The Perfect Diamond

She backed off, still standing close.

"It's nice to meet you Kristina."

"Oh Lauren, you're going to make everyone so happy. We've all been waiting years for this guy to find someone special! And here you are!"

"That's me? I guess?"

"It is Lauren."

Kent grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Jess is waiting in the car, I'll go grab the presents with him. You two...oh, I'll see you both later!"

She practically skipped out the door that she'd come in.

"Sorry, she saw the smile on my face. The one I can't seem to get rid of, thanks to you."

I stood on my tip-toes, kissing his cheek softly. He still had to lean down a bit for me to reach.

"What time is the party?"

"We have to leave here no later than noon."

"I should go home."

"You don't want to come?"

He gave me the saddest brown puppy dog eyes.

"Oh Kent, I do. I just should change clothes, right?"

"Heh, good point. Let's head over there and then we can go to breakfast. My treat."

"Hmm, breakfast sounds good."

We walked down to his car a few minutes later, I plugged in my address in his GPS. He pulled in the lot where my car was parked, I began to slide from the car when he grabbed my hand.

"Lauren."

"Yeah?"

"There's something I should tell you."

"Oh crap, you are married aren't you?"

"No, I promise."

He hesitated, I pulled my door shut, turning down the radio that was playing.

"Tell me, please?"

"I'm falling in love with you. I know, it hasn't even been 24 hours, but I made a promise. To myself, to everyone that I'd always be truthful. So, there it is."

"Kent. I had the same thought. Even earlier. When I was watching you sleep."

"Really?"

"Yes. I've...you're the first..."

"You weren't a virgin..."

"No. You're the first man I've ever felt this way with. I feel alive, maybe that is how love should feel. I've never been in love before."

"I love you Lauren, oh...I don't even know your last name."

He and I laughed together, kissing softly as I pushed the car door open again.

"See you in a few baby."

I waved as I slid into my car, he kindly let me lead him to my apartment across the city. It was a nice place, smaller than his. I parked behind the home I lived in, he remembered to park on the street on the opposite side. There were regulations in this part of town in regard to parking. I waited as he crossed the street, then led him through the back door of the small house. We went downstairs to the basement apartment I'd lived in since senior year in college. It's small and quaint, but perfect for me. I showed him in, the one bedroom was tidy and perfectly organized.

"How long have you lived here?"

"4 years."

"Not much stuff for 4 years."

"I'm not much of a saver, I'd go nuts if I had more stuff."

"Okay, go take a shower and change. Then we can get breakfast."

"I have a compromise."

"I'm intrigued."

"Shower with me, then I'll get dressed for breakfast."

"Deal."

His clothes were off faster than mine. I took his hard cock in my mouth as he washed my short hair, he bathed my tits in his cum a few minutes later. He washed me carefully with my scented body wash. I washed him too, even though he'd already had a shower.

"No wonder your skin is so soft baby, this stuff is heavenly."

"Mmhmm, it's the only kind I'll use. What should I wear to this party? Is it fancy?"

"You can wear whatever you want. It's for 9 year old boys, definitely not fancy."

"Where is it?"

"At that trampoline place. It's pretty awesome there. We were all there this summer for my nieces birthdays."

"Just how many nieces and nephews do you have?"

"Uhmmm, at last count...there are 13."

"Oh...crap."

"What?"

"Does that mean your parents will be there?"

He laughed, loud and deep.

"Yes. And they will love you."

"I've never met a boyfriend's parents before."

He kissed me gently as we stepped out of the shower.

"So, I'm your boyfriend then?"

"Is that a good word for what we are, hell, I don't even know."

"I think it's a good word, for now. Though probably fiancee, soon."

I sucked in a breath and he covered my mouth with his lips.

"In time, love. In time."

We both dried off, he re-dressed in the clothes he'd tossed in the living room as I pulled on jeans and a nice shirt. I dried my hair with the blow-dryer, putting on just a slight touch of make-up.

"Hey, pack a bag. You can come stay with me tonight. Unless you have plans."

"No plans. Well, I do now."

He smiled as I pulled down a small bag from my closet and began putting items in. I grabbed my small travel bag that I kept packed, shoving it in the bigger bag. I grabbed my phone charger, putting it in the bag too. I had a text from Heather, she wrote that Justin told her that he'd had a good time with me. I would talk to her later, I promised myself as we headed back out the door.

