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It was a beautiful Sunday in early September. The summer was nearly done but gifted them with a blue sky and warm temperatures that day. The day couldn’t have been more perfect for the occasion.
Zulema softly kissed Macarena awake in bed that morning, like she did every morning for three years now just to see that tiny scrunch of her nose and the slowly building smile.
“Good morning.”, Maca mumbled sleepily while she stretched her arms over her head before turning towards the brunette with a smile, “are we still on with our plans for today?”
“The weather is amazing and it’s our free day so we definitely are going.”
Zulema and Macarena had planned to take the horses to the ocean that day. Ever since Zulema had shown the blonde her favorite spot at the private beach part of her property it became their little hideaway. They would take the horses with them today, since Macarena loved taking Ranja for a swim. The bond between the blonde and her horse had only grown stronger over time to a point where they trust each other blindly. It was hard work but it paid off beautifully.
When Maca came out of the bedroom in her little house and stepped into the open living room and kitchen area she saw Zulema packing two backpacks for them already. She was, similar to Macarena herself, only clad in a bikini, shorts and an unbuttoned shirt. The brunette had moved in with her after Saray and Rizos got married over a year ago. It just made more sense for Zulema to move in with Maca and leave the house on “The Wild Ranch” to Saray and Rizos. With Estrella and another one on the way they needed the bigger place. Zule and Maca weren’t planning on kids anytime soon anyway.
With the bags packed on their backs and hats on they grabbed the bridles and walked over to the meadow where they found Ranja and Rayo munching away on the last of grass. They both tacked their horses up and swung themselves up on their bare backs. There was no need to let the saddles get wet and they both had put a neck ring on their horses so they could leave the bridle on land as well.
“I still can’t believe that Estrella started school and will be a big sister soon. They grow up so fast. I don’t even know if I’m capable of loving her sibling as much as I love her.”, Maca started to talk away as they were riding comfortably next to each other.
“You’ll love that little nugget as soon as you see it. That’s what happened with me and Estrella. They’re family, you just love and protect them.”
“It really is that simple, huh?”
“With chosen family it definitely is!”, Zulema shrugged.
“Sometimes I still can’t believe that this is our life now. A house, a job, a family, a home,… If someone would have told me that this is where I would be now, I would have laughed in their face.”
“I know that feeling and I never want to lose it, because it keeps me incredibly grateful for what I have and will have in the future.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”, the blonde hummed in agreement, “It’s funny, I used to be so worried about my future but now, having found a place here with you in this world… I’m no longer worried.”
“That’s because chosen family is forever.”
They raced each other multiple times along the way, laughing and enjoying the wind on their faces. When they finally reached the beach they unloaded the backpacks apart from the food and spread out the blanket on the ground and the towels on top. They lost their shirts and shorts too. Then they took off all the leather from their horses and swung themselves back on top of them. This will forever be Macarena’s favorite thing to do with Ranja. The mare loved water and swimming so it was just incredibly fun to watch her and to be carried by her. For now the ocean was quite still, so they took their chance and rode along and inside the water.
Zulema was still amazed whenever she saw the incredible bond between Ranja and Maca. They both have come so far as individuals and as a team since she got to know them and being able to witness moments like this, where the blonde was riding through the gentle waves atop the wild mare without anything apart from the neck rope, was incredible.
“You’re staring, cariño.”, Maca teased when she saw Zulema just sitting atop Rayo watching her and Ranja, “come back in and join the fun.”
“What can I say? Beauty has to be appreciated.”
“Smooth talker.”
“I meant Ranja.”, Zulema shrugged with a smirk.
“You know what? I can’t even be mad about that, she truly is a beautiful horse. You really didn’t cut a good deal with handing her over to me.”
“It’s still one of the best decisions I’ve made. You two belong together and I stand by that.”, Zulema answered while she rode over to Macarena, “but feel free to show me again just how thankful you are.”
Maca rolled her eyes but still leaned in to kiss the raven hair woman.
Once they were ready for a break they dismounted the horses and led them to the big plastic container full with water they had placed here yesterday together with a good amount of hay. Once the horses were taken care of and not dripping wet anymore, the two of them settled down on the blanket and grabbed one of the sandwiches Zulema had prepared yesterday and something to drink.
Afterwards they decided to enjoy the sun a little, each massaging some sun lotion into the other’s back since especially Zulema tends to burn easily.
“This is nice. I’m really going to miss this when the summer is really gone.”, Macarena sighed, while laying on her back enjoying the warm sun on her face.
“I’ll miss seeing you so tanned and all sexy in a bikini on the beach, but I do look forward to cuddling up with each other under blankets around a bonfire when it gets colder.”
“We really do use this place as best as we can no matter the season. It’s why it is so special to me. The memories, but especially the quiet moments we get to have here with just the two of us connecting and spending time.”
