That First Night Ch. 10

Author's Note: This week on the Super Action Show, Tom realizes that what he was looking for was right in front of him all along. But this isn't the Super Action Show, this is That First Night.

These next two chapters are going to be powerful milestones to the Ashley/Andrew relationship, so feel free to stick around for that. This chapter does not contain sex, but it captures the entire spirit of the relationship that has been built up over time, and I say that something of that nature is very important to the story.

If, however you're only looking for the sex scenes, you won't find any in this chapter. So feel free to select another story.

***

I tried to relax my nerves as I waited for my Aunt to arrive. I was having dinner with later, but I invited her for a drink out the day before our dinner because I needed to ask her a key question.

I was going to ask her for the hand of her son, my cousin, in marriage.

I had been dating Andrew for almost two years now, and we certainly were both in love with each other and we loved each other.

Over time, we had found out so much each other that we never knew before. And it only seemed to strengthen our love... And of course, the great sex didn't hurt.

Call me an old-fashioned lady, but a suitor should ask his woman's father for permission to marry her. It's just the gentlemanly thing to do.

I knew the only reason why Andrew hadn't asked my father by this point was because my father literally would kill him.

It took months before he accepted we were at dating when we told him over the phone. A face to face meeting impossible since he lives in Jamaica and refuses to come to the United States. In the end, he said he would tolerate it "until you two come to your senses."

Better than condemning us I suppose, but it still hurt.

Andrew's father, when he found out, merely said "I'm not going to do anything about this as long as it's not a problem." with what a "problem" was being left up in the air.

As for my mother... Well the topic never came up that much. She knew I was in love with someone society says I shouldn't be in love with... But I never actually told her that it was Andrew. Yet somehow she simply knew when I was with Andrew near the 4th of July last year. She simply told me to follow my heart.

"Whoever you love and whatever you want to do, I'll support you." She said.

And that leaves Andrew's mother... Being the only woman in his life until me, I was in essence trying to take her son away from her as a guy would be trying to take me away from my father. I felt like I needed to hear her opinion on it at the very least.

I could always just marry Andrew anyway... The only thing that truly mattered was if he said yes. But I wanted to at least ask his mother.

I saw his mother at the door and motioned her to join me.

"Ashley, it's good to see you."

"Good to see you too, Aunt Joan."

We made small talk for a few minutes before Aunt Joan decided to cut to the thick of it.

"So Ashley, it sounded like you had something on your mind when you called me..."

I didn't plan on it going this fast, so I wasn't prepared.

"Um... Yes, ... First, you know about your son and I... Right?"

"While I don't approve of your... Relationship... I can see that you make him happy. So, I've long since accepted it."

"So you're okay with it?"

"I'm as okay with it as I can be. Granted, I was fairly angry at one point and told him to stop seeing you. But eventually I was reminded of the fact that when Andrew puts his mind to something, there's no stopping him... I taught him that value when he was just a little boy."

She looked pensive for a minute, as if remembering those simpler times.

"So... What did you want to ask me?"

I had rehearsed what I wanted to say... But at that moment, my mind was blank. What could I say?

"There's really no other way to ask this..." I began. "But I'd like to ask your permission to marry your son, Andrew."

Aunt Joan looked at me wide eyed for a minute as she tried to process what I just said.

She then looked away from me and started nursing her drink. She didn't say a word in what seemed like forever.

"To defy social convention like you're wanting to do, you must be really serious."

"I am."

"Knowing my brother, he would kill Andrew if he asked your father to marry you."

"He would. He literally would."

"But at the same time... Why are you asking me? You don't need my permission."

At this moment, what I had wanted to say earlier came back into my mind.

"Before I came around, you were the first and only girl in Andrew's life. I don't want you to think I'm taking him away from you."

She nodded and regarded me for a moment.

"Yes." She said. "You can have my son's hand in marriage."

I got up from my chair and hugged her.

"Thank you." I whispered. "Thank you so much."

"Just one thing, Ashley... Never break his heart. He may look tough, but he can be very sensitive when it comes to his feelings and emotions."

"I'll never break his heart." I vowed.

"Good. Have you asked Phil about this?"

"Um... No." I said with a sudden thought that I probably should.

