Fiction: Promise Chapter 32
Chapter 32: To Love and To Be Loved is the Greatest Happiness-- Sydney Smith
Author: Jailynn
Timeline: Future
Type: Alternate reality
Disclaimer: I don’t own the show or the characters.
Rating: Slight NC-17
Couple, Character/ Show: Coop and Ashlee, Brandon, Frank, Doris, Buzz / Guiding Light
Feedback: Please and thank you. Like it, tell me. Hate it, um, tell me nicely please.
Author’s note: Please forgive all stupid mistakes. I always make them and can never catch them before I post *laughing* and I do try. *laughing* Please, please forgive me.
Summary: Ashlee’s life begins to get interesting when she makes a decision to end something…
Word Count: 2838
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Promise: Chapter 32:To Love and To Be Loved is the Greatest Happiness
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Coop paced the length of the living room. Something felt off when Ashlee was standing with him just moments before. Her eyes didn’t quite have the sparkle that they usually did. He looked around him trying to think of a reason why she was concerned. The only thing he could come up with that she might be worried about was Brandon. He knew she was anxious being away from him. In all honesty so was he. Coop couldn’t handle something happening to his son and him not being there. He stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.
Rocking back and forth on his heels, he tried to remember that Brandon would be fine. He had to believe that because the alternative would be devastating to him. He wandered over to Ashlee and his bedroom and listened to the running water. He wanted nothing more than to be in there with her. He wanted to caress her skin and hold her close. Coop’s missed their showers together. He’s been holding himself back from her for fear he wouldn’t be able to wait to ask her to marry him.
When Daisy called earlier in the week to tell him the ring was done, he wanted to take Ashlee with him to see it. He wanted to show her where he’s been going all those days that she couldn’t find him. He wanted to slip the ring on her finger now and spend the rest of the evening locked in their bedroom. He wanted that, but he wasn’t going to do it. Ashlee deserved a romantic proposal and that’s what he had planned.
The water shut off and there was silence in the bathroom. Coop stood from the bed, waiting for her to emerge so that he could take his shower. Ashlee opened the door wearing only a towel. Her hair was plastered to her heat flushed skin. Her eyes looked impossibly blue, bluer than he had ever seen them. He watched some water drops slide down her chest and disappear from view. His heart thundered like a race horse in his chest. He licked his lips and she mimicked the action.
Whatever feeling of discord Coop felt before wasn’t there between them now. The only feeling that surged in the space that separated them was desire. He could almost see the current flow back and forth. He took a step toward her and she inhaled sharply. The fingers of his left hand caressed her neck of their own accord. Coop followed the action with his eyes. Ashlee’s pulse jumped under his soft touch and she shivered.
He couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t have stopped himself even if he wanted to, which he didn’t. Coop wrapped the hand that was caressing her throat around the back of her head and pulled her forward. His lips crushed hers before she even had a chance to react. She gasped; opening her mouth under his. Coop took advantage of her surprise and slid his tongue into her sweet cavern. He moaned as her taste flooded his senses. Ashlee wrapped her arms around his shoulders, dropping the towel between them. He let his right hand trace the line of her nude, damp, gorgeous body.
The current between them got stronger and stronger with each passing minute. His mind became muddled with want and need. His body was hard and desperate for her. She pulled her lips from his, nibbling on the side of his neck. He moaned backing her against the wall behind her. He rolled his hips against hers. Her head fall back, knocking the wall with a soft thump. Coop pressed two fingers to her core. Ashlee bit her lip, purring and moaning in pleasure. He sucked on the arch of her throat.
Her breathing became uneven and her words were brought down to two or three broken phrases. “Oh, god, Coop. Please…please.” Ashlee opened her eyes and stared into his. The blue that he thought was so beautiful before didn’t hold a candle to the shade her orbs were now. She bit her lip hard enough to break the skin and climaxed against his fingers. Her body stiffened and then shook. “Coop,” his name was whimpered in a breathy sigh.
Coop felt the sound throughout his body. Her head fell forward to rest on his shoulder. He held her as she came back down from her high. Ashlee turned toward his neck and flicked her tongue out to taste the skin above his shirt collar. He pulled away from her and set her back down on the ground. She steadied herself by holding onto his arms. A smile lit her up from the inside out. “It’s your turn, Mr. Bradshaw,” the purr in her tone nearly broke his resolve to wait until after the proposal.
