George - Chapter Twenty One: I Promise You

Some NSFW pics

This chapter, like many before it, was inspired by a specific song. I've provided it here for you to enjoy while you read.   Long chapter, lots of pictures. . .It's what I do. Lol!

Thanks so much for reading!

****George****

As we stood watching the different sizes and colors of luggage travel along the belt at the baggage claim, I couldn’t help but feel slightly worried about ours. The sooner I had it back in my possession and able to check its contents, the better. When I had originally planned out this week, I hadn’t taken into account how I would get the most important item there without her knowing. I couldn’t keep it in a pocket or carry on thanks to airport screening which left me with only one option, putting it in the luggage.

Everything about getting it there had been stressful; as we packed I had placed it in the suitcase after I was sure that she had packed everything, and of course, she immediately had gone to open the bag again to place something else in it. I thought back to that moment and how I had held my breath and prayed that she wouldn’t open that one section. Once she had finally zipped the bag back up and left the bedroom I had let out a sigh of relief. The worry over her finding it in the bag had now been replaced with fear of the luggage being lost on our way there.

So there I stood, at the baggage claim in Paradise Island, praying the next bag that came around the curve happened to be ours. I intently stared at each bag and startled when a hand touched my arm.

“You know, they say a watched kettle never boils. . .” She joked and I jerked my head to look at her and she jumped a little. “Are you always so stressed about finding your luggage?” She joked again. If she had only known the item that I had placed in there, she wouldn’t have joked about it. 

I tried to smile. “It’s just that we’ve seen some of these bags before and I’m starting to wonder why it’s taking so long for ours. . .Trev already has his.” I looked over at Trev. His bag had been one of the first to come down the line and he had moved off to the side to get out of other people’s way. 

“Hmmm. . .well, I don’t think we’re going to have to wait much longer. . .” I turned to quickly look at her and she pointed down the way at our bag. I impatiently waited for it to come slowly down the belt to where we stood and snatched it up the first moment I could reach for it. We walked over to where Trev had moved to and I couldn’t believe my luck when Steph whispered to me that she needed to use the restroom. I waited until she had gone inside before I made a mad dash to open the suitcase.

Bridgette - Chapter Nineteen: All That Matters - Part Two

Two days later it was Christmas and everyone was going to be at the house. Jeff and Rosamund had spent Christmas Eve at her parents’ house and Carson had spent it with his family.  The three of them were due to arrive any minute and the house was buzzing with excitement. Charles and Scarlett were bouncing off the walls asking every two minutes if they could open their presents, Mom was in the kitchen finishing making dinner, Dad was downstairs doing something that was “secret” which I figured was a Christmas surprise for Mom, and the rest of us were standing around chatting.

I heard Jeff and Rosamund arrive first and everyone rushed over to greet them home.  I watched as everyone bombarded them with questions. To me it felt strange since I had just seen them for the last several months and knew what they had been doing. We were all standing in the living room talking when I heard the front door open again.

“Merry Christmas Hobble Family!” I heard Carson call from the hallway. Everyone once again rushed into the hallway and greeted him. I always loved how everyone in my family loved him. He saw me standing in the doorway to the living room and walked up to me.

“Merry Christmas, beautiful.” He said and before I could answer him back, he kissed me. I was shocked by his change in behavior. It was like the old Carson was back. When he stopped kissing me I responded. “Merry Christmas.”  He smiled at me and held my hand as we walked into the family room. We all stood around talking for several minutes before Mom called us to the dinning room.

We piled in and had an amazing Christmas dinner. I was always happy to come home and eat Mom’s cooking.  She had taught all of us to cook but none of us came close to being as good of a cook as her. Throughout the dinner I noticed Carson looking at me, smiling. I was so confused by the way he was acting. He had changed after we had talked on the phone our first night back and I wondered if being home had helped him relax.

****Carson****

Ever since I had talked to my family the day before I had been feeling less stressed about today. Talking about my fears seemed to help. I was glad that my family had also agreed to what I had planned. It was a last minute addition and I had to secretly contact Amanda and Chuck, but it all seemed to work itself out.

Throughout dinner I kept looking over at Bridge and couldn’t help but smile every time I thought about what was about to happen. She was definitely going to be surprised. Ever since the night that Rosamund and Jeff had lost their baby, I had really started to think about Bridge’s and my future. I had been thinking about it before that, but that event had really made me realize that even though we were together, I wanted to be married to her.  

