Asha was awakened by the tickle of Alec blowing softly in her ear. She smiled and stretched like a cat as Alec just stared at the beautiful creature lying beside him. He still couldn't believe she was his. He loved her with every fiber of his being. He never thought he would love again after what happened to Rachel-- 'Rachel' he thought to himself as he realized the date. This was the day that he was usually depressed and at a bar drinking to numb the pain.
Not today, today he had Asha. She was the most important person in his life. He loved her, she loved him back just as fiercely, and there was no way he was ever letting her go. She taught him what true love was all about. As suddenly as it had come, the smile left Asha's face and was replaced with an emotion that Alec couldn't quite place. "It's ok if you want to be alone today, I understand," she stated.
There it was...pain, sadness, and disappointment in her eyes. It broke Alec's heart to see it. She knew what day it was, and she thought it was more important to him than she was. As much as Alec had loved Rachel...she was the past. She would always have a special place in his heart, but Asha was his present and his future. He mentally kicked himself for not letting her know that. He ran a finger along her cheek and said, "There's nowhere I'd rather be than with you." She gave him a skeptical, halfhearted smile. She knew what Rachel meant to him and deep in her heart she knew she would always be second best. At that moment the phone rang. Asha quickly grabbed it--happy to get away from the awkward silence that had developed.
"I have to go. S1W meeting," Asha said. Alec protested by rolling on top of her and pinning her arms above her head. "Blow it off. I can think of something much more fun for you," he said as he began kissing her neck. "Alec! That tickles! I really have to go!" Asha giggled as she writhed beneath him. Alec pouted and rolled off of her. She surprised him by repeating his earlier action and pinning him down. Alec gave her that sly grin of his. "Have you decided you want to play?" he questioned. "No, just wanted to make sure you still know who's boss," she said as a lazy dimpled grin appeared on her face. With that, she gave him a peck on the lips and went off to the bathroom to shower and get dressed.
Alec stayed in bed long after Asha left for her meeting. He couldn't think of anything except the doubt he saw in her eyes. He loved her, she was his everything and she didn't even know it. She thought of herself as his second choice and he just couldn't live with that. He wanted her to know that he put her above everyone, even himself. But how could he do that? Just then it came to him--he wanted to marry her.
"Hello?" Max yawned into the phone. It was her day off and she wanted nothing more than to lie in bed all day. "Max, I need your help," Alec blurted out. Max didn't answer because she was nodding off. "Max! Wake up this is important!" he yelled. She was becoming annoyed. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? "Damn it Alec! Leave me alone, I'm trying to sleep!" she yelled back. She was just about to hang up when she heard Alec yell, "Max wait, please! I want to ask Asha to marry me!"
His last statement definitely woke her up. "Did you just say what I think you said? You want to marry Asha?" she questioned. "Yes, I love her. Do you know what today is?" he said. She thought a minute before it hit her. "Oh my God, Rachel. Alec I'm so sorry," she answered. "But Max, I'm not sad today, and it's all because of Asha. Max, you should have seen her eyes this morning when she realized what day it was. She was so sad and disappointed...like she thought she wasn't the most important person to me. It almost broke my heart," he said.
Max smiled. She was so happy that her brother had found someone to share his life with, like she did with Logan. She was happy for Asha too. Since Alec and Asha had gotten together, she and Asha had begun to spend more and more time together. Asha had become one of her best friends, and she wanted to see her happy. "So...what exactly is it that you need my help with?" she asked.
Asha was exhausted. She couldn't stop yawning the whole way home. She couldn't wait to get home and fall out on the bed. The last thing she was expecting was what she saw when she walked thorough the door. The whole apartment was covered in candles and rose petals. There was soft music playing. "Alec?" she called. Alec emerged from the bedroom with a bottle of wine in his hand. "Alec, what..." she began, but Alec interrupted her. "Shhhh," he said as he gently pressed a finger to her lips. He kissed her passionately then took her hand in his as he led her over to the couch. "Sit, relax...I have something to tell you," he said. She gladly complied and her tired limbs thanked her as she suppressed yet another yawn.
"Asha, I love you. You know that, but I don't think you realize just how much. Today I saw pain in your eyes when you realized what day it was, and it broke my heart. I feel like a fool for not letting you know how much you really mean to me. Yes, I loved Rachel...LOVED, past tense. As much as I loved her, it's not even a fraction of how much I love you. You're my everything, my future, the only one I want to be with for the rest of my life," he said. Asha's eyes went wide after his last statement. 'No way, he couldn't be...no way' she thought to herself.
Asha was stunned by his words and didn't know what to say. Alec then proceeded to pull a small box out of his pocket and kneel in front of her. "Asha Barlow," he said as he opened the box to reveal an engagement ring. It had at least a 1-carat diamond, flanked by two smaller sapphire stones. "Will you marry me?" he asked as he took her hand in his.
"Yes Alec, I'll marry you," she choked out through her tears. "I love you so much," she said as she wrapped her arms around him. "Wait, we have to make it official," he replied. He took her left hand, slipped the ring on her finger, and then pressed his lips to her palm to seal the deal. He then swiftly scooped her into his arms and carried her off to the bedroom. There were candles everywhere, and the bed was covered with rose petals. It was so beautiful. Asha wanted nothing more than to make love to Alec right then, but she was so tired. Alec had already removed her clothes and she hadn't even noticed. "How could someone so perfect and so beautiful not be made in a test tube," he said as he began making his way down her body with kisses and soft caresses.