He forced himself to take a step back and shake his head. “We have plans remember?” Ashlee’s happy expression started to close up on him. Her eyes, that were shining only a moment before, dimmed. She reached down and grabbed her towel from the floor.
“Oh, yeah,” her voice could barely be called a whisper. “I forgot.” She shook back her damp hair and looked off to his side. Her hand twisted the material of her yellow towel into a tight knot. “Um, what should I wear tonight?”
Coop watched the woman he loved become sadder and sadder and couldn’t understand the shift. He turned her face toward him. He needed to see her eyes. He needed to be able to look into them. If he could do that maybe he could understand what was going on in that head of hers. Ashlee met his gaze and he took a sharp intake of breath. Her heart was in her eyes and so was fear. Coop leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, letting his lips linger against it. “Wear anything you want,” he whispered. “You’ll look gorgeous no matter what you have covering your body. You always look beautiful period.”
She tilted her head to the side as if trying to find the faith to believe him. His insides shook with that thought. Why would she lose faith in me, Coop wondered. He knew he wasn’t as open with her but she couldn’t possibly think that he didn’t want to be with her anymore. All he ever wanted to do anymore was be at her and Brandon’s side. It took every ounce of will power to sit in front of his laptop at night to write. Even though the story was for his son, he never wanted to be apart from them. Just the ten feet from his son’s room to the study where he worked seemed too far for him.
Ashlee stepped away from him and headed toward her closet. The chill in the air froze his insides. He turned to watch her sort through the clothes hanging in front of her. Her spine was straight as a metal rod. Coop wanted the warm Ashlee from just a few minutes ago back. This version worried him. He shook his head and sighed. “Ashlee,” he hedged. She looked over her shoulder at him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she smiled at him. The expression stopped short of her eyes. “I’m fine. What time is our date supposed to start?”
“At seven,” he answered fighting with himself. He wanted to pull her close to him and find out why she was lying.
Ashlee looked at the clock on the bedside table. “You better take your shower then or we’ll be late.” She turned back around and started looking through the rack of clothes again. The conversation was done before it started. Coop stepped into the bathroom and looked at his reflection in the fogged up mirror.
He pulled the ring box from his pocket and flipped the lip. He hoped that keeping this secret didn’t ruin his relationship with Ashlee. He knew how much hurt was between them. He licked his lips and shut the box. She would understand soon and if Coop was right about where her mind was, she’ll be in for the shock of her life.
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The battle lines were drawn. Most of the ammo was gone. Brandon looked into his squirt gun and sighed. He only had enough for one last really good shot. He peered from around the side of the house where he was hiding from Papa Buzz and Uncle Frank. He needed to get to the refilling station. Mimi Doris was manning that, but where she was would make him a target for Uncle Frank.
Brandon dropped to the ground and started crawling behind the medium size shrubs. One thing good about being so small is that hiding was much easier for him than it was for his two enemies. He peaked through the branches and saw Papa Buzz stare back at him. He gasped as the water gun was lifted. Brandon crawled faster, but not fast enough as he felt the spray of warm water hit his side. He giggled and jumped up from his hiding place.
He aimed his neon green water pistol at his grandpa and squirted him back. Laughter filled the tiny backyard as the game continued. The sun was setting into the background, filling the sky in color. A shiver ran down his back and he dropped the gun he was using. All playing stopped as he bent at the waist.
Brandon’s stomach pinched painfully. He bit his lip to stop from crying out. Two strong arms picked him up and carried him inside the house. Brandon closed his eyes tightly. The pain was easing into a dull throb. Uncle Frank placed him on the couch and ran a hand down his cheek. Brandon looked up into the kind eyes of his uncle. “You okay Brandon?” he asked. His older face filled with concern. He was getting sick of all the concern. Brandon turned away from his blue gaze and nodded his head. “Do you want me to call your mom and dad?”
“No,” Brandon said quickly. “Tonight daddy is going to ask mommy to marry him.” He looked down at his legs and wished that the cancer was gone. “I want them to have fun tonight.”
Mimi Doris came in from outside followed quickly by Papa Buzz. Brandon smiled at all the adults around him. The throbbing stopped now and everything was back to normal. He yawned, his eyes slowly shutting on him. Doris lifted him into her arms. He wrapped himself around her and leaned his head on her shoulder. Buzz pulled back the covers and Uncle Frank got his book out. “Do you want me to read to you?”
Brandon nodded his head, turning it on the pillow to see his uncle. Frank opened the book to the page while Mimi changed his clothes into his Spiderman PJs. His head felt heavy. He curled onto his side so that he could listen to the story better. Uncle Frank didn’t get very far before he fell completely into the curtain of sleep.
