Richard felt Maine stir. She was lying on him, her head resting on his chest close to his heart, an arm on his waist claiming possession. One arm was around her shoulders, his fingers brushing her upper arm in an up and down motion.
He'd been up for some time now and just watched her sleep. He let out a contented sigh as Maine slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him when their eyes met. She cuddled closer and buried her head on the crook of his neck.
"I will enjoy waking up like this everyday," Maine sighed.
"We've been waking up like this since Martin forced us to share a room," Richard chuckled as he caressed her cheek with his free hand.
"We don't get to do this back home," she remarked. "Besides, this is different."
"How is it different?"
"You've never made love to me those previous nights."
He tightened his hold on her and said, "how are you feeling?"
"I feel fine."
"Seriously, Maine," Richard said as he looked at her from her position on his chest. "How are you? Does it hurt anywhere?"
"I'm really fine, my Home," Maine remarked as she shifted her position to face him. "Admittedly a little sore but you were wonderful. I think I'm up for another round."
"Another round?" He said in surprise. "Don't tempt me, my Heart. I've been wanting you since we've been together. I can do this all day."
"Can we?"
"Oh, how you test my willpower, Heart. If we're not flying back to Manila later, I'll take you up on that."
Maine pouted which made Richard chuckle and pulled her closer to him.
"Well," he commented with a soft chuckle. "You're an insatiable little vixen. Who knew that about you."
"Only with you, Home."
He leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. Maine laid back down on his chest, savouring their closeness.
"Home?"
"Hmm?"
"Can we keep our engagement from the team at the moment?" She asked while she played with her ring. "I want our families to know first."
"I have no problem with that," Richard replied. "You'd better keep the ring then. But our parents already have an idea since I've asked Tito and Tita for your hand."
"When did you manage to do that?"
"That time when you went out to lunch with your friend, Reese," he explained. "I also took our parents out for lunch and that's when I asked permission to marry you."
"Dad gave you a hard time, didn't he?" She inquired.
"Of course," he replied. "Well, both of them did. Although, Tito Teddy more than Tita Me-Ann."
"So," she asked. "What did you guys talked about?"
"Can I just keep that between me and our parents for the time being?" He requested as pulled her to him, kissing the top of her head. "I'm sure it will come up on family reunions. Along with the Rich's room incident."
He felt Maine's body shake with fits of giggles. Yes, he knew that he would never live that down.
"Speaking of reunions," Maine said. "Do you think we could get Teena for a flower girl? I know we've barely kept in touch with the family, but I miss Teena."
"I could ask Jay," Richard replied. "We have been in communication recently. We've been trying to track down if we were related."
"Are you?"
"Our dads are actually second cousins," he explained. "We drifted away when our parents were separated. That's why even when dad knew Jay's family lived in New York, we never really reached out.
"What about you? Are you and Dei related?"
"Dei is still tracing it," she replied. "We are a huge clan. She's still confirming if VP's wife is related to her. She'd only recently confirmed Panda."
"Who's VP?"
"The one who's real name is Alden."
"Oh," Richard said simply and held Maine closer to him. "And Panda is the one married to 'chubby cheeks'."
Maine giggled and remarked, "His name is also Richard."
"I think everyone of us in this generation of Faulkersons has a 'Richard' to our name," he said. "And I thought Rich and I were special."
Maine chuckled at his statement then kept silent for awhile.
"It actually made me wonder," she suddenly said. "If I had been able to go to a reunion back when I was younger, would I have met them? I wasn't able to leave the house before. And my parents didn't host reunions because I wouldn't be able to play with my cousins. I never met any of them. Except for one. Deianna. She and her dad visited once and we bonded over books. I'm just sad we weren't able to keep in touch when we moved to Laguna."
"I'm sure you'd find her again," he kissed her temple affectionately.
There was once more comfortable silence between them as they basked in the afterglow of their love making.
"Does Martin know about you proposing last night?" She asked.
"Nope."
"You had the ring with you all this time?"
"Martin had it," he remarked. "He just didn't know it was the ring. If you noticed the box, it's a bit deep. I had a bracelet with a guitar pick at the top covering the ring when I gave it to Martin."
He reached out and opened the drawer of the bedside table and rummaged for the bracelet. When he got it, he placed it around Maine's wrist. It looked simple, the bracelet itself was made from yellow leather tied on the loop, making it easy to adjust the length. It only had one ornament, a black guitar pick made of onyx.