 At one point I looked down the table to where Chuck and Amanda were sitting. They both smiled at me and it gave me an additional boost of confidence. I looked over again at Bridge and she caught me. She had a quizzical look on her face and I had to try my hardest not to laugh.

****Bridge****

Once dinner was finished we all piled into the living room to open presents. The usual way we opened presents was youngest to oldest; which meant I was actually the last of the kids to open their presents.  I watched Charles and Scarlett open their presents of toys.  They oohed and awed at their toys and immediately ran into the family room to spread them out all over the floor to play.

Once the kids had left the room, Charlie and Jeff distributed the rest of the gifts.  Once everyone had their presents, we all watched as Jeff and Rosamund opened their presents.   Jeff always took his time opening presents. He never liked ripping the paper and watching him open his presents was as exciting as watching paint dry. Once Jeff was done meticulously unwrapping his presents, it was Charlie and Kate’s turn. Charlie was the complete opposite of Jeff. He frantically tore wrapping paper off his gifts. As we continued to watch them open their presents Carson leaned over to me and told me he’d be right back. 

****Carson****

When Kate was almost finished opening her presents I looked at Chuck and Amanda and she winked at me. I quietly excused myself and quickly left the room before Bridge could object.  I went down to their basement and went into the room that Chuck had stashed my things in.  While we were still at ASU I had met up with them and given them one of my suits to keep here for the big moment.  My hands shook as I tried to adjust my tie. I had never felt this nervous. There wasn’t much time and several things had to fall into place at just the right moments.

****Bridge****

Charlie and Kate were opening their last presents and I started wondering where Carson was. Not only was he missing them opening their presents but it was almost time for us to open ours and he was nowhere in sight. No one else seemed to be concerned that Carson had gotten up and disappeared.

“Well, now it’s Bridge’s turn.” Dad said. I was about to protest since Carson wasn’t there but I was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. I had never heard Carson leave so I figured it was someone coming in. I turned to look at the doorway and was really confused when I saw Carson’s parents, his brothers, and their wives walk into the living room.

I watched as Mom and Dad greeted them. I interrupted them. “I’m confused; why are you all here.” It was then that Carson walked into the room. He had changed into a suit and had a huge smile on his face.

****Carson****

I quietly walked back up the stairs and waited near the front door for my family to arrive. Within a minute they were coming into the house. As Mom walked past she kissed my cheek and almost started crying. Dad patted me on the shoulder and Adam and Brett did the same. The most complicated part was over. Trying to get everyone there at the right time was the trickiest part. I watched as they all walked into the Hobble’s living room and were greeted by Bridge’s parents. I heard Bridge question why my family was there and started walking into the living room.

****Bridge****

I looked around the room and everyone was smiling at me. I looked back at Carson and it all clicked.

He stood in front of me and started talking. “Bridge, the last seven years have been the most fun, happy, wonderful and amazing years. They’ve been that way because of you. I feel blessed every day that I get to wake up and see your beautiful face and I can’t imagine my life without you in it.“ 

He pulled out a box from his pocket and got down on one knee.  “Bridgette Rose Hobble, will you make me the happiest man alive and become my wife?”

I stood there for a moment in complete shock.  I quickly looked around at everyone in the room and then smiled at him. You could have heard a pin drop. “Of course I’ll marry you.” The room erupted with cheering and Carson stood up, put the ring on my finger and then kissed me. We didn’t have time to do much else before everyone started coming up and congratulating us.

Once everyone calmed down I let them all have it. “You all knew this, didn’t you?” They all smiled at me. “You all are horrible!” I joked.

“You had to have known something was up when we showed up.” Carson’s dad said.

“I was really confused by that but it wasn’t until Carson came in that the last week or so started making sense.” I looked down at the ring and I was stunned. “How did you pick this out?” I asked him.

****Carson****

I knew once I told her we would both get a little emotional.

“It was my Grandmother’s ring.” I said. My grandmother had passed away a couple of years before and had left some jewelry to the family. She and I had always been really close. “She actually gave me the ring. . .” I stopped not knowing if I should continue.

“Go ahead, tell her what she said when she gave it to you.” Mom prodded.