He was busy admiring her flat, toned stomach when he heard her let out a loud yawn. He laughed, and then came up to lie down beside her. "What are you doing?" Asha asked as Alec held her in his arms. "You're exhausted sweetie, get some sleep," he replied and followed it up with a kiss to her forehead. "But this is our first night as an engaged couple. We're supposed to make love. I want to," she whined as she claimed his lips. "But baby, we have our whole lives to make love...over and over and over. Besides, when have we ever done what we're supposed to?" he replied while looking down at her. Her eyes fluttered and she quickly drifted off with a smile on her face, while Alec stroked her hair. He didn't sleep for hours...he was too busy enjoying the view.
When Alec woke up, he found Asha sitting up in bed staring at her ring with a cheesy grin on her face. "Good morning gorgeous," Alec said as he pressed his lips to her dimpled cheek. "Remind me to thank Max for helping you out last night," Asha said with a giggle. "Hey! I'm insulted that you think I couldn't come up with that on my own. I'll have you know I did all the work," he said with mock disappointment. Asha looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Ok, ok...I'll tell her. The ring was all my idea though, the blue sapphires reminded me of your eyes," he said.
Asha pushed him down on the bed and straddled him. She kissed him passionately, assaulting his mouth with her tongue. "Wow, what was that for?" Alec asked when Asha finally broke the kiss to breathe. "Just because I love you so much," she replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "I'm nice and well rested now, and you're obviously happy to see me..." she continued while positioning herself on top of him. "So why don't we finish what we started last night?" she said with a moan as she lowered herself on him. "I'm supposed to be at work right now," he said as he watched her grinding her hips excruciatingly slowly. "Blow it off," she whispered while flicking her tongue into his ear. "You're the boss," he replied with a sly grin as he began to follow her lead.
Max and Original Cindy were trying their best to feed Normal excuses about why Alec wasn't at work today. Normal wasn't buying any of it. Original Cindy couldn't take it anymore so finally she blurted out, "Boy Wonder just asked his little hottie girlfriend to marry him, and they're probably gonna be gettin' their freak on all day...so he won't be in, got it? Good." With that, she grabbed Max by the hand and they walked off toward the lockers giggling. Normal was too shocked to say anything.
The feel of Alec rubbing her back in gentle circles awakened Asha. "Time to get up sleepyhead," he whispered in her ear. She stretched and smiled at the memories of what created the soreness that enveloped every part of her. "What's the rush? I thought we were spending the day in bed?" she questioned. "Logan called, he needs our help with something. We're supposed to meet him at Crash in an hour," he answered. Asha pouted and reluctantly got out of bed, wrapping the sheet around her body as she did so. "Well aren't you going to join me?" she asked Alec as she made her way to the shower. Alec gladly followed.
Max, Logan, Original Cindy, Sketchy, and even Bling were all sitting around a table at Crash eagerly awaiting the arrival of the newly engaged couple. "They're late. It's rude to be late for your own party," Sketchy said while nursing a beer. "Oh shut up, it's a surprise party dumb ass. Besides, if you had a hot girl like Asha wouldn't you much rather spend time on those curves than looking in our faces?" Original Cindy replied. "She's got a point there," Logan said, only to be smacked in the head by Max. "Watch it Logan, you had your chance with her and you blew it. You're all mine now," said Max. Logan smothered her lips with his. "Cut it out you two, the only people allowed to play tonsil hockey tonight are Alec and Asha," Bling said. Just then Sketchy spotted the happy couple walking through the door.
Asha quickly spotted the table where their friends were, and pulled Alec along as they made their way over. "Hey guys. I thought this was about business Logan?" Asha asked. Logan didn't answer. He motioned to Bling, who went off but quickly returned with balloons in hand. "Surprise!" they all yelled as Bling returned. "It is about business...the business of celebrating your engagement," Logan said. Asha and Alec smiled. It felt good to know that they had friends who really cared. The men shook Alec's hand and took turns hugging Asha.
"You don't know how much it means to me to see you happy, and I'm so sorry for hurting you all those years ago," Logan whispered when it was his turn to hug his friend. Asha's eyes were damp with unshed tears as she kissed Logan's scruffy cheek. She knew he really meant it, and she was glad to at least have him as a friend. Max was the next to hug Asha. "Thanks for helping him out last night, even though I was so tired I fell asleep before I got a chance to really enjoy it," Asha said. "No big, you know I'd do anything for my friends. Hey, I'm sure you made up for it today. I'm surprised you can still walk," Max replied with a wink. "You know what, I am too," Asha said with a giggle. Alec came up behind Asha, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck.
"Hey! You're interrupting the girl talk!" Max yelled at Alec. "Sorry sis, but I can't get enough of this woman," Alec replied before going off to the bar for more drinks. Original Cindy and Max both began to laugh uncontrollably. "What's so funny?" Asha asked. "Girl, what did you do to him? Damn, you must have put it on him good," Original Cindy replied. "Yup, he's whipped," Max chimed in. A sly grin spread on Asha's face as she replied, "Let's just say I'm nowhere near as innocent as I look." The celebration lasted well into the night, when everyone was becoming tired. They all said their goodbyes, congratulating the couple one last time before going their separate ways.
Alec and Asha decided to stop by and give Joshua the good news before making their way home. Alec couldn't wait to get Asha home so they could continue their earlier activities, he really couldn't get enough of her.
TBC...