Damaged Beyond Repair by Kashmira Kamat (KittyKash) (ebook reader below 3000 .txt) 📖

Rowan's eyes lit up, that dimple kissed smile turned cocky. He brought his face close to my ear, "Just don't talk about this private class with anyone, alright?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because they are booked exclusively for you." He winked.

I laughed. My laugher died down the minute he unbuckled my bra.

"You're in good hands. I promise. Just relax, and the moment you tell me to stop. I will stop, okay?"

That put me at ease. I was grateful I hadn't hooked up with just a random someone from school back home. Rowan made it all seem special; he didn't seem like the horny teenager just wanting to get off with his girlfriend somehow. And, he was so much mature in a good way.

"I love you so much, Alana. I'll make this special for you."

****

It had to be past mid-night when I heard a soft knock at the door, but before I could respond to the knock, the door opened on its own. I squinted in the darkness for better vision.

Minnie stood at the entrance, holding a stuffed bunny, "Daddy."

I noticed Rowan sleeping face down in the covers, snoring softly.

"Daddy." Minnie called out loudly this time, which grabbed Rowan's attention and he sat up at once.

His tousled hair gave him an entirely different look; he could walk out of that bed and still make a great cover model. Was I drooling?

"Minnie." Rowan blinked twice, "What's wrong, sweetheart? It's late."

"There is a boogieman in ma room. I'm sch-ared." She walked further into the room, towards our bed, "Can I cheep with you?"

Then she noticed me in the bed. Oh God. Talk about awkward situation, I was thankful to be wearing Rowan's old shirt, she pointed a finger at me, "Did Alana haf a boogieman in her room too? Daddy?"

It took a while to understand what she was trying to imply. I doubled over, followed by Rowan who was close to tumbling down on the floor but we just pretended she hadn't cracked the joke of the millennium.

"Yeah, there was this big Boogieman in my closet like the one in Monsters Inc. I hope you don't mind me sleeping with your daddy."

Did that sound vulgar?

She nodded as she hopped onto the bed and took over the space between me and Rowan, snuggling close to me, wrapping her little arms around me. God. She smelled soap and baby.

"Don't leave me alone on the side, you guys." Rowan snuggled closer to us, wrapping his arm around the both of us.

A dream began to unfold in front of me, where Rowan and I goofed around in front of a large house with a white picket fence and Minnie chased after the large Saint Bernard.

Some candy pink dream.

But wasn't this what I'd longed for?

A nice little family of my own.

And Rowan was offering all that to me, all those things I'd wanted for so long. All those things my parents failed to give me. My crazy tear ducts betrayed me in the end; a drop fell from the corner of my eye. The route to my happy ending looked so clear, but I knew there were large sized thorns on the way that were likely to tear us apart and make me bleed. Make us bleed. But as much as I wanted to reach that castle, I wanted to take Rowan along with me. The million dollar question was. How?

*****

My eye opened at the crack of dawn, the sunlight that poured from the window probably woke me up. I noticed the large muscular hand around me, keeping me from moving any limp. I appreciate the affection but it was going to choke the remaining life out of me. I tried to lift Rowan's arm off me, "Rowan."

That only had him strangle me even more, mumbling in some other worldly language, "Baby, your strangling me with your hulky arms."

Where the hell was Minnie? I managed to pull my torso upward and noticed Minnie sleeping on the other side of bed with her mouth open. Was that drool on the pillow?

I stretched my arms behind me and caught something ruffle below the cushion. I reached under the cushion and felt a soft square box graze my fingers. I pulled it out to find a velvet blue box. I pulled it open and my eyes twinkled as the sparking object stared back at me.

"Rowan."

He was already propped on his elbows, smiling gleefully at me, those dimples doing more magic.

"What's this?"

Rowan thumbed the ring which was a beautiful platinum studded with delicate little diamonds, looking out of place in Rowan's large palm.

"May I?" he asked for my hand, I willingly slipped mine in his. Rowan pushed the sparking ring in my ring finger. "I want this to remind you of me."

"I know I'm quite old school." he continued, "Well you can't expect anything better from an old man."

I snorted, "You make it sound like you're eighty." My eyes traveled back to the ring. I was totally awe-struck, "It's lovely, Rowan, Thank you so much, you've already given me enough. Why did you have to go so far as to get this?"

"Because it's important that you know, you are mine." he grinned, "I don't want to lose my ticket to the Happily Ever After Land."

If I were a painter, I'd want to draw him all day.

I grinned back. I liked the sound of it, but he wasn't finished yet, "I want a future together with you, Alana, I want to share what I have with you. You're the only one who loves me for what I'm and..whether you agree with me or not, you're kind enough to be still sticking around with me, because you need guts to deal with my crap. I'm an alcoholic, and I have a baggage of issues, and I tried to you push you away, but god help me, I can't. I love you. I used to be your teacher and I should've stopped having these feelings for you, but I can't help it." He paused to wipe that silly tear off my face, "So I dream of spending my life with this wonderful and amazing person that's you. Is that so wrong?"