"So, Lauren...what?"

"Lauren Mackenzie Curtis. You are?"

"Kent Matthew Harrison. Huh, we have the same middle initial."

"We do, interesting. You're 31, yes? When's the birthday?"

"End of the month, the 25^th. Yours?"

"March 11^th."

"Parents? Sisters and brothers? Etcetera?"

"Mom, she lives in Florida now. No one else."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. My dad died when I was 10."

He patted my thigh gently as he pulled into the diner on Western avenue.

"They make awesome omelets here. Hey, are you allergic to anything?"

"Bees, wasps. I get seasonal allergy in the spring, but I take claritin. Are you?"

"Nope, nothing."

"Why'd you ask?"

"Another question, plus when we go grocery shopping later. Oh, um, yeah. Do you want to come over for dinner? Any night this week?"

"I'd love to. Though, I think Friday is my only good day this week."

"Got ya. Are you religious?"

"Not really, I went to church on the big holidays with my Grandmom when she was still alive. You?"

"I am slowly getting back there. My family is pretty flexible, but we all believe in at least some higher power."

"I see. What?"

"Just wondering something."

"About?"

"Is it too soon to think about something to give you. Something special."

"Is it what I think it is? Cause..."

"You think it's too soon? I do too. But, think of it this way. It doesn't mean we have to get married right away. We can move in together."

"You want to live with me?"

"I do."

"Kent,...I...this is moving really fast."

"I know it is. Let me tell you something though. My parents married the day they met. They've been married for 40 years."

"Really?"

"Yes. It wasn't planned either. They met through a friend and Dad flew her to Vegas. They were married at 9pm the same night they were introduced."

"Your dad is a pilot?"

"Hmm, let's see if I can say this delicately. My parents are wealthy. My great-great uncle bought a diamond mine in Russia almost 100 years ago. We've since given control to producers of diamonds, but we still own 49% of the stock."

"What?"

The blood drained from my face, I looked at him. He was certainly telling the truth.

"You heard me."

"So...you're rich."

"Kind of."

"Kind of?"

"I'll never have to worry about money again. We never will."

His large hand enclosed over mine, the waitress brought our food over a moment later. He began eating, I just kept staring at him.

"Eat, love. We'll talk more about this I promise."

I nodded, smelling the delicious french toast in front of me. I hadn't realized how hungry I'd been until I swallowed the first bite. I moaned softly, it tasted so good. I looked up, Kent was looking at me curiously.

"What?"

He pulled out his phone, typed something and slid it across the table to me.

Your moaning is getting me going. And I can't be inside you until tonight.

I gasped, turned bright red as I slid the phone back to him. He chuckled softly and returned to eating his breakfast. I continued to eat mine, though no moaning involved.

Chapter:

"Should I get a gift for your nephews? I don't know them, but I am going to their party."

"You could sign your name to the card I am going to get, but I was going to grab something else for the two of them. We have some time before we have to head to the place, the mall?"

"I haven't been there in ages."

"You don't go to the movies? Or go shopping?"

"Movies at home are better, shopping online is easier. Besides, professors don't make a whole lot of money. With helping my mom out, I have enough to live on but not enough for extra."

"Well, that makes life pretty dull."

"I don't know. These past 24 hours have been pretty exciting."

He smiled over at me, pulling into the mall parking lot. It was pretty busy, but not terrible. He slid his hand into mine as we crossed the parking lot to the bookstore entrance to the mall.

"Your nephews are turning 9, or turning 10?"

"Turning 9, what did you have in mind?"

I pulled his hand toward the Harry Potter set up, I loved giving books as gifts.

"Do you think they are old enough? Do they read a lot?"

He smiled at me, picking up two sets of all 7 books, paperback copies.

"I think these are perfect gifts Lauren."

I pulled two different Harry Potter bookmarks, I would buy these myself.

"Well that was fast. Now what?"

I saw this look on his face, he held out his hand and I went willingly out into the mall. He held the boxed books in a plastic bag from the bookstore, we would stop by the drugstore and get gift wrap items on our way out. We went up the escalator, I followed him as he went into a jewelry store. He waved to a young woman behind the glass cases, she waved back with a smile on her face. I watched as she went to the door behind the counter, knocked on it gently and poked her head inside for a moment. She waved us over, Kent pulled me gently along with him and we went into a back room that was larger than it appeared.

