“No!” I lift up but quickly lay back down. “Oooof, can’t do that.”
Alex chuckles and opens the box for me, pulling out the perfect platinum ring, a modest diamond center and two pink stones on either side.
“Oh, my God!” I cry out. My eyes flash to his, and I can feel the tears already streaking my cheeks.
“This is a good cry. It doesn’t count!” I sniffle, and he takes care of the tears for me, swiping them away with his thumb.
“So that’s a yes?” he asks.
I nod as best I can but utter, “Yes” loudly. He slips the ring on my finger and leans in to kiss me deeper. The chatter outside my door tells me that my visitors were probably listening to this whole thing. Of course, oh shit . . . did I really propose?
I cover my face when he sits up and look at him through my fingers.
“Did I really propose in front of my mom?” Oh, my God, she’s probably out there thinking shotgun wedding because her baby girl is pregnant!
Alex laughs and nods.
“You did. But you always did have to be first.”
I let the embarrassment drift away, instead owning my doped-up behavior.
“Just like I loved you first.”
He leans in and gives me another soft, chaste kiss, then peels back with a dimple and that heart-fluttering wink.
“Sure, you did.”
THE END