Made to Love: Carmen and Cooper's Story (22 page)

Doing as he asks, I stand to be greeted with
his lips, his tongue mixing powerfully with mine. His hand travels
down to my vagina, moving my thong to the side, my juices welcome
his fingers as he inserts them in and out. I grip his neck harder
as each insertion causes my legs to tremble. He pulls his fingers
out, but only long enough to rip my lace thong off with intense
movement. He frees himself of his pants completely. His hardness,
rest against my belly, until he lifts me up and pushes it deep
inside of me. I moan loudly, because I am caught off guard by his
entry, though my body is screaming for it. My legs wrapped around
his waist and he has control of the impact as he slams my body up
and then back down on his thick penis. Any moment now I’m going to
shatter. He looks deep into my eyes and kisses me, and then he
turns around and lays me on the bed.

His hand is rubbing my clitoris with
determination before he re-inserts his massive size. I grip the
blankets underneath me as leverage. One last deep plunge is all it
will take before I succumb to the climax stirring inside of me. It
happens at the exact moment his does. We kiss while his warm sperm
begins to swim along my ocean walls.

We lay in bed holding each other as Cooper
plays with my hair.

“I can’t believe we will be doing
this for the rest of our lives.”

He smiles and kisses me. “Yes, we
will and I promise to always make you happy.”

“
I am going to take a quick
shower.”

Yawning and stretching Cooper says,
“Okay.”

In the shower I begin to process today’s
events. I am engaged to Cooper Jackson. Oh God, I am getting
married. Cooper and I never discussed marriage before. It’s
wonderful he asked for my parents’ permission, but we should have
talked first. What do I know about marriage? My parents have the
perfect one, but will I? Will Cooper become tired of me? What about
Celeste? She will never experience this. All of a sudden, I feel a
tremendous wave of fear. My heart is pounding, my chest hurts, and
it is getting harder to breathe. I can’t die like this. I am having
a panic attack. Forcing myself to take deep breaths, I calm down
and quickly wash. Stepping out of the shower, I realize that Cooper
and I must talk. While dressing I am dreading what I have to tell
him. I wonder if Cooper is sleeping; maybe I will sneak out and
call him tomorrow. No, I have to tell him face to face that we
cannot get married.

“
A penny for your thoughts,” he
says.

“
What? I thought you were
asleep.”

“
How can anyone sleep with you
pacing back and forth sighing?”

“
I wasn’t aware I was doing
that.”

“
Carmen, what’s on your
mind?”

He sits up and taps the bed for me to sit. I
look into his beautiful eyes and my tears escape. Cooper holds me
and I tell him that I will not marry him. His body stiffens, but
never lets go.

“
Why not, Carmen?”

“Because I always let down the
people I love.”

He relaxes. “So you do love
me?”

Turning to face Cooper, I state, “Of course I
love you. I can’t’ fail you like I did Celeste. It is my fault she
is dead. I was her big sister and should have known that something
was wrong.” The memory makes me smile. “I remember when she was
brought home from the hospital. She was so small, I knew I would
always love and protect her. My parents let me name her Celeste
Nicole Williams. They thought it was so cute that we had the same
middle name. We were always close. Leaving for college was hard and
we cried like babies, even Marcia.” I close my eyes and Cooper
holds my hand. “When Celeste met Jermaine I hated him instantly.
She begged for me to be nice to him and foolishly I was. God, I
wish I would have listened to my gut. Two years ago she was
supposed to come and visit us, but she never came. Marcia and I
called her consistently for an hour. So we rushed to Richmond to
find her. Before the police arrived at my house I knew she was
gone. That bastard killed her and I wasn’t there to protect her.”
Cooper wipes my face.

“Baby, what happened to Celeste
isn’t your fault. You have to stop blaming yourself.”

He hugs me.

“
I think about it all the time, I
let her and my parents down. She was my responsibility.”

Cooper grabs my face, “Carmen it is clear how
much you love your sister and she knew that. Things happen in life
that isn’t always fair, but we have to accept them and
heal.”

I kiss him. “Thanks.” He gets up
and walks to the closet. He grabs a picture frame and hands it to
me. It is a picture of Celeste.

Puzzled I ask, “Where did you get
this?”

“When I went to your parents’
house. I want you to choose a place for her.”

I look at him with blurry I eyes. “This means
so much to me. I love you.”

He kisses me and declares, “I love you,
Carmen. And we are getting married in three months.”

We make love throughout the
night.

Chapter
Thirty-Seven

Who would have known so much goes into
planning a wedding. Cooper wants to get married in three months. My
phone rings as I arrive to the center, the picture lets me know
it’s my mother.

“Hi mom.”

“
Carmen, my angel; future Mrs.
Jackson. I want you to know not to worry too much, I’m on the
job.”

“
Mom, that means a lot to me since
Cooper wants us to get married—”

She interrupts and says, “In three
months, yes dear I know and I couldn’t be more thrilled for the
both of you. Cooper told me you and he discussed different places
for the ceremony and reception. Therefore, I took the liberty and
booked Maymont Park for the glorious event that will occur on June
7
^th
at
3 PM. I just wanted to let you know I’ve had some things sent to
the center for you to look over in your downtime. I will try not to
bother you every day with the endless details. I just want to make
sure both of you have the special day you deserve. I love you and
have a good work day.”

“
Love you too, Mom.” Hitting the
end call button, I start for my office.

My managing staff is at the front desk
greeting me with warm applause before they flock to me in
admiration of the rock that settles on my ring finger.