She held her wrist up to look at her gift and smiled. She was about to say something but Richard said something first.
"I hope you like it," he started. "You can also use that for the guitar I got you."
"You really got me a guitar?" Maine asked as she looked up go him once more.
"Yes," he replied and reached out to caress her cheek. "It's back home. I couldn't possibly bring it with us on this flight. You would have noticed and it's extra baggage that we don't really need."
"I already said 'yes', my Home," she teased. "You don't need to convince me further. You make me feel really special."
"You are special, my Heart," he declared. "And I promise to make you feel that way all the time. I love you."
"And I love you," she replied softly.
Richard adjusted Maine's position so that she was on top of him, then he kissed her. His hand reaching the back of her neck to keep her in place as he deepened the kiss. Maine moaned as his other hand went lower to her back, pressing her closer so that she could feel his hardness. She gasped when he suddenly turned them over so that he was on top and she was lying down underneath him.
"So," he smirked. "Round two?"
-oo-
It turned out that Maine had the same idea as Richard when she gave her gift to him to celebrate their six months. She got him the exact same onyx guitar pick, but it was placed on a silver chain that Richard was now wearing around his neck.
They were checking out at the hotel when Marc's team arrived. As was their previous agreement, Maine kept the engagement ring for the time being, deciding to wear it when they were driving back to Laguna so they can announce to their parents. But like Richard, she was wearing the bracelet that he gave her, which Adele noticed when she stood beside them at the reception.
"Aww..." Adele gushed. "You guys have couple stuff now. That's so cute! Inconspicuous yet blatant at the same time."
Marc, who stood beside Adele, was about to make a joke when he stopped and just stared at the couple for a moment. He suddenly exclaimed, "seriously? You guys hate me that much that you couldn't do it in New York?"
"What are you talking about, Captain?"
But Marc ignored his Head FA and continued, "who won?"
Maine looked up at Richard with a curious look on her face and said, "that got me curious too. Who did win? Do you know?"
"Oh my God!" Marc exclaimed. "You're not denying it!"
"Why would I deny the best night of my life?"
"What are you guys talking about?"
"It's nothing, Adele," Richard smiled, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "Marc is just being a sore loser."
"Well," Marc retorted. "I would have been five thousand bucks richer, man."
"Five thousand?" Maine's eyes widen in surprise. "If I'd known, I should have placed my bet too."
"That would be unfair, Maine," he chided. "All you need to do is pick a date and I'm sure Jase here would be more than happy to oblige."
Maine fell silent and suddenly looked away, a blush forming on her face. Richard found it cute but he looked at Marc sternly. He pulled Maine to him, his arm draped on her shoulders as she buried her head on his chest.
As Marc looked at the couple, he sighed. He then said, "I think I'm man enough to admit that the better man won here. You guys really do look great together. You have one heck of a girl there, Jase. Congratulations on finally staking your claim."
He held his hand out for Richard to take. Richard shook his head and gave a smile but reached out to take Marc's hand.
"Oh my God!" Adele suddenly exclaimed. "Are you guys talking about what I think you're talking about?"
"A bit slow on the uptake, Adele," said Marc with a smirk. "Tired?"
"You try to calm down two irate passengers who has done nothing but complain the whole flight and a crying baby," she retorted. "Let's see how you handle it.
"Why did I ever agree to let you go, Maine? You were one of the better ones on my team. Is it too late to get you back?"
Richard held Maine tighter as he wrapped his arms in an embrace.
"Sorry, Adele," he remarked. "She's never leaving my side. Besides, I'm not the only one you would have to contend with. Martin's with me on this. He also doesn't want to give up Maine."
"That's too bad," she sighed. "Can I move to your team instead?"
"I see a pattern here," Marc shook his head and sighed. "Do people really hate me that much?"
"Yes," they all cried in unison but laughed immediately after.
The front desk called their attention then, finalizing the check-out of Richard and Maine, and providing the rooms for Marc and Adele's flight team.
After a few more words, they parted ways with the couple heading for the subway back to Hotel Richmond where their team would be.
"One team down," Maine said. "Two more to go."
"Martin would be harder to keep this from," Richard stated.
"I'm sure we could manage," she replied. "It will only be a couple of days. We can pull this off, I'm sure of it."
"Together."
He rearranged their already clasped hands so that their fingers intertwined. Richard kissed the back of her palm tenderly.
"Together."