Marrying Ember(5)

That was a thought I tried to keep buried deep in the back of my brain whenever I made love to their daughter.

Ember sat up and straddled my waist, anchoring one knee on each side of my hips. “It hadn’t really occurred to me before the start of the tour how little privacy we’d have.” She leaned forward and kissed my nose, then my mouth, then worked her lips down my jaw and neck.

“True. Two RVs don’t really scream romance, do they?” My voice had stayed steady until Ember’s mouth touched down on my chest, and she started moving her hips.

“And the day after tomorrow, we’ll have to be around all of those old hippies who have zero problem with romance in an RV.”

I laughed even though it was the last thing I wanted to do as Ember shifted down my body, her mouth working lower down my torso. “Well, maybe we’ll have to give those old married hippies a run for their money.”

“Ew, Bo!” Ember sat up and slapped my chest. “My parents are those people!”

“Don’t remind me!” I laughed, sitting up and rolling her over. When she was beneath me, I brushed her wild auburn waves from her face. “We’ll be there someday, too, you know.”

“Where?” She started moving those mouth watering hips under me.

“Old. Married. Maybe not hippies. Well, I’ll save that title for you,” I teased.

“Well, my parents aren’t actually married, I don’t think. Unless they did that sometime when I wasn’t looking.” She shrugged and leaned up to kiss me, but I pulled back.

“What?”

Her eyes moved from side to side. “What?”

“Your parents aren’t married?”

“Why are you acting so surprised?”

I opened and closed my mouth several times, but nothing worth saying came out.

“What’s the big deal?” She asked, sitting up against the headboard as I stared into space.

“Isn’t … marriage a big deal? Didn’t it ever bother you when you were little?”

She grinned and moved to cross her legs. I sat back. “I didn’t know it wasn’t normal, Bo. Sure, I attended lots of commitment ceremonies and things like that when I was little, but …” she trailed off and shrugged. “It just wasn’t a thing. Some people were married, some weren’t, but most were committed, you know? I knew my parents were together, and in it forever, so married didn’t hold any significance.”

“Does it now?” My throat ran dry. The shock here wasn’t that Ember’s parents weren’t married. Once I’d thought about it for a second, I realized how in step with their lifestyle that was. I realized we’d never even discussed marriage. It was lots of lifetimes and eternities, butmarriage hadn’t been verbalized.

“I think marriage is great, if that’s what people want. Josh and Monica, for example. I was a mess when he proposed. Those twoneeded to be married, like, immediately.” She laughed softly and moved her hands to my thighs. I placed my hands over her wrists.

“I mean does it hold significance to you?” I spoke firmly but still quietly. Her eyes met mine with confusion but it slowly registered as her lips parted with a click of her tongue and a sigh.

“I haven’t really …”

“Thought about it?” I cut her off. “Are you kidding?”

“Well, no, I mean … Yes, I’ve thought about it because I knew your parents were married—or at least I assumed they were—and most people prioritize marriage.” Her cheeks were growing pink, right about the rate at which my stomach sank.

“Most people? Like, people who aren’t you?” I didn’t mean the irritation in my voice, but it was hard to contain.

“What’s the big deal? I’m not saying that to be passive but, for Christ’s sake, Bo, I want to be with you for-ever, what does a piece of paper have to do with that?”

I exhaled roughly, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. “It matters because it’s a rite of passage with the person you love. That you put on that piece of paper that you promise forever. It’s written.”

“Soooo my words don’t hold enough weight unless they’re printed?” Ember drew her eyebrows together as she put her feet on the floor, following the walk I’d decided to take through the bedroom door.

“I don’t want to fight.” I ran a hand through my hair, entering the kitchen and pulling a bottle of Vitamin Water out of the fridge.

“Who’s fighting?” Ember looked around, her tone careful.

I gulped the water until half the bottle was gone, then slammed it down on the counter.

“That was a little aggressive.” Ember crossed her arms and arched her eyebrow.

“Marry me,” I blurted out.

Her nostrils flared as her face twisted in pure sarcastic splendor. “I was wrong … that was aggressive.”

“You don’t want to marry me?” Sweat sprang up on the back of my neck. This wasn’t how I was supposed to ask her to marry me, but she wasn’t supposed to not answer, either.

“You’ve lost your goddamn mind, Bo. You’re not asking me to marry you right now. You’re freaking the f*ck out and it’s not okay.” She placed her hands on her hips and swallowed hard.