The next few days speed on like a r

The next few days speed on like a rocket. Whereas everything in my life seemed to slog by in slow motion before, now it was blasting forward. There’s been some bumps along the way but that’s to be expected when everything around you does a 180, even if it’s for the better.
The better, of course, is having Bram back in our lives. The worse is that it’s taken a little bit for Ava to pull herself out of her whole episode. It’s been three days and she spent a full one at the hospital, recovering. Luckily, James was proactive and he kicked in my health insurance the moment I got promoted, so there were no financial scares this time around.
I’m still at Kayla’s, which is fine. Ava and I are used to it. Being back with Bram is so new and fresh still, and things have changed in the last two months that it’s taking a while for us to get used to each other again. In fact, I haven’t even slept with him after he told me he loved me. I know that’s a bit shocking, but it hasn’t felt right. Not yet, anyway.
Honestly, I haven’t really been alone with Bram. Other than being at the hospital together, I’m still working my ass off at the Lion, refusing to relax even if he’s back in my life.
This evening though, is quiet. It’s a Saturday night but the city is going through a rare heatwave, complete with actual sunshine, so I guess everyone is hogging up all the prime patio space on the streets and by the bay. A stuffy Irish pub is the last place people want to be.
“Hey, gorgeous,” I hear, that beautiful Scottish brogue breaking me out of my thoughts.
I straighten up from organizing the beer in the fridge and look over at the bar to see Bram strolling in toward me. He’s wearing a suit – of course – but it’s a light stone color and there’s no tie, just his white dress shirt unbuttoned a few, showing off that sexy throat and summer tan. In his hands is a bouquet of pink and blue roses.
“Are those for me?” I ask, totally charmed by the flowers and the man holding them.
“Of course,” he says, standing on the other side of the bar and handing them to me. “I realize that all this time, I never had a chance to properly wine and dine you. You know, like a gentleman would. All my wooing was through my pants.”
I flush at that and grin. “Well, I can’t say I objected to Bram McGregor’s particular style of wooing.”
“Even so,” he goes on, “since we’re all about starting over in one way or another, I’d like to ask you out on a date.”
“Right now?”
He nods. “Aye. I called Kayla and she’s agreed to keep watching Ava as long as I treat you right. Actually, she was a lot more, erm, brutal than that.”
Kayla, God bless her.
“So, are you ready? Seems kind of dead in here.” He eyes the place, biting his lip, as if this whole date thing has him a bit nervous. How cute.
I look over at James who’s been pretending not to listen but actually has. “James?” I ask.
He waves at me dismissively. “Go.”
So I do. Of course the only problem with going from bar to date is the fact that I don’t have any nice clothes with me.
I grab my purse, hoping that at least my makeup and hair are holding up after the shift, and hook my arm around Bram’s.
“I hope you’re not taking me somewhere fancy because I don’t have any nice clothes on me.”
“Clothes?” he says, raising his brow and doing his best Doc Brown impression. “Where we’re going we don’t need clothes.”
I giggle. “All right, weirdo. Naked restaurant it is.”
“You’ll see,” is all he says, voice husky, and suddenly all I want is to never mind the date and just screw his brains out. It’s been far, far too long and he feels far, far too good.
He takes me out into the hot, stuffy night and into his waiting Mercedes. We drive through the city and I get the impression we’re just kind of meandering. I can’t complain though. With the windows down, the breeze in my hair and Bram’s warm hand on my thigh, it’s a perfect night with only good things coming our way, I can tell.
“How is Matthew doing?” I ask him. I don’t mean to bring him up but Bram’s only talked about him in passing here and there. I know that Matthew and his mom live down in SoCal and they have their own little life going on. So far things seem wonderfully uncomplicated but still, I want Bram to know that it’s okay to talk about him. I don’t mind.
“He’s fine,” he says, his eyes gleaming under the passing streetlights as we begin to zig-zag down the famous Lombard Street, the most crooked street in the world. Normally going down the street makes me dizzy but tonight I feel nothing but alive.
Bram goes on, “I don’t talk to him that often, you know. It’s still a bit strange for both of us. Especially since we both knew about the other but we don’t have that relationship whatsoever. He thinks I’m just some friend of his mom, even though he knows that I’m his father. I guess the word just doesn’t apply other than in technical terms. But I’m all right with that…these things take time and I have no need to intrude on their little unit, you know?”