I looked at Bridge and she smiled at me. “She gave me the ring and said ‘Be sure to give it to that pretty Bridgette girl. She’s a keeper and I would be honored if she wore the ring your Grandpa gave me.’” I had to fight back the tears as I said what were some of the last words I heard my Grandmother say to me. Bridge immediately hugged and then kissed me. She pulled away all of a sudden and looked at her dad.

“I’m waiting to hear the clearing of the throat or the comment about breaking it up.” She kidded with her dad.

“I think those days are done now.” He said with a hint of sadness.

****Bridge****

I loved that he gave me his grandmother’s ring.  I had met her and talked to her several times at family get togethers even before Carson and I started dating.  I was touched that she had wanted him to give me her ring. 

The rest of the night went by in a blur. Carson and I opened the rest of our presents and then Mom and Dad did. There was more eating and many more congratulations.

At one point I felt a hand on my elbow and before I knew it, Carson was leading me outside. “So now that Christmas is almost over, let me tell you what has really been going on for the last week and a half.” I anxiously waited for him to continue.

****Carson****

 “About a week and a half ago, I called your parents and asked them if they would meet me in a town half way between here and ASU. When we met, I told them that I was planning on proposing on Christmas and asked if the family could help. They agreed. I then contacted Mom and Dad and let them know what I was planning on doing.  Jeff and Rosamund found out accidently when they heard a phone conversation that I had with my mom. So then they had to pretend to act that everything was normal; which they’re horrible actors, by the way.” 

She smiled. “So are you.”

I chuckled. “That car ride back home was horrible. No one wanted to say anything in fear of saying something that would tip you off.  Anyway, I got home and I was really nervous you would say no.”  She looked at me like I had grown two heads. “I know; but it’s a big deal and I think most guys have that fear of being rejected.  Even after my family reassuring me, I thought it would make me feel less nervous if they were here when I did propose. Plus, I thought it would be nice to include them since your whole family was.” She nodded in agreement. “So I then had to call your mom yesterday and ask her if it was okay if they came over, which she of course agreed, and we all figured out how to time everything so that it flowed seamlessly. So that’s what I’ve been preoccupied with the last week.” I said and then smiled at her.

****Bridge****

“You’re so sneaky! I had no idea and when you were talking about trying to figure out your future I was starting to wonder if that included me.” I confessed. I hated now admitting it but I had really started worrying about it the last two days.

“Oh Bridge, I’m sorry you thought that.  But there are some things we need to talk about.”

“Like what?”

“I’m graduating soon and need to figure out if I can or need to go to grad school. If I do, where should that be? Do we move back here, stay where we are, or move elsewhere. There’s still a lot of questions to answer; including wedding ones now.”

I reached up and touched his cheek. “None of that matters.”

He looked at me shocked. “What do you mean?”

“We could live here or a thousand miles from here, we could get married right now or a year from now, you could go to grad school or not; none of that matters. All that matters is that we have each other.”

He looked down at me “I love you, Bridge.”

“I love you too.”

Poses:
Skylar's - We Heart It v2 
Traelia's - Smile Pose Pack 
F& L Club's - My Weakness 
Mypalsims' - Jesse Pack 
 

Bridgette - Chapter Nineteen: All That Matters - Part One

We were driving home for Christmas and the car was too quiet. After our Thanksgiving confrontation things had calmed down and I had even done a decent job of getting along with Rosamund.  Granted, we didn’t really talk much since we really didn’t have a lot in common, but we were civil.  I stared out the window and watched the snow fall. It had started to snow not long after we left campus. It looked like Appaloosa was going to have another white Christmas. 

As we continued to drive home I noticed that everyone was talking less and less. I silently thought of what I had said since we had gotten in the car and nothing seemed offensive to me. After several more minutes, I couldn’t take it anymore. “What‘s going on? Why’s everyone so quite?” Jeff and Rosamund looked at me like a deer caught in headlights while Carson continued to look straight ahead at the road.

“Did I do something, or say something?” I had no idea what it would have been but something had to be wrong. They kept refusing to make eye contact with me. It had been this way on and off for a little over a week now. I would come into the room and the three of them would stop talking and act like nothing was wrong, but something was obviously going on.

“Oh no, of course not Bridgette. I guess we didn’t realize how quiet we were being.” Rosamund exclaimed. Once again, she forgot that I could tell when someone was lying to me. I started to roll my eyes as I turned back around.

“Really, Bridge nothing’s wrong. We’re just wrapped up in our own thoughts.” Jeff tried to reassure me.

