Page 61 of Only You

“Brice, I promise never to leave you. I’ll always fight for you and our love, no matter what happens. I’ll love you and trust you in this life and forever into the next unequivocally,” I said as I stared into his eyes. The love, adoration, and passion in his eyes matched mine.

“Very well, that was beautiful. Brice Jeremiah Washington, do you take Tayla Renae Young to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do,” he said, then slipped the band and ring onto my finger that he’d taken from Steph.

“Tayla Renae Young, do you take Brice Jeremiah Washington to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do,” I said. Then I was tapped on my shoulder by Jourdan, who gave me his band.

“Thank you, JoJo.” I exhaled before slipping it onto his finger.

“I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Washington. You may now kiss your bride.” Brice pulled me into him by the waist and lifted my veil. He stood looking deeply into my eyes for a moment before he leaned in and pecked my lips. After his sweet peck, his tongue joined, swiping slowly, sensually, and tenderly against mine. The world melted away while he poured his love into me. He was also taking me there, and then I remembered that we were amongst company.

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you, too, Baby,” he returned.

“As her damn brother I don’t know how I feel about what the hell I just watched. I mean I’m two seconds away from kicking your ass.”

“Let’s go then because my fist gets tight every time you and JoJo do the shit in front of me,” Brice said as they both squared up. They both fell into a fit of laughter before embracing.

“Congratulations, man,” Steph said. Then he hugged me. Jourdan had walked over to do the same.

“Congratulations, Sis.” Behind her was Ms. Adri.

“Congratulations, Mija,” she said and hugged me as well.

Sis, Mija, Wife. My family!

“Would you mind if I took Brice with me for a quick ride?” I asked our guests.

“Not at all, Mija. It gives us time to prepare you two a nice reception dinner.”

“Y’all better come right back too. Don’t be having my sister out here in these streets being fast,” Steph said.

“Girl, don’t listen to him, that’s exactly what you need to be doing,” JoJo said, lifting her hand for a high five, which I gave her. Then I pulled Brice behind me out of the house and into my Chevy SS. I started her up, and like I always did, I sat for a moment listening to the deep rumble of the engine. After the rumble had gone through my chest, I pulled out of the driveway and headed towards our destination.

“What are you up to, Tay?” Brice asked.

“Just enjoy being my passenger princess for a minute. Don’t be over there getting handsy, either.” He winked at me and laughed.

“Baby, I was drunk.”

“Don’t test me, Brice, I will pull Baby Girl over,” I said with a grin.

“You’re not saying anything I don’t want to hear, though, Tay. Because I damn sure didn’t consummate my marriage yet,” he said giving me his low bedroom eyes.

“Brice,” I whispered as I looked over at him. For the next few minutes, I fought to take my mind from between Brice’s legs. When we finally pulled into the parking lot of his medical practice, he sat up in his seat.

“Tay, you picked my keys up from Melanie?”

“I did, and that’s not all. Come on.” He exited the car and came around to get me out. As we approached the door, I handed him the keys.

“You do the honors.” He took them and smiled, opening the door. Brice stepped inside and appeared at a loss for words. If it weren’t for the ear-to-ear smile on his face, I would have thought he didn’t like it. The lobby was bright with light gray walls. The tiled floors matched the walls with various blue, green, yellow, and orange tiles sprinkled throughout.

“Tay, Baby,” he admonished as he walked through, running his hands over the modern, brightly colored, kid-friendly furniture that matched the aesthetic. I knew he was chastising me in jest because his body language expressed that he loved the space.

“So you don’t like it?” I asked teasingly as he continued through, entering one of the rooms. The door closed behind us. I walked deeper into the room and stood, leaning against the treatment table, taking it all in. Each was themed in one of the many colors displayed in the lobby. Although the rooms were decorated, he would still need to order all his medical devices and equipment before opening, but the hard part had already been resolved.

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