A North Carolina Autumn - Chapter 61: Chapter 61

After a brief intermission for what we'll refer to as a quick cardio session, Rylie and I resume going through the rest of the photos. Rylie giggles as I throw my sweatshirt back on, covering my naked body.
"You don't have to cover up, love. I wouldn't mind seeing that perfect, delicious body of yours in between each picture..." She murmurs, her gaze setting me on fire. I still haven't fully recovered from what she did to me less than five minutes ago, so it's a struggle to keep myself composed.
"Your offer is tempting, but I'll stay covered for the photos that are coming up." I giggle as Rylie flips to the next picture, revealing a group one from the wedding.
"Oh, I see." Rylie laughs. "It's an understandable sacrifice that won't go without reward." She smirks, bringing a blush to my cheeks yet again. "These prints did turn out amazing, though."
I scoot behind her and rest my chin on her shoulder as she goes through the wedding pictures. "It helps that everyone was so photogenic." I comment with a smile.
"Look at the boys." Rylie giggles, pointing. The triplets wear matching grey suits and greyish blue ties, looking far too grown up.
"And Harper in her adorable dress!" I add. Spencer stands next to the boys in this picture, his suit and tie matching theirs. He cradles Harper in one arm so she faces the camera, a genuine smile on his face.
The next picture has Rylie with her siblings, this time she holds Harper while the boys surround her. Spencer has one hand in his pocket, his other draped across Rylie's shoulders and his pointer finger clutched in Harper's tiny fist. The three boys stand in front of Rylie and Spencer in the funniest position that they came up with on their own. Aiden and August stand on either side of Asher, each with an elbow propped on Asher's shoulders. Asher stands between them with Rylie's bouquet clutched in his hands in front of him, a wide grin on his face. Aiden and August reach with their other hands to hold the bouquet as well, both with matching grins.
"It's almost scary how funny they're getting to be." Rylie giggles as she flips to the next picture, showing the three boys each down on one knee in the sand, their hands clasped and resting on their thighs, with faces as straight and stony as they could manage.
While the boys had been goofy in a lot of pictures, there were also plenty where they'd been smiling like normal. That had been a relief when we first went through the wedding pictures.
"This is one of my favorites." I smile. Rylie kneels in the sand in this picture, the train of her dress spread out behind her. Spencer kneels next to her, balancing Harper on one knee. The triplets surround a laughing Rylie as they each kiss her cheek.
Next are a few of just Rylie and I on the beach the day of our wedding, the love evident in the way we held and looked at each other. I'd also added a few from our engagement pictures, some from last summer and our trip with Hadley and Jack, and all of my favorites from the shoot with Rylie at the marsh.
"I'll never stop telling you how beautiful these are." Rylie says softly as she studies the last pictures.
"You're what makes them so beautiful." I reply with a shrug. "They would have been mediocre without you."
Rylie smiles, blushing. "You boost my ego too much."
"I'm only going to boost it more, especially once you open your final present." I grin.
"The anticipation is killing me, Aspen." Rylie groans. "But thank you for this," She gestures to the pictures. "I love every single one."
"I'm really glad you do. I was thinking we could hang them up on the wall above our bed."
"I really like that idea!" Rylie agrees excitedly. "Is that why you wouldn't let me hang up those tacky Star Wars paintings Spencer got me?"
"Maybe..." I trail off, laughing as her eyes narrow into a glare. "But you have to admit, those paintings would've ruined the aesthetic of our room!"
"I'll never give you the satisfaction of admitting that." Rylie states simply, crossing her arms.
"You basically just admitted it." I smirk.
"I did not!"
I shrug apologetically. "You did. I don't make the rules."
"Why do you have to be so cute? It's aggravating." Rylie blows out a frustrated breath, and I giggle before leaning over to kiss her. Her body relaxes as she leans into the kiss.
"I love you." I whisper against Rylie's lips
"I love you. So much." She responds, giving me one more quick kiss. "Now, open your second to last gift." She grins, passing me a thin but heavy box.
"This better not be something expensive..." I say as I take the heavy box. Rylie avoids my eyes, and I laugh. "There's my answer."
"Shush. I think you'll love it." Rylie giggles.
I draw in a sharp breath when I open the box, seeing the matte black laptop inside. "This is the one I was telling you about!"
"I know." Rylie laughs, enjoying my obvious delight over the new gaming laptop. It's not necessarily a top notch, pro gaming laptop, but I hadn't wanted it just for gaming.
"I know you wanted something mainly for editing your pictures, but the way you talked about this one, I had to get it for you."
"Thank you, Ry." I say softly. Initially, I had wanted a new laptop for editing, but then I thought about the few games I used to play on my current laptop before it got too slow, and started looking into gaming laptops just for fun.
"There was a sale on it, too." Rylie explains, and I smile.
"I don't mind either way, Ry. You're always so smart with money, and I just feel lucky to be spoiled by you."
"Good, because I absolutely love spoiling you."
"This laptop is also perfect for this..." I say, passing her the large box containing the virtual reality headset. "I don't want to spoil it before you open it, but they can be hooked up together."
"You can't let me be the only one to do the spoiling in this relationship, can you?" Rylie teases.
I grin, shaking my head. "Nope. It's my goal to spoil you twice as much as you spoil me."
"I need to step up my game." Rylie laughs, tearing off the wrapping paper. "You didn't..." She says as her eyes scan the box. All I can do is grin. "A VR?" She turns to me excitedly. "Now we can play all the beatsaber we want!"
I laugh, relieved at her happy reaction. "That's the plan! And I found some other games we can try that I think you'll love."
"I am so excited! Thank you, Aspen." Rylie smiles. "This is going to make my last gift look lame." She laughs.
"Wrong. I already love it, whatever it is." My words are confirmed as I open the box, revealing a very nice looking camera backpack.
"I know you already have a good camera backpack, but I had to get this one for you because it has so many pockets and sections that seemed really useful and a slot for your new laptop..." Rylie trails off, watching my face with a hopeful expression.
"I love it," I say genuinely. "You've put so much thought into these gifts, and I love hearing you explain why you got them." I add softly. "This will be perfect since you got me that new lens too, now I'll be able to fit everything in one backpack instead of having to lug around two."
Relief washes over Rylie's face and she lets out a breath. "I'm so happy you like it! I was worried you wouldn't want to use it since you already have one."
"This is going to be my favorite one." I promise with a smile. "You're right about the pockets and sections being useful, I'm already planning on what I'll use all of them for. Thank you."
Rylie smiles warmly. "You're welcome, my love."
"You ready to open this one?" I ask, holding up the last box.
"I've been ready since you brought it up." Rylie laughs, taking the gift.
I smile and lean back on my hands, stretching my legs out in front of me as I watch Rylie unwrap it. My smile turns into a smirk as Rylie's eyes widen the moment she sees the contents.
"Aspen, this is..."
"Incredibly sexy?"
Rylie laughs, nodding her head quickly. "Very."
"It's perfect for an incredibly sexy person, such as yourself."
Rylie blushes as she pulls the black lace outfit from the package. "You think so?" She teases.
"I know so. Maybe you should put it on just so we can confirm..."
"Mm... that would be beneficial for you, wouldn't it?"
"Very beneficial." I laugh.
"I'll be right back. Don't move." Rylie grins before heading to the bathroom.
"Yes ma'am." I giggle, more than a little bit excited for her return.