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Ashlee wrapped the shawl around her shoulders and rubbed some warmth back into them. The nights were getting colder as the season changed around them. The fall has been fairly warm for Springfield, but the leaves were starting to change into shades of oranges, browns and yellows. This was her favorite time of year. She could almost smell winter on the horizon, snow was gathering in the clouds.
She looked around the restaurant, trying to put on a brave face. She knew she didn’t do a good job back at the house. He sensed something was wrong and because of that she was putting in double the effort to cover her wounded heart now. The waiter seated them on the second floor of Towers. Coop pulled her chair out for her and she smiled politely at him for doing it. The quiet between them was starting to suffocate her.
It was like another entity in the room with them. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair wondering where he sat with the person he had lunch with earlier in the week. Coop took her hand and she looked back at him. His clear blue green eyes shone with love for her and mended her heart a little. Ashlee hated the insecurities that lingered in her mind. He has never done anything to earn those fears. She forced herself to relax.
Dinner was ordered when the waiter came back a little later on. Ashlee only got a salad. Honestly she wasn’t even sure she could eat that. The meals they got were eaten with quiet conversation, mostly about Brandon because that was an easy subject for the both of them and brought them the most joy. She pushed the greens and vegetables around on her plate. Her appetite was gone completely. The knot in her stomach was causing her to be physically ill. The waiter came back by and cleared the dishes from in front of them. If he noticed hers being as full as when he originally brought it he didn’t let on. The young man asked if they wanted any dessert.
Ashlee was ready to say no, but Coop beat her. “I’d like to order a tray of chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of your best champagne.”
That wasn’t something someone ordered to break up as far as she knew. The knot of dread in her gut started to relax. She smiled at him more easily. “Thank you for taking me out tonight,” she whispered to him. “I needed this.”
“I know,” he grinned taking her hand in his again; he brushed his lips against the back of it. The waiter brought out the strawberries and a chilled bottle of champagne. He poured them each a glass and left them alone. “I really do have something I want to discuss with you.” He rolled his tongue against his bottom lip, pulling it between his teeth. She watched the movement with growing hunger. “I love you, you know that right?”
She nodded, her heart beginning to skip beats in her chest. Here it comes. “I love you too.”
He grinned, some tension left his shoulders. “Good,” he nodded his head. “Because I have something for you; something I’ve wanted to give you for over six years.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. “I guess it’s better late than never, right?”
Ashlee’s hand shook as she lifted the black box from his palm. Her breathing was almost completely stopped in her lungs. Of all the things she imagined for tonight this wasn’t one of them. He came around the table and knelt in front of her. He took the ring box from her shaky hand and pulled the beautiful circle of gold from its confines. Tears filled her vision; she tried to blink them away. Ashlee didn’t want to miss a single moment. The drops of water slid in twin lines down her cheeks. She didn’t even bother to wipe them away.
“I have loved you since the moment I met you, Ashlee. My feelings changed over the years, but the feeling of love never once left me. You are the only woman I could ever picture spending the rest of my life with. You are the only woman I want to have children with.” He smiled through his own tears. “I’m so blessed to have you in my life. You have given me the most beautiful, smart and talented son in the world. Ashlee when I think about those years without you, all I see is darkness. You are my light. You are my love, my heart and my soul.” Coop paused, held up the ring. “Now I want you to be my wife and my future. I want you to be my everything forever. I love you. Will you marry me?”
She tried to swallow enough of her tears to speak, but she couldn’t. Her heart was exploding in her chest, overflowing with so much emotion. She placed her hands against his cheeks and wiped at his tears with her thumbs. Ashlee leaned down and kissed him soundly and thoroughly. Giving him his answer with her lips instead of with her words. When she pulled back, Ashlee rested her forehead against his. “Yes,” she whispered to him. “I’ll marry you. God Coop, yes.” A new round of tears filled her eyes. “I love you so much. I’d love to be your wife.”
Coop pulled back and slipped the ring on her finger. The fit was perfect, just like them. She held her hand out and stared at the sparkling diamond that rested there. She was going to be Mrs. Ashlee Bradshaw. She threw her arms around his neck and cried softly into the fabric of his shirt. She had never felt as foolish as she did right then. Ashlee vowed to herself that she would never doubt him again.
End Chapter 32
Well was the proposal really bad? *nervous look* I really hope it was worth the wait. *sigh* I'd love to hear from you.