Part 43
It was almost an hour before AJ returned carrying a single red rose and a cute little stuffed dog. When he came in, he had his eyes fixed on Chelsea like she was going to disappear if he looked away.
Seeing the way AJ was looking at Chelsea, Kevin said, “Annie, give your mom a kiss and let’s clear out.”
“Do I HAVE to go NOW? I wanna spend time with Alex and Mama.”
“Baby, go on with your dad and you can spend the weekend with us,” promised Chelsea.
“What if you are still here?”
Breaking his gaze with Chelsea, AJ said, “Well, I’ll tell you what. I’ll buy a bunch of games and get some movies and we’ll have a little pajama party here…just you, me, and your mom.”
Annie was pouting and Chelsea felt guilty so she suggested as she looked at Kevin, “How about you go with your dad and get me some REAL food. We can have a picnic here for dinner.”
“Really?”
“Sure, now scoot.”
Annie gave Chelsea a kiss on the cheek, slid down from the bed, and grabbed Kevin’s hand pulling at him. “Come ON, Daddy. We need to get some REAL food for Mama.”
“We’ll be back,” called Kevin over his shoulder as they went out the door.
Taking a seat on the edge of the bed facing Chelsea, AJ handed Chelsea the dog. “I thought you’d like this.”
“He’s adorable, Alex,” she answered as she took the dog. He had big brown button eyes that were the same color as AJ’s and she said, “I’ll call him AJ….cuz he looks like you.”
“Gee thanks,” smirked AJ. Holding the rose for her, AJ said, “A rose for my beautiful woman.”
“You’re trying to spoil me, aren’t you?”
“The best I can.”
Chelsea smelled the rose and then looked up at AJ. “Alex, I had a dream this morning,” she announced deciding to plunge in with both feet.
“About us?”
“I asked you to marry me.”
Chelsea held her breath as she waited for AJ’s reaction.
Smiling and reaching out to take the flower and her hand in his, he said, “Look closer at the flower.”
Chelsea looked down where the leaves met the stem to see a ring.
AJ slipped it off the stem as he said, “Chelsea, you didn’t dream it. You did ask me to marry you and when I asked you where, you told me to decide.”
Looking at the ring as AJ slipped it on her finger, she asked, “So…you WANT to get married?”
“Chelsea, I want you in my life forever. This isn’t the ring I want to get for you but for now, I want you to wear it. My only question now is, do you want the big, traditional wedding or not?”
“There’s no sense in a big, traditional wedding. My father isn’t going to be there to give me away and neither will my brothers. The only thing that matters to me is that we’re together and Annie is taken care of. I don’t EVER want her to be without her father again.”
“You won’t ever have to worry about that. I’ll treat her as my own child and as far as us being together, that’s forever…married or not. Name the city you want to get married in.”
“No. From here on, it’s up to YOU,” smiled Chelsea. “Surprise me.”
“What about the ring?”
“This is more than enough but if you want to get something else, SURPRISE me.”
“You’re gonna make me work for this, aren’t you?”
“How much work is it? You already know my answer.”
“Okay, so what if I propose to you during a show…get you out on the stage in front of the audience?”
“Don’t you DARE!”
“Ah, come on, ‘Beautiful’. I could get you up on stage for ‘Beautiful Woman’ and ….”
“NO!”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m POSITIVE! Please, Alex…don’t do that to me,” begged Chelsea.
“Okay, I promise not to do it during a show but that’s it. There’s always sound checks and between acts,” smirked AJ.
“You’re a skunk! I swear, if you embarrass me…I’ll…..I’ll….”
“You’ll what, ‘Beautiful’?” taunted AJ as he moved closer, just a breath away. Placing a hand on her breast, he kneaded tenderly.
“I’ll…..say…..’no’,” stammered Chelsea as his lips touched hers and she felt herself harden under his touch. As she gasped, his tongue darted in for a taste.
“You wouldn’t dare,” countered AJ and he covered her lips again with his own, his tongue diving in to taster her completely. At the same time, he slipped his hand into the gown to cup her breast while his fingers played with her nipple.
Breaking the kiss, Chelsea leaned her forehead against his. “No, I couldn’t say ‘no’ to you, Alex. I don’t want to say ‘no’ to you.”
“I’ll never give you a reason to say ‘no’ either. Now, make room for me. I wanna hold you.”
Chelsea made room for him and the two sat with her snuggled next to him, his arm wrapped around her as she played with his fingers.
“When I was younger, I use to dream of meeting the perfect guy and falling in love with him.”
“I bet he wasn’t covered in tattoos, have pierced ears, and in a group.”
Chelsea laughed, “No, he wasn’t. Actually, he was always a Marine.”
“Did you dream about your wedding too?”
“Yeah, a full military wedding with the groom in his dress blues and an honor guard.”
“Then why did you give up on your dream of a traditional wedding…because of what your dad did?”
“Mostly, but my idea of the perfect man changed too.”
“Kevin?”
“He had a little to do with it.”
“Describe your perfect man.”
“Covered in tattoos with pierced ears and a singer in a ‘boy band’….who is holding me right now.” She looked up at him adoringly. “I just wish you’d do your beard and mustache like you use to.”
AJ laughed, “How about I shave it completely?”
“I don’t know. I’ve seen you without when you were younger. I like the beard and mustache better.”
A knock at the door interrupted the kiss they were sharing and in walked Nick and Howie carrying a HUGE bundle of balloons and a stuffed bear with crutches and a cast on his foot. Behind them was Kevin, Dianne, and Annie carrying a huge picnic basket.
“What is this?” laughed Chelsea.
“It’s a party, baby, and you’re the guest of honor,” announced Kevin. “And we have a big surprise,” continued Kevin as Brian, Leighanne, and Baylee joined them.
“Hey, Chelsea,” greeted Brian. “We thought it was time to officially welcome you into the Backstreet family.”
With that, the ‘picnic’ was set up and they all settled in to enjoy the fellowship. Annie and Baylee hit it off immediately and things between Chelsea and Dianne seemed…well, they were less strained. By the time everyone left, Chelsea was exhausted and fell asleep in AJ’s arms before the last person left.