I can’t help but smile softly. “I think you intruding on me and Ava’s little unit was the best thing that could have happened to us.”
He takes his eyes off the road to look at me. “Do you really mean that?”
“Of course,” I tell him. “You changed our lives. And yeah, maybe it was a bit, turbulent, for a while there. But I think it sorted itself out.”
He sighs, his hands gripping and ungripping the wheel. “You know, I just keep wanting to apologize. Every single day.”
“Don’t. You’ve said enough.”
“I know,” he says emphatically. “But it feels like it’s not enough. You’re too good for me, Nicola.”
“No,” I tell him. “I’m not. And you’re not too good for me. I think we’re good together and that’s enough. It’s more than enough.”
Bram doesn’t say anything to that and we drive through a beautiful, comfortable silence. We head across the Golden Gate Bridge and the city sparkles in the side-mirrors, a ghost in the night. I’m finally about to ask where we’re actually going but he pulls the car off to the side and we climb the steep hills to a viewpoint overlooking the city.
There are a couple of cars there, tourists or locals or romantics taking in the sight of the glowing bridge. But we drive further down the lot and park at the end so we’re completely alone.
“This doesn’t look like dinner,” I tell him.
He’s looking at me like he’s going to devour me and then I know what’s really on the menu.
He jerks his head at the backseat and I crane my neck to look as he flicks on the interior light.
There’s a picnic basket back there. I hadn’t noticed it earlier. He leans back, twisting in his seat, and that wonderfully manly, fresh smell of his makes me tingly all over. I don’t dare tell him that I used to sleep with an old shirt of his just to keep smelling him as I fell asleep at night, pretending he was there.
“Ta-da,” he says, lifting up the basket. I see a bottle of red wine and a bunch of appetizers in colorful containers – antipasto, olives, bread, cheese, fruit, Greek salad, quinoa. It all looks absolutely fabulous. “I thought we could have our first date here. Can’t get a better view than this.”
We take out a blanket he has in the trunk and lay it on the grass at the foot of the car. He plays Lovage from his portable iPhone speakers and lights the scene with a few electric candles. We spread out the food and wine and we have ourselves a beautiful feast. It’s just us and the city at our feet. I didn’t think it was possible to fall in love with Bram McGregor all over again, but it is.
It so fucking is.
And after we’re done and the white chocolate covered raspberries are licked off each other’s fingers, we start, well, we start licking more than that. And I discover my love for him goes further and further.
We make love on that blanket, like the exhibitionists we are. The other patrons of the parking lot are too far away to see, and they couldn’t anyway from their angle, but it wouldn’t matter anyway. Beneath this rare open night sky and these blinding stars that the fog so often hides, we are deeper into each other than we ever have been before. When he pushes inside me, I feel so complete that it brings tears to my eyes and when I come, softly, whimpering into his sweat-soaked neck, those tears unleash.
“Why are you crying, sweetheart?” he whispers, voice slow and sated.
“Because I love you,” I tell him. “And I can’t imagine anything better.”
He brushes my tears away and doesn’t pull out, even though we’ve both come. He stays in me until he can’t anymore.
Later, when we pull up to Kayla’s apartment, he puts the car in park and then twists in his seat to face me.
“Nicola,” he says, sounding grave.
I swallow, suddenly on alert. “What?”
He takes my hands in his and squeezes them. He clears his throat and looks down at my hands. “I’m going to ask you something. And then I’m going to ask Ava. And if you both say yes, then I might just be the luckiest fucker in the entire world.” He pauses, his eyes flitting to mine. “Will you both move in with me?”
“Are you kidding?” I say, wanting to laugh. “Of course we’ll move in with you.”
“Not in my apartment building, I mean in the actual apartment. You’d be sharing it with me.”
“Well, you’d be sharing it with me. And a five-year-old.”
“But that’s a yes?”
I break out into a stupid grin. “That’s a yes.”
He kisses me, fast and deep and beautifully. Then we make our way upstairs to my soon-to-be-ex apartment.
By luck – or bad babysitting skills – Ava is still awake, playing a game with Kayla.
“Bram!” she says surprised, and runs over to him. He picks her up and gives her a big bear hug.