“Thank god for the incredible amount of privacy we have here or else we would have been spotted in quite compromising situations already.”, Zulema chuckled amused, which earned her a gentle slap against the arm that made her almost drop the book she was currently reading onto her face.
“I’m hot.”, Macarena declared after a long while in the sun. By now it was noon and the sun was burning down on them, luckily they had the forest right behind them so the horses were able to spend time in the shadows.
“Are you going to join me for a dip in the ocean?”
“Oh, definitely. It’s the only way I can get some closeness to that hot body of yours for the next couple hours.”, Zulema exclaimed flirtatiously.
“You’re insatiable.”
“You should be glad that we’re not getting tired of each other by now. Also, don’t even try to insinuate that this is anything different than mutually beneficial. You’re not that good with keeping your hands to yourself either.”
“Fair enough.”, Maca chuckled before she ran into the water and dove right in.
Zulema never understood how unbothered the blonde was by the radical change of temperature around her. She could never just dive right in, she needed a moment to get used to the coldness of the water. Apparently she took too long though because Maca suddenly came up to her and started to splash her.
The blonde was laughing loudly at the squeaky sounds her girlfriend made upon impact.
“I hate you!”, Zulema hissed after the first shock had worn off.
“No, you don’t. You love me. Now come on over and I’ll keep you warm.”
“Is that a proposition or a promise?”, the raven haired asked smugly.
“Mind out of the gutter, the point of getting into the water was to cool down.”
“You’re no fun.”
“On the contrary, I’m a lot of fun.”, Maca exclaimed before she walked up to Zulema and picked her up swiftly.
“Don’t you dare! You’ll sleep on the couch tonight if you throw me into that water.”, the raven haired threatened, while Maca started to walk deeper into the ocean.
“You’re no fun! But vale, I’ll put you down again.”, the blonde said while she pretended to put Zulema down, but instead of putting her down she lost her footing on purpose and fell into the water with her.
“Oopsie…”, Macarena exclaimed, with a smug smile on her face after she broke through the surface again.
“That’s it, you’re definitely sleeping on the couch tonight.”
“Only you can’t really do that now, can you? You said I have to sleep on the couch if I throw you into the water. I didn’t throw you, I slipped.”
“On purpose!”
“Drama queen.”
“Idiot!”, Zulema shot back, before she broke into laughter. She just couldn’t stay serious any longer.
The blonde took that opportunity to pull her closer and into a kiss, which Zulema immediately reciprocated. She wrapped her legs around Maca’s waist and her arms around her neck, pulling herself impossible closer to the blonde. Macarena in return grabbed her ass and pulled her even closer. When they pulled back from the kiss the blonde immediately saw the lustful look in Zulema’s eyes.
“Oh no, don’t even think about it! The purpose of going into the ocean was to cool down and not to get even hotter.”, she exclaimed while she tried to free herself out of Zulema’s grasp which proved rather difficult given the fact that the raven haired had literally wrapped herself around her body and had no intention of letting her go.
“Let go, cariño.”
“Hmm, I don’t think so…”, Zulema replied, before she started to place kisses alongside Maca’s neck.
“Last warning…”, the blonde hummed, but Zulema ignored her and instead bit softly down on her pulse point so Macarena did what she knew would immediately set her free. She started to tickle the raven haired violently.
And as she expected Zulema instantly let go of her and tried to get away.
“That’s not fair!”, she gasped out in between laughter.
“I warned you!”, Maca shrugged, laughing and constantly moving with the raven haired so she couldn’t really escape.
“Fine, I’ll behave!! Please, stop.”
The blonde stopped immediately with a self-satisfied smirk, “see, that wasn’t so difficult now, was it?”
“Go, do your swimming. I’m just going to float around a little.”
Zulema watched as Maca was swimming around and diving under the waves. It didn’t surprise her that the blonde had this amazingly lean and strong body. She was rarely really sitting still. If she wasn’t working on the ranch she was doing some projects around their house or riding with Ranja and the horses on the ranch that weren’t currently in the program. She also loved to swim so as soon as it began to get warmer outside she would go for a quick swim in the lake on the ranch every day. Her girlfriend was incredibly hardworking which Zulema admired but sometimes she had to be the one to slow her down a little which was odd because she always used to be the one who had to be stopped. But now that she had it all, a job, a home, a girlfriend and a family, she enjoyed taking a break or having a slow day. She cherished those and the time she got to spend with Macarena. She finally had found her place in life and that gave her a great calmness and a sense of peace she’d never experienced before.
“What are you thinking about?”, the blonde asked her from behind, startling her a little.
“About you, about how incredibly strong and sexy you are and about how much you changed my life for the better.”, she answered honestly, while her girlfriend snaked her arms around her waist from behind.
