Chapter 21

Birmingham, Alabama

ALEXANDRIA

LAST NIGHT

I was sitting on the bed and Paul walked up to me only to bend down in front of me. I took his face in my hands and kissed him.

"I wasn't expecting that. But thanks. It was nice."

I giggled. "Sorry." He gave me another kiss.

"You ready for tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yeah. But I'm a little nervous. I've never had surgery before for anything." I replied.

"Don't worry. I'm going to be there before and after you come out of surgery. No matter what. Even if I have to sleep in the hospital, I'll wait."

I smiled. "You're really sweet."

"Nah." He replied. "I just love you. I want to be there for you every step of the way. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

I looked at him in awe as he said the last part. "You do?" I asked.

"I..."

We heard a knock on the door. It was probably Randy with the food that we all ordered for tonight. I wanted to get as much food in me as possible before midnight. I couldn't stop thinking about the last thing that Paul said for the rest of the night. Does he really want to spend the rest of his life with me?

The Next Day

"Everything will be okay." said Randy in a comforting tone as I was about to get ready for my surgery today.

"I'm scared." I told him trying to fight back tears.

"Don't be. Paul and I will be here when you get out of surgery."

As soon as I felt a tear stream down my face, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I felt Randy wrap his arms around me and he just let me cry.

"Randy, I'm scared." I told him in between sobs.

"I know." I heard him say quietly. "But it's going to be okay. You're going to be fine. You're going to be glad that you went through with this surgery."

After I was done crying, the doctor came out to say that they were ready. Paul walked over with a cup of coffee in his hands. I told him that they were ready for me. I hugged Randy tightly and then went to Paul.

"You're going to do good. We'll be here when you get out of surgery okay?" He told me pulling me close.

I gave him a kiss. "Okay."

"I love you." He told me.

"I love you, too." We shared a long kiss before breaking it when we heard someone lightly clear their throat. He pulled away and looked at me.

"Can I see you smile before you go in?" He asked.

"I need a reason to smile right now." I replied.

He pouted and I couldn't help but smile at how cute he looked when he did.

"Hey, you smiled." He said quickly. I giggled.

"Love you."

"Love you too, Baby."

I left after he gave me a hug and looked back when I was about to go through the doors to the back. I was nervous like you wouldn't believe.

PAUL

Looking at Alexandria before she left for her surgery, I couldn't help but feel sad and anger. But yet very protective of her. More than I usually am. I could tell that she was crying when I saw her. I hate it when she cries or when she's upset. I just want to do anything I can to make her happy and smile.

"Wanna go for a walk or something while she's in there?" asked Randy.

"Um, yeah."

"You two seem like you're getting pretty serious about each other. Maybe more serious than what you already were." Randy said as we walked outside.

"Yeah well I realized something after the double date that we went on with the girls."

"Yeah, what's that?" He asked.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with her." I replied.

"You want to marry her?"

"Yeah, I do." I responded with a small smile. "I want to marry her and spend the rest of my life with her."

He stayed quiet for a while.

"May I have your blessing?" I asked.

"You want my blessing?"

"I know it should be her father that I should ask..."

"Which I know you already did because he told me. But you want my blessing because...?"

Because I know how much you mean to her and how much she means to you. I know that you two love each other a lot and I know how much you want her to be happy." I replied. "I want to make her happy too, you know. I want to be that guy who gives her everything that she wants and who's willing to give her the world because that's what she deserves. She deserves the world and the best."

"What are you going to do about the whole living situations? Are you going to stay in St. Louis or move to Connecticut?"

"I want to say Connecticut because of my job, you know with the whole COO thing but I want to stay in St. Louis because her friends and family are there. So I don't know."

"I think you that the two of you should talk about it. You two spend enough time at each others houses anyways. Might as well make a permanent home together if that's what you're planning on doing." He replied. He had a point there.

We spent some more time talking and actually got along without any fighting about anything at all. It's something at least. It's a step in the right direction. But I kept thinking about the whole living situation. I already call her apartment 'home' anyways. Why not have a permanent home with the woman I love?

THREE HOURS LATER

I had fallen asleep in the chair that I was sitting on in the waiting area when I felt someone waking me up. When my vision cleared, I saw that it was Randy.

"Her surgery is over. They'll let us know when we could go in to see her."

Thanks." I replied still feeling sleepy. But now that I know that she's out of surgery and that we could go see her soon, there was no way I was going back to sleep. Not until I see her.

When we finally got the chance to go see her, I let Randy go in first. I tried to wait patiently for what seemed like forever in my mind waiting for him to come out so I could go in.

"You're turn." I heard Randy say when he got out. I nodded and walked in. She had her hand on her head and her eyes were closed. She opened them and gave me a small smile.

"How's my Baby?" I asked as I gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm okay." she replied softly.

"Feeling any pain yet?"

