When we got back to the States, Nick had a surprise waiting for me at home. I shrieked as I entered the kitchen.
Oh my god!
The kitchen looked entirely different. Before, there was a small countertop and some shelves beside the fridge. Now, the kitchen had been renovated to add a huge countertop with built-in cookers, ovens, and a black shelving unit to mask the newly installed exhaust. There were open shelves full of different spices and condiments in matching jars. The entire kitchen was complete with knives, pans, chopping boards, and every kitchen gadget I could think of.
I picked up the note that sat on the countertop.
Welcome home, kitten.
I hope you agree that this kitchen fits a future chef like yourself.
I love you.
Forever yours,
Nick
My knees were shaking and my legs turned to jelly. I was fighting for breath when I turned around and found Nick standing by the entrance, grinning at me.
“Do you like it?”
“Oh my god, Nick. Why?”
He shrugged and then he walked toward me. He spun me around so we could both face the kitchen. Then he put his arms around me.
“Because this is officially your house now,” he said. “I thought I should make you a kitchen that you deserve.”
I turned around to face him. “Nick, you didn’t have to. The old one was just fine.”
He shrugged. “But this one’s better. In this kitchen, you can be a chef and more. You can be an artist.”
“When did you get this done?”
“I have been working on the design for quite some time now, in between work. Then before we left, I paid my contractor to work non-stop so he could get it done in time for our arrival.”
I turned to stare at the beautiful kitchen again and I felt a surge of excitement coursing through me. “My kitchen.”
“Yeah. Your kitchen. Your house,” Nick whispered. Then he handed me a set of keys. “Keys of every room in the house.”
I smiled. I only had a key to the front door before.
I closed my eyes as I leaned against his shoulder. A couple of months ago, I was an androgynous drummer who hated men and lived in hell that was my father’s house. I never trusted men and never planned to fall in love with one. Now, I’m living with a man who turned my world a one-eighty and I am totally in love with him. I must admit, I have never been happier.
Nick spun me around and then he leaned down and carried me in his arms.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I will take you to our bedroom so I can make love to you in our bed,” he said, smiling at me mischievously.
We made love for the first time in Nick’s bed—our bed since I agreed to officially live with him.
It was amazing how I could completely entrust my life in the hands of a man now. I knew this felt right. Nick felt right. I gave him not just my body, but I have also surrendered my heart and my soul to him. I thought nobody was worthy enough to earn my trust. But Nick was.
The following weeks were amazing. Nick and I were in this honeymoon stage. We couldn’t get our hands off each other. We couldn’t stand to be apart for more than half an hour. Even when he was working, he would ask me to sleep in the sofa bed in his study. When I was cooking in my new kitchen, he would check up on me every fifteen minutes. Just to see me, hug me, kiss me. We were able to find a routine, a balance, but the passion we shared seemed to burn brighter, hotter, and higher with each day we spent together.
One thing I discovered about Nick was that he liked writing love notes—the longhand type. He would have notes for me in the fridge, in the mirror in the bathroom, and sometimes even on the bedside table when he wakes up way earlier than me, or when I sleep way ahead of him.
I found it cute since not many people do that anymore. In this digital age, even love letters come through online messengers, emails, or text messages. And they’re shorthand, using chat acronyms. Nick’s old school love letters are a novelty for me. I absolutely loved it.
One Friday afternoon, while I was cooking dinner, the landline rang.
“Is Nick there?” a familiar woman’s voice asked.
“He went out to a meeting. Can I take a message?”
“Is this Mackenzie?” she asked.
“Yes? And who, may I ask, am I speaking to?”
“It’s Margaret, silly.”
I giggled. “Oh Margaret, I didn’t recognize your voice.”
“That’s all right. I hope I sounded younger than I am.”
I laughed. “Oh, you most definitely do. In fact, jealousy bells are already starting to ring inside my head.”
“Oh, my dear, you have nothing to worry about. Nick’s not my type.” We both laughed at that. “And besides, you don’t have to worry about your guy. He’s loyal, I can assure you of that,” she said.
I sighed. “I know.” And I really do. I gave my heart to a guy who truly loves me, would stay loyal to me. A guy with no hidden agenda, who only wanted to care for me, protect me, keep me safe, and love me.
“Anyway,” Margaret said. “I just called to tell you that you are both invited on Saturday. We are having a charity fair at the diner. Bring your friends as well. We have been blessed this year, we thought it’s time to give back. We are opening our doors to the people in the city. We even have an honorary guest coming over.”