"Well if you want my advice, you should."

"I just had that thought myself. After all, Andrew's father raised him to be the man that he is today. With help from you anyway."

"I mostly taught him good manners, how to be respectful, and to never mistreat a woman."

"What was it you said once? 'If you ever hurt a woman, I'll cut the damn thing off myself!'"

"He still remembers that? Glad to see at least that lesson stuck."

I bit back the remark about 'ladies first that he was always so keen about.

"Well he told me how serious you sounded."

We made small talk for a few more minutes, then we said our goodbyes and left.

When I got into my car, I called Phil.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Hey Phil, it's Ashley... Do you have a minute to talk?"

"Sure."

"When you told Andrew that you weren't going to do anything about us unless it became a problem... What exactly did you mean by problem?"

"Did he hurt you?"

"No... The reason I ask is I want to ask you for his hand in marriage."

"What? ... That's not how these things are supposed to go."

"I know, but I love him and I know he loves me... I'd let him ask, but my father would kill him."

He chuckled slightly.

"That's an understatement. I remember the stories Joan used to tell me about your father. I mean, I know Andrew would certainly be man enough, but I don't want him dead."

"Me neither."

"Have you talked to Joan about this?"

"Yes. And she gave me her blessing."

"If it's okay with Joan, it's okay with me."

"Thank you."

"Just because you're a girl, that doesn't mean I won't do my job as the father of the person to get married. If you ever hurt Andrew, I'll make you wish you were never born."

"Understood. Thank you."

I didn't show it outright, but I was as happy as a clam, knowing that I was going to be proposing to Andrew, my one true love, at dinner tomorrow.

Once he said yes, I would whisk us both away to my apartment in California, a state where a marriage between cousins is permitted.

He would live with me for a while in order to satisfy requirements for a confidential marriage license. We wouldn't want any gung-ho journalist or family member looking into us.

This was something Andrew and I had discussed before, although more in the context of "what if" rather than anything serious.

Once Andrew and I got our marriage license, we would have a small ceremony with a Justice. Of course, we would wait a few days for any family who wished to be in attendance.

We would spend our honeymoon in California. We said we would see the sights of California. Andrew wanted to see Silicon Valley, and I had never seen with an IT guy wrapped around me.

Knowing that he probably wouldn't shut up about everything he saw, I hoped that I would find a newfound appreciation for it all when I was with him.

What I never told him was that a high up in Apple, as well as the CEOs of several tech startups owed me a favor. I would arrange for tours everywhere.

Whereas being good at IT can come with its benefits and connections, photography can do the same.

He would be like a kid in a candy store. And perhaps if all went well, he would find a job doing exactly what he loved in California.

The more I thought about my plan, the more I found myself wanting to just call him and propose to him over the phone. But I wanted to see the look on his face when I asked "Will you marry me?" and finally meant it.

Although of course, me being on my knees in front of him would bring to mind its own thoughts. But I hoped the surprise would work in my favor.

I stalled on that thought for a moment... What if he said no?

I couldn't think of any scenario where he would say no, but still... He could. I could have read him all wrong and he just saw this as a regular relationship.

I would have made a fool of myself in front of his family and a restaurant full of people.

But more importantly, if we were in two separate places in our relationship, I don't think the relationship could survive...

No, we would talk it out, see what the problem was.

As I arrived at my hotel, I thought about calling and canceling dinner. I would call the whole thing off.

But something told me to go through with it. It was meant to be between us, and I wouldn't let being nervous stand in my way.

So this is how guys are before they propose. All a nervous wreck.

I got into bed, but found it hard to finally get to sleep. Fear that Andrew would say no, mixed with excitement over the fact that by the end of tomorrow, I might be engaged to the sweetest, sexiest guy I knew.

My mind flashed back to when I first met Andrew when he was 1 year old.

He and I had been good friends throughout our childhood. I remember running around with him outside, chasing him down in the house and forcing him to play with me... Even if it was something as simple as picking him up in my arms and tickling him.

I remembered whenever I tickled him, I would kiss his cheek. At one point he was at the age where he tried to wipe kisses off, or so Joan told me. But for some reason, he didn't do that when I kissed him.

