holding back." Rhea confessed.

"If it is meant to be, she will stick around. If she doesn't, it's one thousand percent her loss." I said as I took a drink from my champagne flute.

"We'll see. I am supposed to see her tonight." She said.

"Oh, that's great! Do you want us to watch Marcus? I love hanging out with him. He's a fun kid." I said.

"He is. He's so sweet. But no, uh, I was able to get a sitter. Besides, I think your night is already planned out." She said with a sideways smile.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Oh, nothin'." She said. I smirked. Rio was up to something.

When Rhea and I had Uber'd back to the apartment, Marcus and Rio were playing video games in the living room. I set my wallet and keys down on the counter and took my sunglasses off.

"You want a glass of wine?" I asked Rhea.

"Oh no, thank you, babe, we gotta get goin'. Come on, Papi. We gotta go meet Tori so mommy can go out with her friend tonight." Rhea said. Marcus put the controller down and gave Rio a big hug.

"You be good for Tori tonight, yeah?" Rio said. Marcus nodded and ran over to hug my leg. I kissed him on his head, and he chuckled.

"You have fun tonight, little man. I'll see you soon, yeah?" I asked as I fist-bumped him. He nodded, and Rhea hugged me.

"Have fun tonight." She said as she winked at me. I looked over and saw Rio smile and shake his head slightly. There was definitely something I didn't know. Rhea and Marcus left, and Rio sat down on the couch with me. I sat in the crook of his arm, and he kissed my forehead.

"Did ya'll have fun?" He asked.

"We did," I said, looking up at him smiling. "I really do love her. Normally I would automatically want to rip anyone's head off who fucked you before." I said as he laughed. "But, it's not like that with Rhea. She's rooting for us, ya know?" I said as he intertwined his long fingers with mine.

"Yeah, she's cool. Good mom too. Like you're going to be someday." He said. I chuckled.

"Not any time soon," I said with him nodding slightly. "So, what's on the agenda tonight?" I asked.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing, just you. Me. Netflix and Postmates. And hopefully an ungodly amount of fuckin' your fine ass sideways." Rio said as he snaked his hand up to my cheek and kissed me slowly.

"That sounds good to me," I said into his lips as he smiled. He lightly pushed his tongue in my mouth, moving his hand to the back of my neck and his other hand to the small of my lower back. He pulled away, and I pouted. He laughed.

"Plenty of time for that baby. Whatchu want to drink?" He asked as he got up.

"You should totally bring that whole bottle of that Ghostwriter Pinot up there. I could drink that shit right outta the damn bottle." I said as I leaned back. He came back with my bottle of wine and his Patron Silver. He grabbed the remote to the smart tv and started to pull up Netflix. "Wait, babe. We gotta strip down. It's the best way to Netflix and chill." I said as I got up and stepped out of my dress while taking off my boots. Rio laughed and shrugged his shirt off. I laughed as I undid his belt, and he shrugged his pants off. We both laid down on the couch and started our movie night. Rio had turned his phone on silent because he said if he didn't, work would come up.

After several hours of comedy and horror, we decided to order sushi. I pulled on my dark red silk robe to get the door, mostly because Rio made me. Once we had eaten, we were sitting on the living room floor. I had busted out the strawberries I had in the fridge, and while I was getting some juice off of my chin, I looked back up and saw Rio sitting next to me with his arm resting on his knee, holding something. Finally, my brain registered what it was. He was holding a small black box with a 14K white gold solitaire diamond ring inside. My heart jumped. I tried to catch my breath as I smiled. He gave me that trademark half-smile smirk of his, and I started to shake.

"You're my queen, darlin'. And I want to spend the rest of my life treating you that way. You're my ride or die, always. Will you marry me?" He asked, looking at me, the same incredible smirk.

"Yes! FUCK YES!" I shrieked as I tackled him to the ground. He kissed my neck and chuckled into my hair. He pulled me up to my feet and slid the rock onto my finger. I had to admit. It looked damn good on my finger. I grabbed his gorgeous face with my hands and kissed him. "I'm keeping my last name, baby. Okay?" I asked. He smiled and slightly shook his head.

"Whatever you want, darlin'." He said as he moved my hair out of my eyes.

"Oh fuck, I gotta text Rhea and Annie. I know you aren't the biggest fan of Annie, but I have this weird urge to be friends with her." I joked. He shook his head.

"It's not that I dislike her. She talks too much." He said.

"Uh-huh," I said, smiling and texting Rhea. Just then, a number started calling my cell. I didn't recognize the number. "Hello?" I answered.

"Andy?" my heart froze. "Andy, it's Jason." my brother said on the other line.

"Jason..." I breathed out. Rio knew about Jason, and he eyed me in just as much shock as I was in.

"I'm out, sis. They're letting me come home." Jason said. My body was still shaking from the proposal, but not it was trembling. Memories of my parents' murder started flooding my mind. I didn't even realize that I was crying.

*Wedding bells are in the future! But trust me, it won't all be happy times. Far from it! Please follow, comment and vote! Much love! xo