Three months later

               Life returned to normal for Izzy and I after our Vegas adventure, though it took a little time. We had money now from the movie and book deals, though we weren't rolling in it. If the movie did well then, we'd be in great shape because the deal included me getting a cut of the movie gross as well as the up front $1 million. That seemed like a lot until we paid taxes and looked at the cost of California real estate which is insane. But still, it was enough to cover most of a mortgage on a nice town home in a gated community near the beach, and with the money we were making from the photography and modelling, it was going well. Hell, that didn't even include the money from my channel, which had taken off in a way I'd never imagined.

               Much like Max had once hoped to capitalize on my death to boost his ratings, his attack boosted mine. But it wasn't just the views that changed. We still did the man on the street stuff, but we also branched out. We went back to Casey's shop, and did guest spots with her, showing self-defense products, the best way to use them, all kinds of things. Izzy and I started taking self-defense classes with a local martial artist named Yasmin and ended up learning enough to make us feel a little safer. We liked it so much that we included all the girls from the agency in the class. It became so popular, we even got Tia to hire Yasmin and let her hold the classes in the studio in the evenings, so the building was making a more consistent income.

               This may surprise you, but a bunch of girls in bikinis doing self-defense moves gets a lot of views. Did we also invite Lylah and the gang down to do some crossover videos? Damn right we did. I think that video almost broke the internet when Miki made everyone do it naked for a bit and I had to do a lot of blurring in the editing room. Well, Izzy did, because she was better and faster at it than I was. That episode also got us a ton of new class members, which was good. Sure, some of them just wanted to ogle, but the majority actually learned useful tips and tricks. Miki also interviewed us about our ordeal, which helped us out even more!

But now we have a regular feature where we try to go out on the street and teach people things to look out for. It was good, I felt like I was doing more than offering food and shopping advice. It also broadened our appeal, because while we were still based in California, the self-defense information was useful worldwide.

Tia also looked at what the agency up in San Fran was doing and started branching out a bit more too. We weren't super busy and running around all over, but she started getting little contracts from places in the San Diego area for our services. Sometimes it was a taco place with a new menu, or a radio station doing a live beach day, or a car show that needed bikini models. It was easy and fun, and who complains about working in a bathing suit? We weren't a full-fledged body shop like the one in San Fran, but we were getting there!

               Right after Christmas, while we were still trying to calm ourselves down, we flew to Ireland to ring in the New Year with her mom's family. That turned out to be an amazing trip. Her mom really is just like Izzy. I can see Izzy looking just like her in another twenty years, and I'll love her even more than I do right now. Of course, at that point she'll be my wife.

               How do I know that? Because I asked her mom for permission to marry her daughter. Not only was it granted, but she even gave me her great grandmother's ring to propose with. I was lucky that Izzy was playing with her brothers when I asked, because both Robyn and I were in tears for about five minutes after that little talk. It was still so raw discussing the Vegas incident that talking about my future with Izzy right after we'd both almost been killed was a very emotional time.

               Right now, that ring was buried in the sand like a little pirate treasure chest. Tia had a dozen new suit designs for the spring catalog, and I was currently rocking an orange bikini that would make Miki pull Liv into the bedroom because it was so tiny. The best part was watching Izzy try to maintain her composure as I repeatedly bent over to give her a good view of my ass, since I knew she loved it. You know how they always say, make love to the camera and all that? I didn't have to worry about that. Every picture I was imagining making love to the photographer, and I knew I would. If things went to plan, I'd be doing that tonight, because I was hoping to celebrate an engagement.

               The next time she took a picture, I dropped down into a crouch with my back to her and my right leg out showing off my scar while my hand dug into the sand to get the ring box. Izzy was in the zone, her whole focus was on me, so she never noticed all our friends, even Erin, Billie, Lylah and the gang making a semi-circle around her back. Lylah kindly manned a camera so we could send the video to Izzy's mom later.

               I did a few more poses with my back to her while I carefully opened the ring box, and then the next pose I spun to face her on my knee with the ring in my hand. I heard everyone behind her gasp, but she kept snapping pictures for a few seconds before it dawned on her what she was seeing. Then she stood stock still before her camera dropped, and she stared at the ring in my hand.

               "Trish?" she asked nervously.

               I smiled up at her, seeing silent tears leaking from her eyes as she tried to catch her breath and smile at the same time. "Izzy, right here on this beach is where we made our first connection. Right here is where I want to make that connection permanent. I love you so much that it terrifies me that someone could have so much power over me. But you do, and there is nobody else in the universe that I'd rather have to take care of my heart for me. Would you please say yes, and be my wife?"

               I hadn't even finished asking when she ran at me, tossing her camera into the sand and jumping on me and tipping me onto my back. Luckily, I held onto the ring as she started kissing me all over my face and all our friends started cheering.

               "Yeah Izzy! Get some!" yelled Miki. Of course.

               "Is that a, yes?" I asked breathlessly while she kept kissing me everywhere.

               "Of course, it is! You could have asked with a piece of string, and I would have said yes!" Izzy confirmed while holding out her hand. I took the ring and slid it onto her finger. It fit perfectly; her great grandmother had tiny fingers too!

               "Your mom gave me the ring when we visited, it's your great grandmother's. She gave me permission to ask too, so I guess she's okay with me being in the family." I leaned up and kissed the tip of her nose. "I can't wait to marry you."

