Chompin' at the Bit (Horse Play #2) (24 page)

“You do remember when I broke my arm at my last party, don’t you?” I asked, bringing up my fifteenth birthday when we were all out on the trampoline, screwing around doing acrobatic tricks before I back-flipped right off and shattered my radius.

“That was eleven years ago, and nothing has happened since—”

“Yeah,” I said, effectively cutting him off. “Because I
stopped
having parties.”

Dad nudged me from behind. “Come on, kiddo. He put a lot of thought into this.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t recognize just how thoughtful Jensen’s gesture was; I just hated being the center of attention. That much pressure was likely what caused my klutziness to kick into high gear until I hurt myself in some way. It’s absolutely why I fell while riding; Jensen had been watching me. There was all kinds of pressure that came with that sort of thing.

I shrugged and let a small smile form on my lips. “Okay, but if anything happens, I’m holding all of you accountable,” I warned playfully.

Lilah and Kyle stepped forward next and wished me a happy birthday, Kyle’s hold on me just as bone-crushing as it was at his wedding. Jill, Tom, and Jeff were next before Jensen’s parents approached.

“Happy birthday, Madison,” Janet said, pulling me into her arms. It was hard to stay mad at Jensen for not listening to me while I hugged his mother. A part of me wondered if he maybe knew that.

“Thank you both for coming,” I said sincerely as I moved from Janet’s arms to Henry’s. “It’s a good thing you’re here, Janet. If today falls into step with any other party I’ve had, I’ll be needing a doctor nearby.”

Everyone in the room laughed—including me, even though I was almost one hundred percent serious. “Well, I smell like horses and feel slightly under-dressed,” I announced, looking around at all the women in their party dresses and the men in their dress pants and button-up shirts. “I’m going to go and have a quick shower and change into something a little nicer.”

Willow suddenly beamed, clasping her hands in front of her mouth, and I
knew
she must have gotten me a present; something she was hoping I’d wear.

“You didn’t,” I groaned. Willow knew the “no presents” rule was one I was always adamant about—well, I was adamant about them all, actually. It was simply a lesson in self-preservation that I took pretty seriously.

She giggled. “Well, I figured since the ‘no party’ and the ‘no cake’ rules were broken, no harm would befall me for buying you a little something. It’s on your bed.”

“There’s a cake?” I looked around and into the kitchen where a multi-tiered cake sat on the kitchen island. It was official; every rule I had set for today was broken. Shaking my head, I moved through the crowd to confront the one person responsible. “You’re pretty proud of yourself, huh?”

Jensen smirked, pulling me close. “Madi, you deserve this,” he said softly, wrapping his arms around my waist.

The minute I was pressed against his body, my discord faded. “You know, it’s hard to stay angry with you for disregarding my wishes entirely when you say stuff like that,” I grumbled, snaking my arms up around his neck to return his hug.

He chuckled softly, kissing the top of my head. “Happy birthday, baby. Go ahead and change. We’ll hold off on the festivities until you’re done.”

I showered quickly before blow-drying my hair into waves and clipping the sides back so it hung loose down my back. When I entered my room, however, there was nothing on my bed like Willow had promised. Then I remembered Jensen was going to move us into our shared bedroom. My mood lifted a little more as I walked down the hall to the room that was neither “his” nor “mine.” It was
ours
.

Jensen had made the bed in his fluffy bedding and moved the pictures and my laptop from my room into here along with a few of his own belongings. There, on our bed as promised, was a plain white box wrapped in a bright blue ribbon with a large tag that read:

To my bestie!

Don’t be mad! I couldn’t resist after seeing how much you loved it when we went shopping!

Love,

Willow & Brandon
 

I knew without even having to open it what was inside, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little excited. I tore the ribbon off and saw the purple organza dress from our dress-shopping excursion. After grabbing a strapless bra and a matching pair of panties, I quickly dropped my towel from around me and got dressed. I was definitely feeling a little more party-ready, and my sour mood was fading more and more.

When I re-joined the party, all eyes were on me. An unsettling feeling wormed its way into my veins, but flitted away just as quickly when Jensen’s eyes widened and travelled over me appreciatively. I crossed the room and took his hand, smiling up at him.

“You look beautiful,” he said, lacing our fingers together and pulling me toward him. Leaning forward, he captured my lips with his in a soft, yet still passion-filled kiss that set my entire body on fire and curled my toes.

When our lips parted, I looked around at everyone mingling and smiled. Then I noticed my dad’s absence. “Where’s Dad?”

“He went to shower, too. He should be back soon,” Jensen informed me. “So … Exactly how much trouble am I in?”

I contemplated his question for a moment. “Well, I specifically said no party, cake, or gifts, and I got all three.” I took in his expression, noting that he didn’t seem
overly
anxious about how upset I might be. “But, I have to admit, it’s nice to have everyone together and getting along. So, barring any mishaps, I’d say you might get off easy.” Jensen’s eyebrows waggled suggestively, and I realized that I maybe should have rephrased what I said. Thankfully, we were pretty isolated, and no one else
(
Kyle
)
overheard me.

“I may have to take you up on that challenge a little later,” Jensen said softly, his eyes drifting up behind me as Dad entered the room.

I turned to see him head straight for Jensen’s parents, who were talking with Tom and Jeff. I smiled at my dad, silently letting him know that I wasn’t upset with him for being in on the whole thing. He seemed relieved.

“But first,” Jensen whispered, drawing my attention back to him. “I’d like to give you something.” Slowly, Jensen started to pull me through the room and toward the patio doors.

As we walked, I noticed everyone’s eyes on us, turning in our direction as wide smiles formed on each and every one of their faces, only making me more and more nervous. “No,” I argued, unsure what to expect. “You’ve already given me so much. This party is
more
than enough.”

