34. Celebration Time

Johanna

J o held tight to Ali’s hand. She fought the urge to lift it to her mouth so she could kiss it. Probably wouldn’t be the most appropriate time. However, she shouldn’t care. No one should. At this point, it was no surprise that Ali and Jo were a committed couple. They shouted from the rooftops, every chance they could, that they were in love with one another. What was left? Just putting it out to HR. It was merely a formality. Even HR couldn’t deny that they were connected at the hip.

“You do know that this could bring you consequences from some employees and co-workers, right?” Matthew was acting CEO, while the real guy was out on medical leave. Jo hadn’t been around him much and didn’t know how he would be when they were making their request, but from the moment they sat down he seemed to have a superiority complex.

“We don’t care,” Ali immediately stated.

He glanced over to Jo and stared. Jo quickly nodded. “By now everyone that we work with already knows. This is only getting it in writing, so no one can say we’re trying to hide it from anyone.”

“But the truth is, you were hiding it from someone, right? You were hiding it from everyone. The fact is that until you were found out, you had no intention coming forward. Am I wrong?”

Jo’s brows furrowed. “Excuse me, but I don’t really think it’s anyone’s business how we started or when we started. We’re attempting to do the right thing. I turned down the promotion and no harm were done. Am I wrong?”

Jo shot a look towards Ali. She wanted to pull her in her arms and passionately kiss her. She said everything Jo wanted to say but felt too guarded to actually speak up. Matthew snickered and looked down at the papers in front of him. He shrugged and pushed it towards Ali.

“Sign on the bottom,” he said. She moved forward and signed the paper, then moved it over to Jo, pointing where Jo needed to make her signature. Jo quickly signed and moved it back to Matthew. “And with that, it’s official,” he said. “There’s no turning back. You two are able to do whatever you would like with it.” He shrugged. “I’ll make a copy and be sure to get it in both of your charts.”

“Perfect.” With that, Ali leaned forward and kissed Jo. It took her aback, but she didn’t pull back from it. They were officially able to tell the whole hospital how happy they were together, and no one would stop them.

“If it gets in the way of either of your jobs, then you will have a problem. Seeing that I suspect that won’t happen, we shouldn’t have any issues. Am I wrong?” He arched an eyebrow.

Ali shook her head as Jo grinned. “Now,” Ali continued. “I would like to speak with you alone.” She glanced over to Jo. “Mind waiting outside?”

Jo arched an eyebrow. That wasn’t part of the plan. Or at least not a plan that Jo was aware of. Ali seemed so serious; her eyes dark as she continued to gawk in Jo’s direction.

“Just a few minutes,” she assured.

“No problem.” Jo stood up and hesitated before leaving the office. She waited outside, although impatiently, as she wasn’t certain how much longer Ali could be. They had the whole day off and intended on making it a celebration. Jo figured it would be a celebration that lastly mostly in bed, cuddled up together. As time ticked off, she felt anxious, even settling into a rapid pace, until the door flung open, and Ali appeared.

She grinned, moving in closer to Jo. “We love each other, Jo. Nothing will ever change that. Am I wrong?” she winked. Jo tilted her head and slowly shook it, still unsure as to what Ali needed to discuss with Matthew in private. Ali moved in, wrapping her arms around her, and tugging her into a deep and passionate kiss.

“What was that about?” Jo whispered, slowly pulling back.

“Can’t I kiss my girlfriend wherever I want? I mean, we did make it official, right?”

Jo smirked. “Of course, but I was referring to the conversation with Matthew. Are you going to let me in on the secrecy?”

Ali grinned, kissing her softly before reaching for Jo’s hand and shrugging. “Do you trust me?”

“With my life,” Jo commented.

“Then in due time you’ll find out. For now, I’m ready to get you in bed and show you just how much I love you.” Jo laughed as Ali kissed her hard, right in front of Noemi. She could feel Noemi’s eyes on her, and she just wanted to make the show more enticing .

“I love you,” Jo whispered. They then turned and walked hand in hand out of the HR office. She did trust Ali, and if that meant not fully grasping onto everything that Ali was withholding from her, she just had to embrace the fact that they were together and loving the relationship that they had developed over the past month since Ali turned down the job.

Ali shook the can of whipped cream and held onto a devilish smirk, she sprayed a drop onto Jo’s stomach and Jo released a gasp. “Is it cold?” Ali asked.