I gave up. If they wanted to avoid me, fine. But what was really bothering me was that even Carson seemed a little distant. I had been looking forward to going home for Christmas but now I wasn’t so sure about it. If all that was going to happen was people acting distant and uncomfortable then I really didn’t want any part of it.

I had never been so happy to see home. When we finally pulled into the driveway, I jumped out of the car.  Mom and Dad came out to greet us. “Oh I’m so glad that you all are here!” Mom gushed as she hugged each of us.

“It’s always good to have all of the kids home again!” Dad admitted and he too hugged each of us.

“We should probably get Bridge’s things out of the car so I can take Jeff and Rosamund to her parents’ house and I can get home.” Carson stated.

I gave him an annoyed look. “Are you in such a rush that you’re just going to leave me here?”

“Like I said Bridge, Jeff and Rosamund need to get to her parents’ house and my Mom and Dad are expecting me. I’ll call you later and I’ll see you in two days on Christmas.” He kissed me and the three of them seemed to rush to get away.

I stood there watching them drive away in shock. Carson had never left in such a hurry before and before this trip he had always complained about us being separated. Now he seemed to want nothing more. Maybe what had happened during Thanksgiving had pushed Carson away.

“Are you coming Bridge?” Mom asked.

“Yeah.” I turned and walked into the house with Mom and Dad. I couldn’t help but sulk about what had just happened. Dad noticed my not so cheery attitude.

“What’s wrong, Bridge?” he asked.

 “I don’t know. I’ve never seen Carson leave in such a hurry. He hasn’t been acting like himself the last week or so. Maybe it’s nothing but he seems preoccupied. And then there’s Jeff and Rosamund. I mean Rosamund and I aren’t the best of friends but even she’s been acting more distant lately. It’s just weird.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing Bridge. Maybe Carson is stressed out from school and Rosamund is still having a hard time with the miscarriage.” Mom suggested.

That wasn’t it and I knew it. Carson was stressed this year with school but Rosamund didn’t seem to be as upset about the miscarriage as I thought she should be. That was one thing that I had to bite my tongue about. I had learned my lesson after Thanksgiving. If Jeff wanted to throw his life away and stay with the conniving, lying woman, than I wasn’t going to interfere anymore. He’d made his bed and he could lie in it. 

I walked upstairs and ran into Charlie and Kate. “Hey Bridge! Welcome home!” Kate said as she hugged me. I looked her up and down and immediately thought something seemed different with her. I looked at Charlie and he had a sheepish grin. I kept looking at her and she blushed.

“Are you pregnant again?” She smiled and nodded.

“Congratulations! When are you due?”

“July. Seems to be a popular month in this family. We just found out yesterday so I thought I’d wait to tell you till after you got home.”

“Well at least there’s something nice out of coming home.” I stated flatly.

“What do you mean?” Charlie asked.

“Carson, Jeff and Rosamund have been acting weird for a week or so. Something’s going on and I can’t figure it out.” I didn’t want to dwell on my troubles so I turned the conversation back to the baby.

Several hours later Carson called me. “So how are things there?” He asked. I really wondered if he cared. As fast as he left earlier and how he had been acting lately I was starting to question if our relationship was as solid as it had been.

“Fine. Charlie and Kate are expecting another baby and I had fun playing a game tonight with Scarlett. What about you?” 

“It’s been crazy here with my brothers being home and their wives here too.  We’ve been having a good time though.” He didn’t say much else after that. There was something wrong and I just wished he would tell me.

“Carson, what is it? You’ve been distant this whole past week and you couldn’t get out of here fast enough today. Are you mad at me?”

“No Bridge! I’m sorry, I’ve been preoccupied with something. I promise there’s nothing wrong. I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now.” That didn’t really make me feel any better.

“Well then, why don’t you tell me? I am your girlfriend after all.”

“I will, Bridge. Just not right now; after Christmas.”

I didn’t understand; why did he have to wait till after Christmas?

“Bridge, are you there?”

“I’m here; I just don’t understand why you can’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“There’s nothing wrong.” He sighed. “I’m sorry if I seem distant. I’ve been thinking about the future and what I want to do after college. Things like that.”

“Then why don’t you want to talk about it with me?” I hated that it seemed like I was prying but none of this was making sense to me.

“I just don’t want to bog down Christmas with talking about the future. There’s no rush to talk about it, so might as well leave it till afterwards.”