Laughing softly, Jensen slid the patio door aside, and I found myself stunned into silence. The entire backyard was decorated with white twinkle lights that must have taken hours to string up in the trees. There were vases of flowers on the patio, and off to the right was a— 

“You bought a hot tub?” I exclaimed, my eyes focused on everything but him as he released my hand.

“No, I
rented
a hot tub, but that’s not what I wanted to give you.” 

Slowly, I turned around and gasped when I saw Jensen down on one knee.

Chapter 21. Things Aren’t as They Seem

I
wasn’t entirely sure how much time had elapsed; all I knew was that Jensen was
down on one fucking knee.
Was he crazy? Had he lost his mind completely? We’d been together for a month. Four weeks.
Maybe
thirty days—give or take. 

What. The. Actual. Fuck? 

Frantically, I searched his eyes for answers—only to find absolutely nothing. What was I supposed to think, though? What other reason could he possibly have for being down on one knee? My palms were sweating, and I wiped them on the flowy skirt of my new dress as my brain finally registered the furious pounding of my heart in my ears. I could feel my chest tightening the more I thought about what Jensen was about to do. We weren’t ready for this.
I
wasn’t ready for this. 

What I was, was on the verge of full-blown panic attack. 

Swallowing what little saliva was in my increasingly dry mouth, I looked back to the house to find every one of my party guests waiting. Expectant smiles adorned every single face. They all knew this was going to happen, and I had been completely oblivious. Did Jensen think that this would guarantee an affirmative answer? Would it? I suddenly wasn’t sure what I would do when the words finally left his mouth. 

Slowly—or maybe it was quickly—I turned my eyes back to Jensen. The smile on his face was still wide and confident. 

I cleared my throat, my eyebrows finally showing some small semblance of emotion—which emotion, I still wasn’t entirely sure. “What are you doing?” I hissed, my voice raspy, trembling through every word. 

The smile fell from Jensen’s face, his own eyebrows pulling together in confusion. “I wanted to give you something.” 

My head started to shake in small, quick movements as I prepared to tell him I wasn’t ready. We needed more time; there was still so much we had to learn about each other. Hell, we had
just
moved into the same room together. Why couldn’t he just enjoy that one small step forward? Why did he always have to leap right after? 

“Stop. Please … Jensen,
don’t
do this …” I pleaded softly, hoping that I wouldn’t have to out-right tell him no. I loved him—I did—and I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with him; to marry him and give him his three kids. I’d even consider his original five if I had more time. But not yet. Our foundation wasn’t as strong as I knew it could be with a few more months—or years—under us. 

Jensen reached around into his pocket, his eyes still locked on mine and registering his confusion with my pleas. “Madison,” he started, his hand reappearing from his pocket, closed around something. 

“Don’t,” I whispered, tears stinging my eyes because I hated doing this in front of everyone. I also didn’t want to say yes and have him wonder if I only did it because people were watching. “
Please
.” 

“Madison,” he repeated, holding his hand out in front of him. Slowly, his fingers began to open. My eyes were locked on his hand, waiting to see some extravagant ring being presented to me. 

Unable to tear my eyes away from his hand, I dropped to my knees on the cool wooden porch in defeat and awaited the inevitable. You know that saying,
“
a watched pot never boils”? Well, a watched hand never opens. Time actually seemed to slow even more as I came face-to-face with …

“What the hell?” I asked, my eyes focusing on the contents of his hand. It wasn’t a small velvet box with a ring inside. A confusing pang of disappointment swelled within me, but I quickly pushed it aside because, ultimately, I didn’t have to turn him down. So, instead of focusing on how I wasn’t being proposed to, I stared quizzically at the small, reddish … dog biscuit? 

That’s when I heard it; the quickened steps of padded paws hurdling up the few steps to the porch before a long snout planted itself firmly in Jensen’s palm. He wrapped his arm around the little fur ball, lifting it and coaxing my eyes to follow. The look in his eyes as they held mine was pure excitement as he held the German Shepherd puppy to his chest. 

“Y—you got me a puppy?” I stammered. 

“Us,” he corrected me with a sly smirk. “I got
us
a puppy.” He held the sweet puppy toward me, its squirming body trying to break free of his hold. 

I complied and scooped the dog up in my arms like a baby, allowing a smile to form on my face. “We have a puppy,” I whispered, looking down into the deep brown eyes of our first pet. He continued to wriggle and squirm in my arms, and I laughed when he stretched and licked my cheek. “What’s its name?” 

“Well, I hadn’t named him yet. I figured since I picked him out, that you could name him,” Jensen offered, moving forward until his knees brushed mine. 

Looking down at the puppy as he moved his head back and forth between Jensen and me, I tried to figure out who he was. I always felt like naming an animal was more pressure than it should’ve been. Before, when I named an animal, it was just me that had to live with it if I didn’t like it; but now I had to worry about whether or not Jensen would agree. 

It was then that I realized there was really only one name for this sweet little ball of fur. “Bones,” I said, moving my gaze back up to meet Jensen’s. “His name is Bones.” 

Jensen laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly as his smile reached them. “I think it’s perfect.” 

I was quickly reminded that there were other people still lying in wait just beyond the threshold when a small voice spoke up. “Bones?” Willow inquired. “He doesn’t look too skinny. Or is it because dogs like bones?” 

I giggled, standing up while still holding Bones in my arms. Jensen quickly jumped to his feet before assisting me so I didn’t fall over. “No. Bones McCoy.” Willow still didn’t seem to connect the dots as Jensen and I made our way back into the house.