"Mr Harrison, welcome! How nice it is to see you!"

"Mr Pandari, thank you for seeing me. This is Lauren."

"Hello dear, it is nice to meet you. I help Mr Harrison and his family run their part of the import business."

"I understand. There are some beautiful pieces here, I am amazed."

I was truly flabbergasted, being surrounded by the sparkling pieces of diamond, gold and silver. Mr Pandari gestured to a small seating area, Kent set the bag down and pulled a bottle of water from a small refrigerator. He handed me one, winking at me. I sighed and sat on the chair, Kent sat next to me and Mr Pandari came back, wheeling a small cart.

"These arrived the end of last month, as you can see most are a work in progress."

"You always do an amazing job Mr Pandari. These are quite exquisite. Don't you think, Lauren?"

I slid forward in my seat, taking in an array of loose diamonds. Kent handed me a soft white glove, he slipped one on his own hand and I copied him. He poked through a small container of large diamonds, I saw a smile widen on his face as he pulled one out from the small box.

"Hold out your hand Lauren."

I did as he asked, turning my palm up to hold the diamond in my hand. It was perfection. If I'd ever seen such a diamond, this was the most beautiful one I'd ever seen.

"Kent...it's...just."

"It's amazing Lauren."

"You have an eye Mr Harrison. This is a 3.5carat, perfect cut diamond. As you can see, it has no flaws, no imperfections."

He handed the small magnifying glass to Kent, who glanced over it with a broad smile, then passed it to me. I had no idea what I was looking for, but it sure was pretty.

"Mr Pandari, I would like something made from this diamond if you please."

Kent put the diamond back on a small velvet tray, Mr Pandari closed the lid and put it aside near where they stepped to, away from where I could hear. I overheard a few words; ring, platinum, one month. I saw the two of them shake hands and Kent pulled the bag up, offering me his hand too.

"What just happened?"

"Nothing you need to worry about right now Lauren."

"Thank you Mr Pandari, see you soon."

"Thank you both, have a wonderful weekend."

I only waved as we headed back out into the main room. We went down to the bottom floor where the drugstore was located. We found gift bags, one blue and one green with white tissue paper to hide the gifts at least a little bit. We found two cards, one with dinosaurs and one with robots, each fitting the boys' personality. We took everything to the car, wrapped the gifts in the trunk, and signed our names to the cards. It was just noon when we left the parking lot, we arrived at the party location ten minutes later. I sighed heavily, my breath shook nervously as I exhaled.

"Relax honey, everyone is going to love you. Just like Kristina did this morning, remember?"

I nodded. We both took a bag from the back of his trunk and walked to the party place. A group of smiling faces moved toward the door as we came in.

"You must be Lauren!"

I was passed through the group, hugs and kisses to my cheeks were given by everyone surrounding me. I turned to Kent, he shook with laughter as he watched the look on my face. Within minutes, I was finally released as the pizza arrived. All the kids came running over, I tucked the gift where the others were under a table. I finally met the birthday boys, Timmy and Tony. Dozens of boxes of pizza were consumed by the group as well as liters of soda and iced tea. I was given a sleeping baby at one point, the tiny child slept on, wrapped in a soft purple blanket. Kent sat just next to me, wrapping his arm over me.

"This is Reesa, one of my newest nieces."

"She's adorable Kent."

"I think you're adorable."

He kissed my mouth softly, his mother saw and I saw a happy tear fall from her eye as I looked up a moment later. Reesa began to wake, I unwrapped her from the blanket she was in and she stretched, her little mouth forming an O as she yawned. Her big brown eyes looked up at me, blinking.

"Hi there Reesa, I know you don't know me. I'm Lauren."

She smiled, a perfect little smile under her little nose. I lifted her to my shoulder, she grabbed my hair as I nuzzled her little belly with my nose. I made the tiny girl giggle, hearing appreciative gasps and murmurs from the grown-ups around me. Reesa's mother, Naomi, came back for her a minute later. Naomi kissed my cheek gently, thanking me for taking such care of her baby. I slipped my shoes off, heading for the trampoline area. The bigger kids were all back to bouncing, it looked like such fun. I questioned one of the workers at the area. He said it was absolutely safe for me to go, adults of all ages and sizes were welcome. He said it loud enough, for the other adults' benefit, I supposed. I hesitantly stepped onto the well padded area, heading for the kids.

