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Joey slurps her coffee dramatically. “Nope. We value sleep more than romance.”
I smile. “Truth.”
On the beach, sadly, there are no pancakes, but there is a boy in front of me, holding my hand and looking rather nervous. I can practically feel his hand shaking in mine.
“Are you okay?” I ask, walking with him along the shore where the waves tickle our toes and the sky bursts to life with pinks, purples, and lighter blues.
He runs his hand through his hair. “Yeah.”
“You look like you did the day the trial ended.” Fear pricks my skin and I curl into myself. I watch his facial features nervously. Is it me? Did I do something wrong last night?
“You know.” He pauses and squeezes my hand. “When the trial ended, I thought, fuck, finally we can start our lives together.”
My heart thumps wildly in my chest waiting for his words. “And now?”
“And now it feels like we’re still waiting to start our lives.”
I know exactly what he means. We’re in college. We have no idea what the future will hold for us. Yeah, we want that happily ever after as much as the next couple, but what if we don’t get it?
Asa pulls me closer, his warmth radiating into me. I lift my eyes to Joey and Terrell in the distance, walking the same path we are in so many ways. “I didn’t say that to freak you out, Barrette.”
I nod. “I know. I totally get what you meant.”
“I guess I’m just saying that I’m nervous as to what the next year will bring for us. My career is an unknown and I want to go as far as to say I’m going to take care of you, but how can I do that when I don’t know what my future holds for me with football?”
I lean in and press my lips to his. “If anyone can get through the unknown, it’s us.”
We keep walking up the beach and before I know it, we’re in loose white sand away from the water’s edge. With a smirk on his lips, he sighs, his breath blowing over my face and then he drops down to one knee. He doesn’t look at me. No, instead, he sweeps sand away and uncovers a mason jar. It’s glowing, like the ones he gave me when helping me through the darkest days.
His eyes drift to mine and he swallows as he holds the jar up. “I brought you out here at sunrise because this is our beginning. A new start to a life I want to share with you.”
Tears sting my eyes. In the distance, I can see Terrell and Joey over his shoulder, watching us and taking pictures.
He’s proposing and I’m sobbing. My hand flies to my mouth, my words caught in my throat when I read the note on the inside of the mason jar, purple and gold glitter surrounding the wordsForever?
My heart twists in my chest as I look down at him, his eyes on mine, hair hanging in his eyes, and then the diamond ring he produces from his pocket. I nod, unable to say the words I so desperately want to give him. He reaches for my hand and places the ring on my finger.
I cry harder and stare down at it in disbelief. “Just so we’re clear, you’re asking me to marry you, right?”
His shoulders shake with laughter as he pulls me into him. “Yes, silly girl. I am.”
I snort, and it’s not pretty. I’m crying so hard snot is literally pouring from my nose. It’s not romantic on my part. Placing my hand on his chest, the ring catches the morning sun bursting to life in the distance. In my other hand, the mason jar I will cherish just as much as the ring on my finger. “How long have you been planning this?”
Drawing back, he stares at me with a sudden serious edge. “Since we booked the trip. You wouldn’t believe what I had to do to get a glow stick on the plane.”
I laugh, remembering him freaking out and having Joey take me to get coffee when they searched his bag in customs.
Within a minute, Joey and Terrell return. “She said yes, right?” Joey asks, her hand in Terrell’s.
I smile, nodding and showing them the ring.
“Perfect. Now we can eat.”
“The buffet is half priced today,” Terrell notes, dragging us toward the hotel.
We follow, hand in hand, only now everything is different. I don’t fear the future. I look forward to it.
2 years later