Page 82 of Without Bound
Last year, he dropped to one knee and asked her to marry him. She agreed, tears streaming down her face, but she sure did let him have it later for doing it on national television. I have a feeling that this will be no different.
In fact, everyone laughs when she smacks his chest and says, “You just had to do that, didn’t you? Fine. March. Take it or leave it, buddy.”
“Take it!” he shouts and grabs her with two hands, lifting her off the ground and kissing the life out of her.
I feel a little tug at my heartstrings as I witness this moment and look around, only to catch the watchful eyes of Bishop. He looks lovingly at me and winks discreetly. A warmth crawls over my body from my toes to the tips of my ears. The most simple thing from him can set me on fire. It gets harder and harder each day to hide this from people. But now that the series is over, we can tell Nix and Viv and it will all be over.
But what is it that will be over? The weight of holding the secret? The relationship between Bishop and I? The friendship that has spanned over a decade and is more of a brotherhood? I worry myself sick just thinking about it.
The fans remaining in the stands shout and clap, whistles blaring in the vast stadium. Families wait for their guys to climb off the stage to continue hugging and sharing tears of joy with them. Our group of friends begins to crowd together, closer and closer, until we all stand shoulder to shoulder.
Bishop finds his way to me and while we all press our bodies together, he reaches over and latches his pinky with mine. They’re hooked together and hang between us, the eyes of everyone fully focused on what is happening on stage and allowing us to have our moment.
I feel a tap on my arm and look to my left to see Dagen with a grin that you could see from Dallas. She crooks her finger at me and I lean closer to her.
Her lips brush against the shell of my ear and she says, “If you marry Uncle Bishop, will I call you Auntie Ana, or just Ana?”
I feel all of the blood drain from my face and it’s suddenly very hard to breathe.
“Um. I…”
“It’s okay. I heard mommy and Auntie Cat talking about it. But I promise I haven’t said a word to anyone.” I try to give her something that resembles a smile and nod my head.
She goes back to watching everything that’s going on around us, and the dread that was brewing is now boiling over.
“What’s wrong, baby girl?” The deep timber of a voice I know so well pulls my attention the other direction.
“Day knows,” I tell him, simply.
I see his chest fill with a deep breath and deflate when he blows it out. “It’s okay. Day’s my number one girl. She loves her Uncle Bish and I’ll talk to her about keeping a secret.”
“I thought I was your number one girl,” I tell him from the side of my mouth, trying to keep my expression neutral.
“You’re my number one girl in a much different way.” My eyes lock on his, and tell him the words that I wish I could say at this very moment.
“Ana!” someone shouts, and in my peripheral I see Uncle Nix jogging in my direction.
I quickly put space between Bishop and I as I leap into his arms when he’s within a foot of me. Our celebration continues on through the night, as we move the party from the club rented out for the team, to Luca and CeCe’s downtown penthouse for a more intimate gathering.
The black and red decor gives off a Dracula vibe, and creeps me out a little. When I tell this to CeCe, she laughs and shares it with Luca. He counters with,“at least that is better than what you told me”.
I excuse myself to use the restroom and feel a presence behind me. I look over my shoulder to see Bishop coming up quickly behind me. He points his chin in the direction of the restroom and I move inside, flipping on the light which gets shut back off immediately.
The door closes and the lock clicks into place, as I’m spun around. I blink trying to adjust my eyes to the sudden darkness, and smell the muskiness of Bishop’s cologne as he draws closer.
“Why are you looking so sad tonight, my little butterfly?” he whispers.
I run my fingers lightly over his face, caressing the contours I love so much. “I’m worried about talking to Nix and Viv.”
His hand lays over mine as I smooth across his jaw. “I know, baby girl. But it will all be okay. We’ll do it together and deal with whatever happens.”
“Can we wait just a few more days? You know, to let him rest and ride out the high of the win?”
Bishop’s silence stretches on as he thinks. “This weekend. Okay? We will tell them this weekend. We’ll go to dinner. Someplace public and neutral, so that Nix doesn’t murder us with witnesses around.” He laughs but I don’t find it the least bit funny.
“That’s not funny,” I pout and press my head to his chest.
“I’ve got you. Don’t worry. Okay?” He taps me under the chin, lifting my face to his, then says, “I know how to make you feel better.”