“What are you doing up, little one? It’s past your bedtime.” He eyes Kayla. “Have you been giving Aunt Kayla trouble?”
I smile at the way he’s such a natural around her. He puts her back down on the ground and she looks at him shyly.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Beberapa hari berikutnya kecepatan pada seperti roket. Sedangkan segala sesuatu dalam hidup saya tampaknya bekerja keras oleh dalam gerakan lambat sebelum, sekarang itu was peledakan maju. Ada beberapa gundukan di sepanjang jalan tapi itu diharapkan ketika segala sesuatu di sekitar Anda melakukan 180, bahkan jika itu adalah untuk menjadi lebih baik.Semakin baik, tentu saja, adalah memiliki Bram kembali dalam hidup kita. Yang lebih buruk adalah bahwa hal itu telah mengambil sedikit untuk Ava untuk menarik diri dari seluruh episod nya. Sudah tiga hari dan ia menghabiskan satu penuh di rumah sakit, memulihkan. Untungnya, James adalah proaktif dan dia menendang dalam asuransi kesehatan saya saat saya mendapat promosi, jadi tidak ada takut keuangan saat ini sekitar.Aku masih di Kayla, mana baik. Ava dan saya digunakan untuk itu. Kembali dengan Bram sangat baru dan masih segar, dan hal-hal telah berubah dalam dua bulan terakhir yang itu mengambil beberapa saat bagi kita untuk mendapatkan digunakan untuk satu sama lain lagi. Bahkan, aku belum bahkan tidur dengan dia setelah dia bilang dia mencintaiku. Aku tahu itu agak mengejutkan, tapi itu tidak merasa benar. Tidak Namun, bagaimanapun.Jujur, saya benar-benar belum sendirian dengan Bram. Selain berada di rumah sakit bersama-sama, saya masih bekerja pantatku di Lion, menolak untuk bersantai bahkan jika dia kembali dalam hidup saya.Malam ini meskipun, tenang. Ini Sabtu malam tapi kota akan melalui gelombang panas langka, lengkap dengan sinar matahari yang sebenarnya, jadi saya rasa semua orang yang memonopoli Semua Ruang utama teras di jalanan dan oleh bay. Sebuah pub Irlandia yang tersumbat adalah tempat terakhir orang ingin menjadi."Hei, cantik," Aku mendengar, logat bahasa Skotlandia yang indah yang melanggar saya keluar dari pikiranku.Saya berdiri tegak dari pengorganisasian bir di lemari es dan lihatlah di bar untuk melihat Bram berjalan-jalan di ke arahku. Dia memakai jas-tentu saja- tetapi cahaya warna batu dan ada tidak ada dasi, hanya kemeja gaun putih membuka kancing beberapa, memamerkan bahwa seksi tenggorokan dan musim panas cokelat. Di tangannya adalah buket mawar merah muda dan biru."Apakah itu untukku?" Saya bertanya, benar-benar terpesona oleh bunga-bunga dan pria memegang mereka."Tentu," Dia berkata, berdiri di sisi lain dari bar dan menyerahkan mereka kepada saya. "Saya menyadari bahwa selama ini, aku tidak pernah punya kesempatan untuk benar menikmati anggur dan bersantap Anda. Kau tahu, seperti seorang pria akan. Semua saya merayu adalah melalui celana saya."Aku flush itu dan sanggup. "Yah, aku tidak bisa mengatakan saya keberatan untuk gaya tertentu Bram McGregor merayu.""Meskipun demikian," Dia melanjutkan, "karena kita semua tentang mulai lagi dari awal dalam satu atau lain cara, saya ingin meminta Anda keluar berkencan.""Sekarang?"Dia mengangguk. "Aye. Aku menelepon Kayla dan dia telah setuju untuk tetap menonton Ava selama saya memperlakukan Anda tepat. Sebenarnya, dia adalah jauh lebih banyak, erm, brutal dari itu."Kayla, Tuhan memberkatinya."Jadi, Apakah Anda siap? Tampaknya seperti mati di sini." Dia mata tempat, menggigit bibir nya, seolah-olah hal seluruh tanggal ini telah membuatnya sedikit gugup. Bagaimana lucu.Saya melihat lebih dari James yang telah telah berpura-pura tidak mendengarkan tetapi benar-benar memiliki. "James?" Saya bertanya.Ia gelombang pada saya dismissively. "Pergi."Jadi saya lakukan. Tentu saja