Did he know how he felt about me on some level from such an early age?

I felt myself start to finally drift off when my mind gave me the final thought of "who knew I would meet the right guy when I was 8?"

***

When I arrived at Roma's, the Italian place we were eating at, Andrew and his parents were already there waiting for me.

Andrew and I saw each other, and as our eyes met, he smiled at me. That smile that just made my heart melt.

As I took my place at the table and greeted everyone, I saw a faint smile on both Andrew's parents. Not long, bit enough to know that they didn't tell Andrew anything about what I had planned.

I took out my phone and texted Andrew:

"I don't know how you do it. Every time I see you, my heart melts and I end up with wet panties."

I sent it and heard Andrew's phone beep. He picked it up and checked it.

He lifted his eyes to me and I put a smoldering look on my face that I hope told him something along the lines of "I'm going to eat you alive."

I didn't let up with my next text:

"You're going to be a well-drained man soon."

Andrew looked at the text, blushed, then put his phone away.

"Who was that?" Joan asked him.

"Um... Nobody." Andrew replied.

As our dinner came, everyone settled in to eat, the odd stuff that had just happened seemingly forgotten.

The meal felt like it took forever. My nerves and excitement shot up inside me as I ate.

The Chicken Masala I ordered was probably pretty good, but I would have been eating gravel. I just couldn't taste anything.

Once everyone was done, I swallowed my nerves along with my last bite of food and sent Andrew another text:

"I'm being serious this time. So pay attention."

Andrew's phone beeped, he took it out to look at the text, then replied:

"Being serious about what?"

I stood up, made my way to the side of the table, then got on my knees next to Andrew's side.

It's amazing how much I could see in that split second before I started talking.

This of course, got his attention. His parents looked at me, and then grinned at each other. Also, a few diners around us started looking in our direction. Roma's was not a big restaurant, so I imagined we would be getting a fair bit of attention.

"What are you doing, Ashley?" Andrew asked, somewhat unnerved at my actions in public.

I ignored his question, took his hand, and began.

"Andrew, words can't express the way I feel about you, how things have just felt perfect over the past few years. We've had our share of disagreements and fights, but we've also had our moments where I can't imagine there being anything better in the world."

His eyes softened and he looked like he was about to say something, but I cut him off. I needed to get through this.

"The cynical part of me always thought it was too good to be true. That part of me was always waiting for the other shoe to drop... But that other shoe never dropped, and I've found that I no longer have that feeling about us... That tells me that you are the one for me. You are the one I'm meant to be with. You are the one I'm meant to grow old with and love with all my heart until the day I die..."

He again started to try to say something, but I stopped him dead in his tracks with my next words. The words I had waited so long to say, the question I had long waited to ask him.

"Andrew, will you marry me?"

Again, it's amazing how much I could see and how much time stopped in that very moment.

I felt a hush fall over the restaurant in that very moment. Andrew was rendered speechless from my words. His parents were looking at me, Andrew, and the restaurant as a whole. Speaking of which, we had the entire restaurant's attention now. Everyone's eyes were turned towards us, and you could hear a few people whispering to each other.

I speak as through Andrew waited forever to answer, and it seemed like he did. But in reality, it was probably only a few seconds before he recovered from the shock.

He cleared his throat and answered simply:

"Yes Ashley, I will marry you!"

I almost didn't hear him as I tried to process his words. He said Yes! He really said YES!

I stood up, feeling tears start to roll down my eyes, and hugged him tightly in his chair, committed to never letting him go.

I crawled into his lap and kissed his lips. Not in a soul kiss that we had shared many times, but a sensual one nonetheless.

"I love you Andrew." I whispered.

"I love you too Ashley." Andrew whispered back.

"Until the day I die." I whispered.

"And whatever comes after." He responded.

The diners around us started clapping, and for a while we got a standing ovation. But that didn't matter to me. What mattered was me and Andrew, right here and right now.

In the distance, I saw a woman who looked like the manager smile, nod, then go back to work.

As Andrew and I embraced each other, I knew that there was nothing in the world that could be better than this. Nothing could ever top being with Andrew. My cousin, my boyfriend, my lover, and now my fiancé.