Now I was really scared. He sounded like he was making decisions about his future without me and if it was something that he felt was going to ‘bog down Christmas,’ then it sounded like it could be bad. As much as I wanted to keep pushing him about it, I knew if I kept at it we would end up arguing.

“Alright, fine. I won’t bring it up again until after Christmas; but when the clock strikes midnight on December 26th I will be asking you for answers.”

“Deal. I love you Bridge, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, I do and that’s one reason I’m giving you the space you need. I love you too.”

We hung up and I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach. Something big was about to hit the fan and I was really scared that it was going to end badly.

****Carson****

I hung up the phone and let out a sigh of relief. This was one of the hardest things I had ever had to do. I wasn’t technically lying to Bridge but I wasn’t telling her the whole truth either. 

I laid on my bed thinking about the last week and a half. I had kept so many things from her and I knew she was catching on that something wasn’t quite right. I prayed that I was going to be able to pull this off before she figured out what was happening or got mad.

I was awoken by sunlight shining in my room. I looked around my room still feeling groggy. I hadn’t even remembered falling asleep.  I looked down at my clothes and I noticed I had fallen asleep in the previous day’s clothes. The stress of the last week must have caught up with me. I hadn’t been sleeping much since I usually was just lying in bed thinking about things.   

I got up off my bed and looked at the clock. It was already nine and my family was supposed to have brunch that morning. I walked into the bathroom and took a shower. The hot water felt amazing on my neck which I hadn’t realized until that moment how sore it was. I was definitely going to be glad when all of this was over. The stress was becoming too much. I was interrupted by banging on the door.

“Don’t hog all the hot water, bro!” My brother Adam complained.

“I’m not!” I yelled back.

I turned off the water and put a towel around my waist. I flung the door open and looked right at him. “Can’t a guy take a shower in peace?” I snapped at him.

“Whoa! Chill little brother. What’s up with you?”

“Nothing.” I mumbled as I walked past him to my room.

I got dressed and headed downstairs. I found everyone else in the kitchen. Both my older brothers and their wives were home for Christmas which meant the house was somewhat full. Our house wasn’t nearly as big as Bridge’s families so when we were all home it was cramped.

I walked downstairs to see what everyone else was doing when I heard Adam complaining as he came downstairs.

“Dude, there was hardly any hot water!”  He joked as he entered the kitchen.

“Whatever.” I mumbled. I really wasn’t in the mood to hear it, even if he was joking.

“What the hell is your deal this morning?” He asked.

“Adam, watch your mouth. Carson, you could be nicer to your brother.” It didn’t matter how old we got, Mom continued to let us know when we were out of line.

“Really dude, what is up? You’re usually the nice, calm one.” Brett chimed in.

“He’s got a lot on his mind right now. Give him a break.” I heard Dad suggest. I closed my eyes; Dad had just added gas to the fire.

“Well now I really want to know.” Adam said.

“You might as well tell them, Carson. They’ll pester you until you do.” Mom said.

“Fine. I’m going over to the Hobble’s tomorrow on Christmas. . .”

“Tell us something we don’t know.” Brett sarcastically replied.

“Well I would if you wouldn’t interrupt me.” I complained. “Like I was saying I’m going over there tomorrow and I’m a little stressed about it.” It was actually more like extremely.

“You and Bridge having problems?” Adam asked.

“No.”

“Good; I can’t imagine you two not together.” Brett commented and Adam and their wives agreed.

“Well, that’s what I’m stressed about. I plan on asking her to marry me tomorrow.”

They erupted with sounds of approval and then Adam got serious. “Why are you stressed about it?”

“Well, I mean, she could say no.” I admitted. I had heard other guys talk about asking girlfriends to marry them and they were turned down. 

Brett laughed. “Little bro, I think I can say with one hundred percent certainty that she will say yes. I mean come on! How long have you two known each other and been together?”

“We’ve known each other for seven years and been together for a little over three.”

“And you’re worried she’ll say no?” Brett asked.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him.” Mom added. 

“I mean, you never know. Maybe she’s just happy with things the way things are.” I countered.

“Haven’t you talked about it before?” Brett wondered.

“Yes…no…in a round about way.”

“It will be fine. I think Chuck and Amanda would have given you some indication if they thought she would say no.” Dad chimed in.

“Is there anything we can do to help you?” Adam offered.

“There was one thing I was wondering. . .”