"I'm starting to feel it a little bit. But I'll be okay."

"I know you will. Plus, you got me, Randy, your friends and family. We'll help you out."

"What about work? Won't you get in trouble for not going to work?"

"I asked for some time off. So now you'll have to see me every day until I go back to work."

She smiled and laughed softly. "I don't mind. Just be sure you can deal with me everyday."

"I can assure you that I won't have a problem with that." I replied. "I never get tired of you."

We talked for a little more before the nurses came in and said that visiting hours were close to being over. I grabbed my things and was about to leave when I felt her grab my hand.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Come here."

I walked towards her and she grabbed me by my shirt and gently pulled me down. She gave me a soft kiss. I pulled away smiling.

"Need me to bring you anything?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you. Do you have the keys to the apartment?"

"Yeah. I have it in my pocket." I replied.

"Okay. I'll see you then."

I gave her another soft kiss. "I'll see you."

"Bye bye."

THE NEXT DAY

ALEXANDRIA

I woke up the next day in the hospital and I was really starting to feel the pain. I was able to get up, but with some trouble due to the fact that I felt pain, every time that I moved. The nurse came in and tried to help me out. I was able to do things by myself, it was just the actual moving around that bothered with the pain. But so far, I'm able to handle it.

"You're going to be leaving today I believe." said the nurse. After Paul and Randy left yesterday, they took a couple of more tests and watched me closely for any changes that might have happened.

"I'm glad. I'm tired of all these tests."

I heard her chuckle softly. "Don't worry though. After you leave, you just have to come back for a check up and then you can go home if everything's better."

"I hope so."

"There was two guys here that didn't want to leave yesterday after they left your room."

I immediately thought of Randy and Paul. I smiled when I did.

"One of them is your husband?" she asked.

"No." I replied quickly. "We're just boyfriend and girlfriend."

Though I really don't mind being his wife and spending the rest of my life with him. That would definitely be a treat for me.

"Do you need any more help?" she asked.

"Uh, no thank you. I'll be fine." I replied.

"Let us know if you need anything."

"Okay."

When she left the room, I closed the door and went to the bathroom to take a shower and brush my teeth. It was a bit hard standing up for a long period of time without my back bothering me. But I did it anyways. I got out and sat down on the chair to put on some lotion and to fix my hair. I took my time getting dressed and getting my things together. I heard a knock on the door and when the person came in, it was one of the doctors that performed my surgery yesterday.

"Morning."

"Good Morning Ms. Orton. How are you feeling this morning?" he asked. He was a tall man with dark hair and dark brown eyes.

"I'm okay. Just a little pain." I replied.

"That's to be expected when the numbness goes away. But the pain will go away soon. Trust me. By the way, I have someone here who wants to see you."

I looked at him confused as I thought that Paul was the only one that was coming for me today. I looked at the door when I saw Paul walk up to the door.

I smiled. "Paul."

"I'll give you two a minute." said the Doctor as he walked out and closed the door.

"Hey sweetie." He said as he walked up to me and gave me a soft kiss.

"What are you holding behind your back?" I asked.

He pulled his hands from behind and it was a teddy bear. "For you." He said.

"Thank you. It's really sweet of you."

It was so sweet of him to bring me something. I pulled him down for just a small kiss but it ended up being more than just small. The kiss lingered and we forgot about everything around us as I felt his warm lips on mine. We broke the kiss when we heard a light knock on the door.

"Ready to get everything signed and ready to go?" asked the Doctor.

"Yes." I replied quickly. They bought in a wheelchair and I gladly sat down. They even let Paul push it. I looked up at him and smiled. He gave me a smile of his own and a wink. Once we signed the papers, we left the hospital and went over to the car that Paul came in. He helped me get in as I went in the back seat. I had the teddy bear that Paul gave me and I wasn't letting go of it.

"Do you want to get something for lunch now, or after we get settled in the hotel?" Asked Paul.

"I don't mind." I replied. "We can settle first and eat after."

"Alright."

When we got to the hotel, Paul insisted that he would take my things up first and then come back down to help me. He came down quicker than I expected and helped me out of the car. Since he parked the car right in front of the entrance, I didn't have to walk much to the front desk. I let him park the car and he came back. I thought he looked cute running around trying to help me. We walked slowly to the elevator and I let him pull me close as we waited for it.

"You feeling okay?" He asked in my ear.

"I'm okay. Just a bit hungry now." I replied as I looked up into his eyes. I saw the crinkle near his eyes as he smiled at me.

"We'll get settled a bit and then we can go grab a bite to eat."

The elevator door opened and we went in. Paul pressed the button for the floor that we were going to be on, and I just let myself rest up against Paul until we got there with my teddy bear getting squished. When we were going to get out, I felt him lace his fingers with mine and give it a gentle squeeze.