satu-satunya masalah dengan pergi dari bar untuk tanggal adalah kenyataan bahwa saya tidak memiliki apapun pakaian bagus dengan saya.Saya ambil dompet saya, berharap bahwa setidaknya makeup dan rambut saya memegang setelah pergeseran, dan menghubungkan lenganku di sekitar Bram Stoker."Saya berharap Anda tidak mengambil saya di suatu tempat mewah karena aku tidak memiliki pakaian bagus pada saya.""Pakaian?" Dia mengatakan, menaikkan dahinya dan melakukan kesannya Doc Brown terbaik. "Mana kita akan kita tidak perlu pakaian."Aku tertawa. "Baiklah, aneh. Restoran telanjang itu.""Anda akan melihat," adalah semua yang katanya, suara husky, dan tiba-tiba semua yang saya inginkan adalah untuk tidak pernah keberatan tanggal dan hanya sekrup otaknya keluar. Sudah jauh, terlalu lama dan ia merasa jauh, terlalu baik.Ia membawa aku keluar ke dalam malam panas, pengap dan nya menunggu Mercedes. Kami melewati kota dan saya mendapatkan kesan kita berada hanya jenis berkelok-kelok. Meskipun aku tidak bisa mengeluh. Dengan windows turun, dengan angin di rambut saya dan Bram Stoker tangan hangat di pahaku, itu adalah malam yang sempurna dengan hanya hal baik datang dengan cara kami, saya dapat memberitahu."Bagaimana Matthew lakukan?" Aku bertanya kepadanya. Saya tidak bermaksud untuk membawa dia tapi Bram Stoker hanya berbicara tentang dia di lewat di sana-sini. Aku tahu bahwa Matthew dan ibunya tinggal di SoCal dan mereka memiliki kehidupan mereka sendiri sedikit terjadi. Sejauh hal tampaknya sangat sederhana tapi masih, saya ingin Bram untuk mengetahui bahwa tidak apa-apa untuk berbicara tentang dirinya. Saya tidak keberatan."Ia baik-baik saja," katanya, matanya berkilauan di bawah lampu jalan lewat ketika kita mulai untuk zig-zag di jalan Lombard yang terkenal, jalan paling bengkok di dunia. Biasanya akan turun jalan membuat saya pusing tapi malam ini saya merasakan apa-apa tapi masih hidup.Bram melanjutkan, "Aku tidak berbicara kepadanya yang sering, Anda tahu. Hal ini masih sedikit aneh bagi kami berdua. Terutama karena kita berdua tahu tentang yang lain tetapi kita tidak memiliki hubungan apapun. Dia mengira aku hanya beberapa teman ibunya, meskipun dia tahu bahwa aku ayahnya. Saya kira kata hanya tidak berlaku lain dari segi teknis. Tapi aku baik dengan itu... hal ini membutuhkan waktu dan saya merasa tidak butuh mengganggu unit mereka sedikit, Anda tahu? "Aku tidak bisa membantu tetapi tersenyum lembut. "Saya pikir Anda mengganggu saya dan unit kecil darisri Marintan adalah hal terbaik yang bisa terjadi kepada kita."Dia mengambil mata dari jalan untuk melihat saya. "Apakah Anda benar-benar berarti bahwa?""Tentu," Aku katakan padanya. "Anda mengubah kehidupan kita. Dan ya, mungkin itu sedikit, bergolak, untuk sementara tidak. "Tapi saya pikir itu beres itu sendiri."Ia mendesah, tangannya mencengkeram dan ungripping roda. "Kau tahu, aku hanya tetap ingin minta maaf. Setiap hari.""Tidak. Anda telah mengatakan cukup.""Aku tahu," katanya tegas. "Tapi rasanya seperti itu tidak cukup. Anda terlalu baik untuk saya, Nicola.""Tidak," Aku katakan padanya. "Aku tidak. Dan Anda tidak terlalu baik untuk saya. Saya pikir kita sedang baik bersama-sama dan itu sudah cukup. Sudah lebih dari cukup".Bram tidak mengatakan apa-apa untuk itu dan kami melewati keheningan yang indah dan nyaman. Kami kepala di Golden Gate Bridge dan kota berkilau di sisi-cermin, hantu di malam hari. Saya akhirnya akan bertanya mana kita benar-benar akan tetapi ia menarik mobil ke sisi dan kami mendaki curam untuk sudut pandang yang menghadap ke kota.Ada beberapa mobil ada, wisatawan atau penduduk setempat atau romantisme mengambil dalam pemandangan Jembatan bercahaya. Tapi kita berkendara jauh dan banyak taman di akhir jadi kita