Jo sighed, taking in a breath. “What would make you ask that?” she teased. She stretched out on the bed, grabbing onto the bed as Ali moved in between her legs. She closed her eyes and tried to get rid of the thoughts of how cold the cream was and just anxiously waited for Ali to lick it off of her. Ali swooped in and slowly rolled her tongue up and down, gulping the cream that was spread across Jo’s stomach. “That feels nice,” Jo groaned.

Ali swirled her tongue around her navel and then licked up the rest of the cream before moving down to between Jo’s legs. Ali’s breath was warm on her opening as Jo wiggled beneath her, waiting for her to move her tongue inside. As soon as she did, Jo released a groan, clamping down on the bed and continuing to slide under Ali as she slipped in and out of her. Her hungered moans kept Jo on her highest high.

Ali withdrew her tongue, then plunged back inside of her, until Jo couldn’t control the urge anymore. She frantically bucked her hip up to Ali’s mouth. “Ali,” she gasped, bucking her hips harder. “Oh God.” She bore down and gasped, releasing a cry that echoed through the room and Ali crashed against her, excitedly taking in Jo’s juice from her orgasm.

Ali held onto Jo’s waist, steading her, allowing herself to go in deeper to gather it up. Jo closed her eyes, her breathing less erratic and waited until Ali moved up her body and to her lips. They kissed each other, both their hearts beating as one. Ali’s hand snaked around her neck, and her tongue moved in to caress Jo’s lower lip. As they made out, engulfed by the covers, Jo shifted her feet and slowly wrapped around Ali’s leg.

When they needed to catch their breaths, Ali fell down to her side and snuggled up against Jo, closed her eyes, and they drifted off to sleep. Jo felt like they had reached the point where every time they were together, intimately, their bond only got stronger. She wasn’t sure how long they were asleep in each other’s arms, but when she opened her eyes, Maverick had found his way down to the foot of the bed. He was resting comfortably, and she felt like he, too, knew how far their relationship had come.

“Hey, beautiful,” Ali whispered. Jo turned and saw Ali was grinning and staring at her. “What are you thinking?” she asked.

“How truly blessed I am.”

Ali smirked. “Correction, babe. How truly blessed we are.” She pulled herself up and moved in for another kiss. Jo held onto Ali’s arm as they kissed, the kiss lingering, drawing tension back to her core.

Jo parted from the kiss and Ali released a satisfied sigh. She moved back in, wrapping her arm around Jo as she held her. “The conversation with Matthew,” Jo started. “When are you going to tell me what that was all about?”

Ali pulled herself up and there was a deep-rooted grin in her eyes. “Let’s just say that the sky is truly our limit.” She winked and Jo opened her mouth, then laughed and shrugged. None of it really mattered because she did trust the woman that had her heart and her body. “So, when’s your lease up?” Ali asked.

Jo smirked. “Talk about changing the subject.” Ali grinned and shrugged. “Well, coincidentally, I was going to discuss that with you. It’s up at the end of the month.”

Ali smiled. “Impeccable timing. I was thinking that maybe it’s time to consider taking our relationship to the next step.”

“Are you asking me to move in with you?” Jo quirked up an eyebrow.

“Well, we could call it that. But I was thinking something even bigger.”

Jo frowned. The only thing bigger was marriage. Were they really going to dive headfirst into marriage? She then smiled. It wasn’t like she would turn down a proposal. She had never been happier and if marriage was something that they both wanted, then why not take that leap? But she also didn’t want to get ahead of herself.

“My place is not really suited for a dog lifestyle. And we have Maverick and there just might be another one on the way. If the feeling moves us both.”

Jo would have never turned down getting another dog, so it would be something that she would eagerly attach her attention to.

“But I started looking at places and there’s a cute house up North. Large fenced-in backyard. It’s right across the street from the dog park.” She shrugged. “Thought maybe we could look at making a big purchase together. What do you say?”

“I say yes!” Jo wrapped her arms around Ali, and they hugged. Ali laughed as Jo fell on top of her and the embrace took over with Jo straddling Ali and pulling back from the hug. “Absolutely!” She moved in and they kissed one another, Ali’s hands lazily lingering on her back. What better step to take on their journey.

Will Ali get the Golden Retriever she’s always wanted? Also, what secret is Ali holding onto? It will all be revealed in the Epilogue. Click here to get all your questions answered!