Giselle can’t resist and says, “Ms. Williams,
just how many times do you plan to blind me with that?”

We all chuckle at her comment and I set off to
begin my day.

Stepping in my office, wedding
magazines are everywhere. I know first-hand this is the work of my
mother. Congratulation balloons are found tied to my chair. A dozen
white roses are on my desk with a card resting on the outside of
the vase. The writing says,
For my
Carmen.
I know immediately who these are
from. The card inside is white with red roses bordering the
rectangle shape. It says,
Because you said
yes. Until then. Love, Cooper.
I hold it
close to my heart as I text him: “
Of
course I said yes, I can’t wait to be your wife. I love
you.”

Putting my phone away, all the
thoughts of the wedding start to consume me. I pick the closest
magazine up and flip through it. I find a to-do list as I soon as I
open it
.

Carmen, my expertise in the
planning area will leave you with only a few important matters to
attend to. A stressful bride is not a happy bride.

It’s times like this I thank God for my mom.
She has already begun taking care of the large tasks such as the
venue, putting the menu together, and the tedious details of the
place settings. A paperclip secures pages towards the back. They
hold many different types of wedding invitations. Attached is a
note that says

Being that the date has been
selected, time is of the essence. We have to let everyone else know
who you would like in attendance. Love, Mom.

After browsing through the samples, I have
decided on three colors for our wedding scheme: red, silver, and
black. Cooper will be pleased with my selection. The invitation is
square and a silver damask print is exposed along the edges of the
black background. Certain areas of the print are marked with
crystal beads. On the bottom edge sits a red ribbon; the satin bow
is fastened with a rhinestone clip. The script font will be
finished in silver. The only color is the “&” symbol between
our names, which will be red. I cannot wait to discuss this when I
get back to Cooper’s house tonight. It was his idea to have a big
wedding; I would have been satisfied a small gathering of family
and our closest friends. The guest list now could go anywhere from
100-150 people. While I’m in full blown wedding mode, I place a
call to Pastor Jenkins. I need to check his availability for our
wedding date. “My schedule is all clear, Carmen.” Those words bring
a great deal of relief and joy to my ears. He was the pastor when I
used to attend Sunday services with my parents.

Hours later, Giselle knocks. “Would you be
interested in Chinese for lunch? We will be placing the order in
fifteen minutes.”

I tell her what to order me and hand her the
cash. My phone rings as soon as she leaves. It’s Marcia.

“
Hey lady, Giselle asked if I
could come by the center today, she said Chinese was being ordered.
I will be there in twenty minutes.”

Smiling I say “okay” and hang up. This will be
the perfect time to get them both on board with the wedding. Hell
that’s probably the reason for them eating lunch in my office
today. Once they are both seated, chop sticks in hand, they are
ready to hear all the details.

“Spill,” Marcia
demands.

“
Yes, and don’t leave anything
out,” Giselle counters.

“Well ladies, I’m glad you both
are here. Cooper and I have set a date and location. We will become
husband and wife on June 7
^th
at Maymont
Park.”

They clap.

“
Is there anything we can do to
help?” they sweetly ask.

“
My mother is already on it, but
actually there is something you both can do.”

“
What is it?” Marcia
says.

“
Will you Marcia do me the honor
of being my maid of honor, and you Giselle as my bridesmaid? It
would mean a great deal to me if you both accept.”

They rush over to hug
me.

“
I thought you would never ask, of
course we accept. This is so exciting!” Giselle
exclaims.

Marcia simply says, “Well I better have one
hot dress to wear, but other than that I have no special requests.”
She smiles.

“
I’m so happy you both agree,
therefore I need you both to clear your schedules in two weeks.
We’re going to New York to shop for our dresses. Beverly and my
mother will be coming as well. I just have to make sure they are
free and then I will be making the appointment
tomorrow.”

They are like children in a candy
store, jumping for joy. I go over the colors I have picked out with
them and they become even more excited. As my work day comes to an
end, I decide to call my mother and Beverly so they can clear there
schedule for the upcoming trip. My mother immediately accepts so I
phone Beverly next. She picks up after the second ring.

“
Hello Carmen. How are you?
Timothy and I are thrilled we are going to have you for a daughter
in law!”

“Hey Beverly, everything is going
great so far. I can’t wait to walk down the aisle to marry Cooper.
But first things first, are you free in two weekends? The girls and
I as well as my mom are going to NYC to pick out our dresses. I
figured we would make a weekend event.”

I have my fingers crossed she has
no prior engagements.

“
No. I’m clear and excited to come
along. I appreciate you including me.” She replies.

“
That’s great news. Ok, so I will
be calling the Vera Wang Bridal House tomorrow, I’ll be in touch.
Thanks Beverly.”

After hanging up I gather the wedding
magazines, shut down my computer and head to my man’s
house.

“
Hey you,” he says as I walk up
the steps.

“
Hey, baby. How was your day?” He
kisses me and then we step inside.

Cooper hands me a glass of Moscato
and we take a seat on the wrap around leather couch. I go over
everything that has happened today. He loves the invitations and
color scheme so I make note to let my mom know to go ahead with the
order. His schedule is also clear to meet Pastor Jenkins this
weekend, so I will call tomorrow to schedule a meeting with him
Saturday afternoon. We then discuss our engagement announcement,
and set April 4th for our portrait to be taken. The park has
several options for a wonderful engagement photo outside if the
weather permits. My mom has already hired Lindsey to do
photography, who did an excellent job with Cooper’s birthday
party.