benar-benar sendirian."Ini tidak terlihat seperti makan malam," Aku katakan padanya.Dia menatapku seperti dia akan menjilat saya dan kemudian saya tahu apa itu benar-benar pada menu.Ia tersentak kepala di kursi belakang dan saya crane leher saya terlihat seperti dia film pada cahaya interior.Ada keranjang piknik kembali ke sana. Aku tidak melihat itu sebelumnya. Ia bersandar kembali, memutar tempat duduknya, dan yang mengagumkan jantan, segar wangi membuat nya saya menggelenyar seluruh. Saya tidak berani mengatakan kepadanya bahwa aku digunakan untuk tidur dengan kemeja tua nya hanya untuk tetap berbau kepadanya saat aku jatuh tertidur di malam hari, berpura-pura dia ada di sana."Ta-da," katanya, mengangkat keranjang. Saya melihat botol anggur merah dan sekelompok makanan pembuka dalam wadah yang berwarna-warni-antipasto, buah zaitun, roti, keju, buah, salad Yunani, quinoa. Ini semua terlihat benar-benar menakjubkan. "Saya pikir kita bisa memiliki kencan pertama kami di sini. Tidak bisa mendapatkan pandangan yang lebih baik daripada ini."We take out a blanket he has in the trunk and lay it on the grass at the foot of the car. He plays Lovage from his portable iPhone speakers and lights the scene with a few electric candles. We spread out the food and wine and we have ourselves a beautiful feast. It’s just us and the city at our feet. I didn’t think it was possible to fall in love with Bram McGregor all over again, but it is.It so fucking is.And after we’re done and the white chocolate covered raspberries are licked off each other’s fingers, we start, well, we start licking more than that. And I discover my love for him goes further and further.We make love on that blanket, like the exhibitionists we are. The other patrons of the parking lot are too far away to see, and they couldn’t anyway from their angle, but it wouldn’t matter anyway. Beneath this rare open night sky and these blinding stars that the fog so often hides, we are deeper into each other than we ever have been before. When he pushes inside me, I feel so complete that it brings tears to my eyes and when I come, softly, whimpering into his sweat-soaked neck, those tears unleash.“Why are you crying, sweetheart?” he whispers, voice slow and sated.“Because I love you,” I tell him. “And I can’t imagine anything better.”He brushes my tears away and doesn’t pull out, even though we’ve both come. He stays in me until he can’t anymore.Later, when we pull up to Kayla’s apartment, he puts the car in park and then twists in his seat to face me.“Nicola,” he says, sounding grave.I swallow, suddenly on alert. “What?”He takes my hands in his and squeezes them. He clears his throat and looks down at my hands. “I’m going to ask you something. And then I’m going to ask Ava. And if you both say yes, then I might just be the luckiest fucker in the entire world.” He pauses, his eyes flitting to mine. “Will you both move in with me?”“Are you kidding?” I say, wanting to laugh. “Of course we’ll move in with you.”“Not in my apartment building, I mean in the actual apartment. You’d be sharing it with me.”“Well, you’d be sharing it with me. And a five-year-old.”“But that’s a yes?”I break out into a stupid grin. “That’s a yes.”He kisses me, fast and deep and beautifully. Then we make our way upstairs to my soon-to-be-ex apartment.By luck – or bad babysitting skills – Ava is still awake, playing a game with Kayla.“Bram!” she says surprised, and runs over to him. He picks her up and gives her a big bear hug.“What are you doing up, little one? It’s past your bedtime.” He eyes Kayla. “Have you been giving Aunt Kayla trouble?”I smile at the way he’s such a natural around her. He puts her back down on the ground and she looks at him shyly.