Soul - Colby Brock

Ninety-Three

I was lying on my front on a towel at the beach listening to Kat and Devyn gossip next to me. I wore a flowy top and denim shorts. The boys were being themselves away from us so we'd have some peace. I was scrolling through Instagram when the girls went silent. I looked at them questioningly then felt someone sit by me. I looked up at Colby's face. "We'll leave you two alone." Devyn smirked and stood up.

"What? You don't have to." I rolled my eyes when they giggled and ran off to their boyfriends.

"Hi."

"Hi." I turned my phone off, noticing it was about to die anyway. Colby was staring at my ring again. It's something we both do a lot, too much, probably. "How long were you planning this?" I asked him. He got comfortable, leaning back on his arms so that he could feel the sun on his front.

"Just before you went to prison is when I first thought about it then I was thinking about my future and I see you in it. So, I went for it." I smiled at that. He thinks about our future.

"What else do you think about?" I leaned my head on my hands because I couldn't be bothered to keep my head up alone.

"Honestly?" I nodded. "Well, specifically when I think about our future, I always end up thinking about kids, you know? I mean, you already have Gracie."

"You have her, too." I frowned when he said that. Does he not know how much she loves him?

"Yes, but biologically. But, what I was saying is that I definitely want to have a family with you in the future... it's just whether you'd want one with me." I grabbed his hand, messing with his rings.

"Of course I want a family with you, Colby. I said yes, didn't I?" I raised an eyebrow so he smiled and laughed. 

"Yes, you did. You don't even know how happy that actually made me."

"I think I do." we made eye contact for a few moments. "How has it been over a year with you?" I flicked my gaze between his eyes.

"I know. I mean, that one year has been a little dramatic, but it does feel like it's gone quick." I frowned, thinking about what he'd said.

"Babe? When you say kids... how soon do you mean?" Colby didn't answer for a little while. He stared at the ocean while I kept my other thoughts to myself.

"I'm not sure if I'm honest. I mean, I love Gracie and do sometimes see her as my own but I know how difficult a real baby can be, you know? Well, of course, you know; you have Gracie. You've raised her from birth."

"I wouldn't say I did a very good job, though."

"What are you talking about?" he frowned at me. I smiled slightly at his face.

"Well, after she walked for the first time, I left her to my sister so that I could go off and kill people or steal or generally do stuff against the law. I picked that over my own daughter."

"You didn't know any better. You were what? Fifteen, fourteen? You were too young to have a child and you did what you could. Emily already had a child. If anything, you did the best thing for Gracie because of how close she is to her cousin and her aunt and her uncle." I looked down at the towel beneath us. As cheesy as it was, he tipped up my chin to look at him. "You did the best you could so don't beat yourself up about it, ok?"

"Ok." I said while nodding. He leaned down to kiss me.

The next day, we were going through the guests for our wedding. We were planning on having it in November, which gives us a few months to prepare everything. Our parents still didn't know that we were even engaged yet. We made a schedule for what we're going to get and when such as the dress etcetera. I'd managed to convince him not to have anything big and we weren't doing most of the traditional things such as the first dance, cake, or having speeches. Hate us if you want but it's how we'll both like it.

I was torn between my friends for whose going to be the maid of honor. There's Kat, Devyn, or Faith as the options but I didn't know who to pick. My gut told me Faith because she's been through the prison with me but I've known both Kat and Devyn for longer. Colby has it easy, though, because everyone knows that Sam's going to be the one to take on that role. Eventually, I decided on Kat because I'm closest to her. Devyn and Faith are going to be bridesmaids. Plus, it will be cute to have the best man and the maid of honor to be a couple.