Page 51 of Just Like in the Movies
Micah
Breakfast was good, if a little rushed. We each got something different and traded off feeding bits to each other in a way that I was certain probably made the other patrons sick with irritation. But I was engaged to my best friend and the love of my life and I wanted to enjoy it.
Lew finally sat back after eating way more than I’d ever imagined anyone could eat and ran a foot up the inside of my calf. “How are you doing?”
“Baffled. Where do you put it all?”
“I have a fast metabolism. And we didn’t actually eat dinner last night.”
“Well, not much of it,” I admitted. We had gone back out to eat the food he’d made, but about ten minutes into our meal we’d ended up horizontal on the couch, and then after that we’d gone to bed.
“You want anything else?” he asked.
“No. Finish your coffee, I’ll get the bill.” I paid while he drank the last of his coffee, then escorted him out the door. “It’s a bit of a drive, but I know where I want to go for your ring.”
He raised his eyebrows at me. “All right.”
It took about half an hour to get there in the car. I took the back streets to avoid the traffic, with Lew practically vibrating in the seat beside me. I couldn’t have imagined something that would make me happier than this moment, and I was certain he’d find something he’d like in this shop.
Parking, as was usual in L.A. wasn’t all that easy to find but I did eventually snag a spot not too long a walk away from the shop. I slipped my sunglasses and ball cap on—not that I really needed them, but a wave of paranoia swept over me as I shut the car off, mental images of this being the exact moment that I developed a fan base dedicated enough to follow me into the little store and ruin my moment with Lew.
The door swung open with a discreet hiss of pneumatics, landing us in the middle of what was probably millions of dollars worth of jewelry. I couldn’t afford the really good stuff for him yet, though if he found something here he really liked, I’d move heaven and earth to get it for him.
“Mike?” Right on time, Lew was starting to worry for my pocketbook.
“No, don’t even go there,” I told him. “We’re only doing this once, got it? I’m not going to skimp on it.”
“This shit’s expensive,” he whispered, his eyes wide.
“You’re worth it.” I had the money set aside—it was supposed to be my emergency fund. But this was a better use for it. “Let’s go look at rings.”
A young man popped out of the door to the back of the shop. “Oh, hello, I thought I heard someone come in! Can I help you find anything, or are you just looking?” He smiled brightly at us, but I could tell when the salesman in him picked up on which of us was the omega. “Something for a party?”
Lew threw me a helpless look, and I put my hand in the small of his back and pushed until he started moving. “Kind of. What do you have in the way of engagement rings?”
The salesman pressed his palms together and beamed. “Congratulations! All our engagement sets are over here.” He moved toward a display case on the right-hand side of the store. “You’re looking for a man’s ring?”
“Yes,” I said and pushed Lew right up to the case. He was getting that stubborn look on his face, so I leaned in and whispered, “Nothing over three thousand, okay?” If I gave him a budget, I figured he’d relax about spending the money, though he’d likely set his personal limit at about half of what I told him he could spend, because he was Lew. And my job would be to nudge him into a higher price bracket so he got a ring worthy of him. It was weirdly reminiscent of shopping for prom, except a whole lot better.
His eyes widened, but my little ruse had worked. He turned back to the rings with less anxiety about how much we were spending, and began talking to the salesperson about styles and price. I leaned a hip on the glass and watched happily as he argued the merits of platinum versus palladium versus gold and silver.
“Don’t get silver,” I told him. “It’s too soft, it’ll get all bent up.”
He glanced up at me and nodded thoughtfully while the salesman skillfully moved the tray of silver rings back into the case.
At the end of it all, we’d narrowed it down to three different choices. Lew was leaning toward the cheapest of the three, like I knew he would no matter how hard I argued.
“I don’t need anything really expensive,” he snapped in exasperation. “I’ve got you, that’s expensive enough!”
I laughed and kissed him. “Fine. Whatever you don’t spend out of the budget, I’m going to go spend it on hookers and blow.”
“Mike!” But he was laughing. “You idiot. Why do you want me to spend all your money?”
I shrugged, more casual than I actually was. “Because I love you. And I owe you. And I want you to have something that shows the world just how much I value you.”
He’d opened his mouth to argue some more, but closed it when I said that and I realized I’d hit a nerve. “All right,” he said mildly after a moment. “But I don’t want the big clunky one.”
“That’s fine. Pick what makes you happy.”