               "I can't wait to get you home!" she said with her voice dropping an octave. "Go get changed!" She stood up and dusted off the sand before grabbing the camera, and then turning to see all our friends. She covered her face in embarrassment, then went and hugged everyone. "Thanks for coming, everyone!"

               "Let's go celebrate!" Amy called out.

               "Yeah, go celebrate!" I called out. "We'll meet you tomorrow for brunch. But right now, I need to go celebrate with my fiancé!"

               Izzy turned beet red but didn't deny anything. She knew very well that we were going to go home and get right into bed. She went and put the cameras away while I changed. I knew we'd have to come back tomorrow afternoon to finish the shoot, but it was a small price to pay. As soon as she was done, she joined me in my dressing room while I was slipping on my sandals. She walked over and hugged me, sighing into my chest.

               "I have been wanting that for so long!"

               "Me too Izzy. But we made it. No more crap to worry about, it is just me and you and our friends and family," I reminded her.

               While the three months had been good for us, it wasn't the same for those who were after us in Vegas. My parents had pleaded guilty to their accessory and kidnapping charges and were both serving five years in jail. I almost wanted to visit them, just to say hi with my new fiancé, but they didn't deserve it.

               As for Max and William, they got the worst of it. I may have been splashed by the pepper spray, but they both got the full force. The police don't even know how they didn't crash before they hit the spike strips, but near as they could tell they were just focused completely on my car, and not the surroundings. But they were in such a hurry to catch us after being hit by the spray, that neither of them buckled up. When the truck rolled and hit the cement post, Max was ejected from it, and William was partially ejected while getting caught in the windshield glass. They both suffered extensive wounds, and William didn't make it, dying two days later after several surgeries. Max did make it, kind of. The truck had rolled over his legs when he was ejected, and he hit his head pretty bad. He'd lost both legs at the knee and had been in a coma since the accident. If he ever woke up, it would be just to stand trial, so his future was pretty bleak.

               I was okay with that.

               "No more people after us!" she murmured.

               "So, let's go home."

               "Will you sit on my face?" she looked up with her little mischievous grin and I knew I was going to say yes. But really, who says no to that?

               "Of course! I'll even let you use the strap on however you like," I promised while leaning down and nipping her ear.

               "You better drive fast!" She almost dragged me to the car at that, past all our friends who were all winking and waving at us.

               I love that new car smell. We made the drive all the way back from Vegas to the apartment inhaling that scent and enjoying it as we drove along in our new Chevy Bolt. Was it the sexiest car? No. But we didn't need anything fancy, we just wanted something that would last and help out the environment. Hell, with all the Teslas and hybrid luxury cars already back home, we'd stand out by being the regular car. With California looking to ban the sale of gasoline cars in the future, we wanted to get on board with that too. The car still had the remnants of that smell even now, and it got us home fast enough that Izzy couldn't complain about lost time.

               We were both giggling as we quickly ran into the townhome, locking the door behind us and raced for the bedroom. She was quicker, and naked faster, so when I finally turned around while slipping off my panties she tackled me onto the bed, sending the clothes flying as we landed in a tangle of limbs, laughter, and questing mouths and hands.

               She had me pinned to the bed, her leg between mine and pressing against my core, making me whimper as she devoured my lips with her own. I loved it when she just took me like this. I could never get enough of her pleasuring me like my wild firecracker. It was like she had a switch, and somehow, she went from this tiny, adorable ginger girl to a mighty Amazonian redhead with an appetite for my body that made me shiver with excitement.

               Her lips were smiling as she kissed me, her eyes shone bright with happiness. Our love making was joyous, it was just fucking fun! But it wasn't the fact that we were having sex. It was who we were with. I knew that if I was kissing my way down her body, ready to go lick her until she was screaming almost as loud as I was, that I could still pause and tickle her, and she would giggle and squeal happily for a moment until I continued my trip down to her center.

               And I knew that if I was straddling her face, like right now, I would look down and see her eyes trained on mine, and her tongue working furiously over my folds and clit as though she was a kid with their first taste of a soft serve cone. I swear, if she could laugh and giggle while her mouth was so occupied, I think she would. But it was too busy making me scream at the moment. Her hands snaked up my torso, the new diamond on her finger glinting in the light as she used them to tease my breasts. She alternated gentle teasing and rolling with harder tugging to drive me right to the edge, knowing that the varying methods always got me going.

               And when she brought me to the edge, and then pushed me over like a waterfall, she helped me ride it out. My screams turned to whimpers as I tipped over, laying face down on the bed as I tried to recover my strength. I heard Izzy moving for a bit, and then the bed shifted. Her hands were then moving over my back with some nice massage oil, relaxing me and making me smile in appreciation.

               "Izzy baby, that feels so good," I murmured happily.

               "Touching you always feels good, Trish," she replied happily. I felt her shift again, and then the weight of her tiny body was straddling my ass, and I felt the hard shaft of the strap on nestle between my cheeks. "And for the rest of the night, I'm going to make you feel as good as you made me feel when you slipped that ring on my finger."

               Fuck. Maybe I shouldn't have told everyone we could meet for brunch tomorrow. We might not be done by then!

***

A/N - Thanks so much for reading this spin off of A Little Dinged Up. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I liked writing it! And if you DID enjoy reading it, then by all means check out some of my other gxg books, because I have a bunch on my profile. Happy reading!