Over the next couple of days, Paul would do everything for me except for the little simple things that I was able to do on my own like brushing my teeth and some walking that I was able to do and shower. I was going to have my first checkup today and if everything turned out to be fine, then I would be able to go back home to finish healing up enough to be able to go to rehab which I know that I'm going to need.

We were in the doctor's office waiting for him to come in and I was feeling a bit better. The pain was going away more and more each day and I was able to walk a little more each day, which I thought was a good thing and something that I was happy about. I stretched my arms out in an effort to reach for Paul and with no success. The pain was going away but I still had some pain in me. He got up and walked up to me. I reached up and gave him a peck on the lips. When I put my hand on his coat pocket, I felt something inside. It felt like a little box but I just let it slide thinking that I might be confusing it with something else. The doctor finally came in and sat down.

"How are you feeling today?" He asked.

"Better. The pain is going away."

"That's good. I'm glad it is. Let me just take a look at your back to see if there's any bruising of sorts and to see how the scar is healing."

He took off the bandages that were there and I felt him touch it and examine it thoroughly.

"It's healed up pretty nicely. I'm surprised at how fast the scar is healing up. We're going to keep the bandages on for a little while longer. When you go to your first rehab, they'll take it off for you or you can go to your doctor afterwards and have your doctor take it off."

"How long will my rehab be?" I asked.

"Depends on how well you do in rehab and how you heal as time goes on. As for how long you'll be out of action, I'm sorry to say that it will be a couple of months before you're able to compete again. You can still travel but you just can not compete. Not until you're medically cleared to do so." He replied. "I'm sorry."

PAUL

We were going back to St. Louis today and I couldn't help but notice the box that I had in my pocket with the ring that I had gotten to propose to Alexandria. Every time I wanted to ask her, I always chickened out or told myself that it wasn't the right time yet to do it. But I know for a fact that I have to do it sometime soon. This is it for me. She is the woman that I want to be with for the rest of my life and nothing will change that. I looked over at her and watched as she slept. This is what I want. To be with her for the rest of my life. So why is it so hard for me to ask her to marry me?

I decided to call Shawn to get his advice on what I could do. He picked up the phone after a couple of rings and I was relieved that he did.

"Did you ask her yet?" he asked.

"Hi to you too and no I haven't."

"Why not? Weren't you saying how much you want to spend the rest of your life with her?"

"I always chicken out and convince myself that it isn't the right time."

"Because you're scared shitless of what she's going to say. Admit it."

"I just want some advice."

"Take her out on a nice date. Maybe some dinner or something. Think up something nice and romantic to ease your way into this." He replied.

We talked for a couple of more minutes until she woke up. I suddenly wanted to change the conversation but I wanted to talk to her. So we said our byes and I put the rest of my attention on her. I knew I had to do it somehow.

FOUR DAYS LATER

Now I know what you're thinking. No I have not asked her yet. Believe me, I'm even frustrated with myself for not doing this. I can't believe how scared I am of asking this. I know I've proposed before. But the last time I married, I got my heart broken. I know that you're probably thinking that this is just some sorry excuse that I'm trying to make up for not doing this. But it really isn't. It's the truth about how I feel. But that's going to change tonight. I know it will.

"Hello?" I asked when I answered my phone. I was on my way back home.

"It's Stephanie."

I groaned. "What do you what Steph?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to see how Alexandria was doing."

"She's doing great. She's going to start her rehab tomorrow." I replied.

"I saw the results from the tests that she took. Did they say how long she'll be out for?" she asked.

"The doctor said at least 5 months."

"Five months? We have to do something to crown a new Diva's Champion."

"We have to crown a new champion?"

"Yes, we. You're coming back tomorrow right?"

"Who told you that?" I asked her.

"I was just wondering. So are you?"

"No..."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"I'm taking some time off to be with Alexandria." I replied.

"Why? Doesn't she have friends and family at home?"

"And she has me. I'm not leaving her now. Me going back to work is going to have to wait." I responded.

"You have to be kidding me Paul."

"What's your problem, Stephanie?" I asked annoyed.

"Nothing or no one can ever make you happy." She replied.

"I have someone who makes me happy. Everything she does, makes me happy. Don't worry about me Stephanie. I'm the happiest I've been in a long time thanks to Alexandria. I'm not going to have it end."

"Remember when I used to make you happy?" she asked.

"That was a long time ago. Ever since I caught you cheating, it's all been a downward spiral until I met Alexandria. Ever since then, I've been happy. You and I are done. We'll always be done. Now if you can't accept than, then I don't know what to tell you. But what's done is done. Let's move on."

I hung up before she could say anything. I got home and didn't see Alex around. I put the cheesecake that I got in the kitchen and went to the room. I saw her laying down in bed and when I walked closer, I saw that she was sleeping. I took off my shoes and got in bed next to her and lightly kissed the spot where she had the surgery as I did. I put my arms around her and felt her get closer to me. It wasn't long before I doze off.