“Wow. Sure. I mean, I’m sure Nick would want to be there. If he’s busy, at least I will make an appearance. And I’ll tell my friends to come. Do you want a band to play? I mean, if you can make arrangements for the stage, I can ask my band if we can play. Don’t worry, it’s on me.”
“Oh, that would be amazing! Let me see if I can make last-minute arrangements for the stage. I will let you know tomorrow.”
Immediately after I hung up the phone, I called Brett and Terry. I invited them to come to the diner and bring the band with them. I asked Brett if they can play for free on Saturday and he sounded enthusiastic about it. After all, he’d been to Margaret’s diner and he knew that it was a diner for a cause.
I finished my bath after cooking a new salmon dish I experimented on. I was in the bedroom, wrapped in a towel and drying my hair when Nick got home. I felt his arms around my waist and his lips on my neck.
I giggled, feeling ticklish. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“I did plan to sneak up on you like this,” he said. Then he spun me around and pinned me against the wall. “You smell so good, babe. And you look ravishing.”
I opened my mouth to say something but Nick’s lips were on mine. He kissed me thoroughly, stealing my breath, messing with my senses. It had been a couple of weeks since we first made love but every single time we were together after that still felt like the first time.
The towel slipped to the floor and I felt Nick’s body cover mine. I felt his hands at the base of my butt cheeks as he lifted me off my feet as if I weighed nothing. I wrapped my legs around his hips and my arms around his neck.
I felt him between my legs, his solid desire evident even through the material of the jeans he was wearing.
“God, Nick…” I moaned as he nuzzled my neck.
He carried me to bed. He was out of his own clothes in less than a minute. He stood by the foot of the bed in front of me. I eagerly pleased him—the way I have never pleased any man before; the way he was teaching me how to.
“Oh God, kitten…” He moaned as he caressed my head. I could hear his labored breathing, his slow descent. I could see the signs of his inevitable downfall as he tried to fight release. “Fuck, kitten, you’re getting way too good at this!”
Then without warning, he pulled away from me and pushed me toward the mattress. He landed on top of me, his mouth covering mine, his tongue exploring my mouth. I felt him in my entrance and in one swift motion, he speared through my very wet core, making me scream.
He leaned his forehead against mine as he moved in me. “I love you, Mackenzie,” he whispered.
I leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. “I love you too, babe,” I said.
I felt the fire in my core, growing bigger and bigger, faster and faster. It didn’t take long for Nick to work me up to my climax. A couple of deep, long thrusts and I was pushed to the edge of my sanity.
“Oh my god, Nicholas!” I pulled him to me so I could kiss him on the lips. In ecstasy, I bit his lower lip, and I tasted blood. But instead of screaming in pain, Nick’s tongue entered my mouth as his rod pierced through my soul.
“Damn it!” I heard him curse and his movements became more urgent, pushing me to the edge a second time when I haven’t yet fully recovered from the first one.
It felt like an eternity before either of us came down to earth again. Nick looked at me, smiling. I realized that his lower lip was slightly bleeding.
“Oh, God, Nick, your lip.”
He bit his lower lip and sucked in the blood that came out of it.
“I’m sorry,” I said, really feeling guilty. Sometimes, when things get too intense for me, I unknowingly bite him. Nick doesn’t get out of our lovemaking unscathed.
“This is nothing, kitten. I like a little dose of rough love once in a while,” he said, chuckling.
I hugged him again. “I love you. I’m really sorry.”
“Don’t be. I told you I like it. I find it really hot.”
I laughed. “Don’t encourage me to keep hurting you.”
“I’m not complaining,” he said. Then he leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the lips. I tasted a bit of blood from his lip. Then he asked, “Have you gone on the pill?”
Shit! We discussed this before, but for some reason, I haven’t gone to the doctor to have it done. Nick volunteered to come with me to the gynecologist but I refused, telling him it was something better left for the girls. That time, I wished once again that my mother was still with me.
He grinned at me, knowing exactly that I’ve forgotten once again.
“I’m not gonna stop making love to you, kitten. And you know I’ll be the happiest man on earth if we get pregnant, start a family now. I love you and you already know I’m in this for the rest of our lives. But if you want to do some things in your life first, I’m not stopping you. So, the choice is entirely up to you. I’ll be happy either way.”
I fought the urge to cry. How did I get to be so lucky? Nick was everything I could ever ask for in a man. I would forever be thankful for the day he first walked in Rhythemes and fate decided he should fall in love with me.
I hugged him. “Thank you. Every day, you make me fall in love with you more and more.”
He leaned back so he could look into my eyes. With pride in his eyes and a triumphant grin, he whispered, “Well, that had always been the plan.”