“You not only changed it for the better, you saved mine.”, the blonde answered softly.
“You did that! I just cheered you on and believed in you.”
“You never give yourself enough credit for the things you do.”
“It’s a good thing then that I have you to remind me of it time and time again.”, Zulema hummed, while she leaned into the embrace.
“Always.”
They swam around a little more before they went back out of the water and grabbed their towels and blanket to place it in the shades so they were closer to the horses who were currently peacefully munching on their hay. It took a lot of work and effort but eventually the horses decided to stay close to them when Maca and Zulema decided to go into the water by themselves, considering them part of the herd they never wandered off too far and immediately came back when called.
It was later in the afternoon, after they had taken the horses into the water with them for another time that they were laying back on the beach enjoying the sun. Well, Macarena was enjoying the sun while Zulema was fighting against her sudden nervousness. The truth was that she had one last specific thing planned for today, but she hadn’t figured out when to fit it in today. She looked over at the blonde again, she looked so peaceful.
Macarena was laying on her stomach, face buried in her arms and they had to leave soon so Zulema decided that the time had come to woman up.
“I have to ask you something… Do you remember the first time I brought you here?”
“Yeah, you told me about our home.”, Maca mumbled into her arms
“Do you still remember the joke you made when you had the blindfold on?”
That made the blonde pause and she furrowed her brows. That was an odd question.
“Yeah, I remember.”, she answered while lifting her head and turning towards Zulema. Her jaw fell to the floor when she saw her down on one knee with a ring in hand.
“Do you still think it’s too early?”, Zulema chuckled nervously.
“What?!”, Maca asked, completely dumbfounded.
“Although we had a rough start and I thought you to be this bratty little princess, you immediately caught my interest. The way you held yourself and the way you were around Ranja were two completely different versions that I was curious to see how they would fit together. Thank the heavens you were curious too. Somehow not only your different parts fit together but also our individual parts with each other. Our journey wasn’t the easiest, but it made us who we are. You complete my life in a way no one else ever could and I want that forever. I want to be loved by you and I want to come home to you for the rest of my life. So tell me princess, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
“As if you would be asking if you didn’t know the answer to that already.”, Maca chuckled through tears of joy, “yes, I’ll gladly marry you, you idiot!”
Zulema slipped the engagement ring on Macarena’s finger before she pulled her onto her lap and into a deep kiss.
“I can’t believe you did this!”, the blonde exclaimed, when they pulled away from the kiss.
“Yeah, me neither. But seeing Saray and Rizos so happy on their wedding day made me think. I love you and I know I always will and I think we deserve a day to celebrate our love in a special way, especially given how we started and what we had to overcome to get here. Do you like the ring?”
Maca put the hand with the ring between them and for the first time really looked at the ring. It was a simple gold band, but it wasn’t this big bold gold. It was a subtle gold, a lighter tone and Macarena loved that. Half atop and half embedded in it was a small diamond. Again, it was simple but still elegant. It was perfect. If Zulema would have gone all out, she wouldn’t have been able to wear the ring everyday at work. This one she could either wear on her finger or around her neck without it bringing much attention to her, which was important to her because she wanted to be able to wear it all the time and not only on special occasions.
“I love it. It’s perfect, cariño.”, the blonde said with a huge smile.
“I was afraid it might have been too simple, but I know you’re not big on jewelry and I also wanted you to be able to wear it whenever you like, visible to others or not.”, Zulema admitted shyly.
“That’s exactly why I love it so much, it just fits me and us. You really put a lot of thought into it, that’s really sweet.”
“I’m not sweet…”
“Hmm… Maybe adorable then?”, Maca shot back teasingly.
“Shut up.”, Zulema answered with an eye roll while she pulled her fiancé into another kiss and then into a tight hug.
“I still can’t believe you actually asked me… We’re really doing this! We’re getting married.”
“We’re getting married.”
“I love you like I’ve never loved anyone else before, Zule. You made me a better person although you never tried to change me. You’re the first person to accept and love me exactly as I am and for that I’ll always be grateful. You’re it for me and I’m honored to be your fiancé and to become your wife.”
“Fiancé… Yeah, that will take me some getting used to.”, the raven haired chuckled before she placed a soft kiss on Maca’s cheek, “I love you too, cariño, more than I’ll ever be able to express.”
They spend some time just hugging and kissing each other, bathing in each other’s love and closeness. Them being them it eventually turned into a full blown make out session.
“As much as I would love to continue this, we do have to go pretty soon.”, Zulema mumbled out between kisses, while softly pulling Maca’s hands away from her breasts to hold them in her hands instead.
“Do we really have to?”, the blonde whined.
“It’s Sunday, you didn’t cancel Estrella’s riding lesson so yes, we really have to.”