I woke up and Alex wasn't in the room. I heard the shower running and looked at the clock. I had to start getting ready to take her out tonight.

ALEXANDRIA

I was in the shower when I felt someone's hands on my waist and lips on the spot where I still had my scar. I turned around and it was Paul.

"Couldn't wait until later?" I asked innocently.

"I can contain myself." He whispered huskily in my ear. I couldn't help but laugh.

When we got out of the shower, we both got ready to go out to dinner. It's been a while since Paul and I have gone out to dinner, just the two of us. It's always us eating in or with friends and family. Now it's just me and him that's going be together. No one else. It should be nice to be out with him. It can take my mind off of what's been going on these past couple of weeks and I get to see more of the side of Paul that no one else gets to see. The soft, romantic side of him that I love so much and that only I seem to have the privilege of seeing. I put on a simple grey dress that reached a couple of inches above my knee, grey heels and I had my hair loose and in waves. I decided to just go natural with my makeup and put on some perfume.

"How do I look?" I asked Paul. I saw him look up and let his eyes linger.

"You look beautiful." He replied. I smiled.

"This isn't too much?"

"No. You look perfect."

"You look handsome." I told him.

"I try." He replied as he gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Paul took me to this really nice Italian restaurant that was known for their really good food. As we walked from the car to the restaurant, I noticed that Paul kept fidgeting like he does when he's nervous about something. He also kept putting his hand on or in his pocket as if checking to see if something was there.

"Sweetie, you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'm good." He said quickly. "Just want to have a good night."

"You always have a good night with me." I told him innocently.

"That is true." He replied chuckling.

After we got our orders taken and waited for our food, Paul sat next to me since we were given the booth and it provided us with more privacy. He put his arm around my shoulder and I snuggled closer to him.

"You seem nervous. What's going on?" I asked him.

"Nothing. I'm fine. Just have some things going through my head, that's all."

"Then relax. For me."

PAUL

I looked in her eyes and felt calm when I did. How she did this to me, I have no idea. I checked to see if the ring was still in my pocket, which was like the millionth time that I did that in such a short time.

"What do you think about marriage?" I asked her suddenly.

"I would like to get married one day." she replied.

"Would you like to have a family?"

"Yes I would."

"Where would you live if you were to get married?"

"I don't know. I'd have to talk to the person to see what we can work out. What's going on?" she asked.

"I uh...um...Alex, I took you out to dinner tonight, not only because I wanted it to be just you and me tonight, but because there's something that I wanted to tell you. Well, ask you really."

The waiter bought us our food but Alex kept looking at me curiously. "Sweetie, what's going on? What do you want to ask or tell me, something bad?"

"No." I responded quickly. "Nothing bad. It's good. At least I think it is. Let me just say what I want to say. When we first met, I couldn't help but notice you. Your looks, your talent, and as I got to know you, your personality. We started dating and then I fell in love with you. Then I noticed how much I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Huh?" I heard her say softly.

"Alexandria, I don't want anyone else. I want you. You're the woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with and I want to have a family with you. I want to be the guy to give you everything that you want and need. You deserve the best in the world and I want to be the guy to do that, to offer it to you. I want to make you happy for the rest of your life the way you make me happy. I just want you. You make me feel a way that no other woman has made me felt. You have my heart and you take care of it the way no other woman has. You're my girlfriend and I've never looked at another woman the way I look at you. You're it for me Alex. What I'm trying to say is..."

I took the box out of my pocket and I got up. As I did, I noticed that some people were starting to stare at us. I opened the box, got down on one knee and showed her the ring.

"Alexandria...Will you marry me?"

I heard her let out a breath and tears fill her eyes.

"Yeah?" she asked as a tear fell down her face.

"Yeah. Will you marry me?"

"Yes. I'll marry you." she replied with the sweetest smile.

I picked her up and spun her around. I put her down and gave her a kiss. We broke the kiss when we heard people clapping. I took the ring and put it on her finger. The ring fit perfectly on her.

I looked at her and pulled her close. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

We kissed again and I swung her around when I pulled away. We got back home after our date and I couldn't stop smiling. I'm getting married to Alexandria and I can't wait until that day comes.

After Alex came out of the bathroom, I closed the door behind her and gently pushed her against the door. I kissed her gently and I felt my hands roaming all over her body. I started to kiss her neck and gently suck on it.

"Paul." I heard her whisper seductively in a sexy sultry voice that drove me absolutely crazy. My hands went underneath her dress until I grabbed her butt.

I picked her up by her butt and lifted her up. I felt her legs wrap around me as I walked towards the bed. I laid her down as gently as I could remembering the surgery she had on her back. I kissed her again knowing we weren't going to leave the room for the rest of the night.