"Lauren! Come play with us!"

I smiled and jumped toward the group of kids who were playing with a ball, a basket was set on the wall. I made my first jump-shot, high-fiving the group of kids I was hanging out with. I waved to Kent, for him to come join us. He did so, willingly as he slid off his own shoes.

"Uncle Kent, we like Lauren. You should marry her."

"Oh, you think so Benny? I think I should too."

He kissed me, right in front of the kids. Most of the boys were disgusted, going off to play again. The little girls caught hold of my hands and pulled me over to a high rope. I looked up at the rope, it was only about three feet from the mat, and truthfully you couldn't get hurt. The surface below was all bouncy material.

"Lauren, I want to go, but I am scared. Will you go first? Show me?"

"I think I can do that Becca. I am a little scared too, but see the floor under the rope. It's the bouncy material, it will keep you from getting hurt."

She nodded and I climbed the short ladder to the small platform. I held the balance ropes in between, I felt tall as I walked across, above the others' heads.

"Becca, come try it. And watch."

I jumped off at the end, bouncing and landing on my butt. The girls laughed, I did too and Becca climbed the ladder. She made it all the way across twice, before purposely jumping off at the end as I did. Some of the other kids tried too, Kent begged off, saying his big feet would never fit on the small rope. I knew his feet, they would have been quite funny on that rope.

"Truthfully, I'm afraid of heights."

He whispered to me as the adults called time for cake.

"Really? You will go fly in an airplane though."

"Sure. I even have my pilot license, but yeesh."

I laughed, kissing his cheek as he bent to tie his shoes. The little boys ripped open their gifts a little later, I waited somewhat impatiently for them to open the books I picked for them. I hoped they would like them. They were handed the matching bags, both exclaimed at the personalized cards as they read aloud who the gifts were from.

"From Uncle Kent and Lauren. Soon, it will be Aunt Lauren, right Uncle Kent?"

"I haven't asked her yet boys. I only met her yesterday."

That part was buried a bit by the boys unwrapping the bags, but Kent's mother and sisters looked toward us, I turned red with embarrassment.

"Harry Potter! Oh my gosh! Mom, Dad...everybody...Look!"

The boys pulled out the box sets of the books and the bookmarks I'd added.

"I hope you boys like them. I love the books, some of my favorites."

They ran to me, holding their arms out and I was grabbed on both sides by the sweetest little 9 year olds.

"We love them! Mom said we had to wait until we got bigger to read and then watch the movies. Are we big enough now?"

She smiled at the boys, who then hugged me even harder

"You gotta come read them to us. Can you come over tonight? You can sleep over!"

The adults laughed, I smiled at the boys.

"Thank you for the invitation to sleep over. But you know, you boys are old enough to read the books on your own. Maybe though, in a few days, I will come read a few chapters. Does that sound okay?"

They both hugged me again in answer and raced back to their chairs, still having more presents to open.

"I told you they'd like the books."

Kent kissed me tenderly, I held back tears. Kent saw them in my eyes, he held his hand and pulled me aside. We could still the gift opening from where we now stood, but it was a little apart from everyone else.

"Hey, tears?"

I shook my head.

"I'm okay. Just memories."

He opened his arms and I slid into them, feeling his comforting body meld over mine. It still hadn't even been 24 hours, but I felt oddly comfortable with him. So much so, that when we got in the car later, I told him something quite personal. Something that Heather and Turner didn't even know.

"I had a brother, Kent."

"A brother?"

"Yeah, you remember I said my dad died when I was 10?"

"Yes."

"He died too. The same day. They were in a car accident. My brother was 8."

"Oh...oh Lauren."

He held his arm to me, we were still in the parking lot, the others had left already.

"It was years ago, I know. But..."

"But he never got to celebrate his 9^th birthday. Oh honey, I am so sorry."

"Thanks. I miss him, mostly on big holidays and stuff. Thanks for listening."

"Always, and now you should know about my brother."

"Is this what led to your needing AA?"

"Yes."

I slid my hand into his open one, holding a tissue in my other hand. He held one in his hand too.

"Kurt was my twin. It's why it hit me so hard, the hardest of all of us kids, the family. He was killed overseas, in Iraq. When we got word he died, I lost control. Of everything, of everyone. I almost lost my medical license too. I was in hell. It took me almost dying to snap me out of it."