“Damn it, why do I have to love this child so much?! Also, you could have hinted at what you were planning to do today so I could have canceled.”
Zulema just smirked, clearly amused by her fiancé’s behavior.
“It wouldn’t have been much of a surprise then, don’t you think?”
“Fine,”, the blonde huffed, “just a couple more minutes.”, she continued before she pulled Zulema back into another kiss.
Eventually they did pack up their stuff and swung themselves back on the horses, exchanging loving gazes, small giggles and big smiles all the way back to their home. Once they reached the stable, they washed the horses to get rid of the salty sea that might still be in their fur, spraying each other with the water hose along the way so they ended up wetter than the horses at the end of it. Because of that Macarena was almost late so instead of taking the bike they drove to the ranch with the car after they changed into dry clothes.
Estrella was already sitting in front of the house waiting for the blonde and immediately ran over to hug her once she stepped out of the car. The little one immediately took to Macarena when she started working at the ranch and easily won her heart, by now they shared an incredibly tight bond. Sometimes Zulema was a little jealous of that, because she used to be the favorite aunty but most of the time she just enjoyed watching both of them just so enamored with each other. It was really cute.
After the raven haired received her tight hug as well, Estrella grabbed Maca’s hand and walked with her to the paddocks. Zulema stayed behind, opting to go into the house to greet Saray and Rizos instead. She found Saray in the kitchen, preparing food, but the brunette immediately stopped to look at her with inquiring eyes.
“Spill.”, was the only thing she said.
Saray knew that Zulema wanted to propose today, she also went with her to pick up the ring a couple days ago.
“What can I say... I’m officially engaged.”
“Yes! I knew it, congratulations hermana!”, the brunette exclaimed while she stood up and walked over to Zulema to hug her. She really was immensely happy for the both of them. They were an amazing couple and she loved them both dearly.
After the hug was over Zulema grabbed a cutting board and a knife and sat down at the kitchen table as well and helped Saray slicing veggies for dinner.
Over at the paddocks Estrella was telling Macarena about her day while they grabbed Lenno, a gray Shetland pony which belongs to Zulema but turned into Estrella’s pony over time.
“I felt the baby kick for the first time today, aunty Maca!”, she told the blonde, clearly excited about the prospect of being a big sister soon.
“Really?! That’s so cool!”
“I can’t wait to meet the baby.”
“You’ll be an amazing big sister.”, Maca said softly.
When they groomed Lenno together Estrella noticed the new ring on the blonde’s finger.
“That ring is new. I like it, it’s pretty, just like you.”
“Thank you, sweetheart. And yes, that ring is new. Your aunty Zuzu gifted it to me today.”
“Why? It’s not your birthday or Christmas…”, the little one asked, a little confused.
“It doesn’t have to be Christmas or someone’s birthday to give them a present. But this ring is pretty special, because it has a deeper meaning behind it.”, the blonde started to explain, “Do you remember the big party we threw last year where both your mamá and Ri wore white? Aunty Zuzu asked me if I wanted a party like that with her as well and the ring is a reminder that I said yes.”
“You and aunty Zuzu are getting married too?”
“That’s right.”
“Are you going to have a baby too?”, Estrella continued to ask.
Maca chuckled, “Maybe one day, but definitely not now. For now we have a wedding to plan and one baby per time is enough in our family.”
After the riding lesson the blonde and the little one went into the house as well, where Estrella immediately ran to her mother to tell her about Maca’s new ring. By now Rizos was back home as well.
“Mamá! Aunty Zuzu gave aunty Maca a pretty new ring. They want to get married just like you and Ri!”, she exclaimed excitedly.
“I know, my love. Aunty Zuzu told me about it. Isn’t that great news?
Rizos, who was just taking a sip of water, spat it out in surprise.
“You what?!?”, she shouted, after she was done coughing.
Maca laughed, “Zulema proposed and I said yes.”
“And you knew?”, Rizos asked her wife, surprised.
“Of course I knew, Zulema is my sister.”
“Wait, Maca, you said yes?! Oh my God, congratulations! Let me see that ring.”
The blonde got pulled into a hug by the curly haired woman before she grabbed her hand to inspect the ring.
“It suits you, it’s beautiful.”, Rizos complimented the ring before she pulled Zulema into a congratulatory hug as well.
After the excitement had worn down they all sat down to eat dinner together, a new tradition they started after Saray and Rizos started dating. Sunday was their day to have a family dinner, which also meant that on Sundays the workers had to prepare their own dinner now. They still provided lunch and breakfast however. But even at the dinner table Maca and Zule weren’t able to keep their eyes off each other and whenever their gazes met they shared a soft smile.
This was big and it was going to be great, Zulema was sure of that. Looking at her beaming fiancé she knew she made the right decision. She’s the one, she always has been and always will be. There was no doubt in her mind. They were forever.