Wonderland [WWE] [Shawn Michaels] {Book 1}

Chapter 38: I Can't Believe It's Been a Year

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Shawn's POV
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Kat and I had photo shoots to go through, but we had the rest of the day off, mainly because I couldn't do much else. I wanted to take her out somewhere nice when we were done.

It was our anniversary, and I was going to show her a romantic time. I felt bad for being in kind of a mood lately from my injury. I was going to make it up to her.

Kat had more shoots than I did. The fans were all over her lately. She was a rising star, and I was so proud. I mean, I could see why. My girl was damn gorgeous. They immediately fell in love with her, just like I did.

Finally she was all done and dressed in normal clothes again, and we could head out. She had no idea what we were in store for. She thought we were headed back to the hotel.

When I parked at the restaurant I had picked out earlier, she just looked over at me and grinned. "What are you planning?"

I returned her smile. "Today is our anniversary of the first day we met," I announced.

She gasped. "How do you remember that? I don't even remember that." She was surprised, just like I expected.

"That was the day Kid nearly drove us into a telephone pole." It was a true story, but that wasn't why I remembered. I knew that was going to be an important date when I met Kat. I knew back then, somehow, that she was going to be an important part of my life. The most important part of my life, honestly.

"Ah," she commented. She was smiling even wider now, amused.

"Yeah, we didn't let him drive anymore after that," I explained. She giggled. I loved that so much.

We went inside and got a table. The place wasn't super high class, but it also wasn't McDonald's, either. They had some music playing in the background that wasn't too bad.

"I can't believe it's been a year since I slammed into you in the hallway," Kat admitted.

I couldn't either. All these different thoughts started running through my head, from the moment we first talked up until we were sitting in that restaurant. Moments from different arenas, different hotels, and different cars. Memories from being at home, or at our parents', and at the hospitals. When we first went to the ring together, our first date, and when I proposed.

"I can't believe it's only been a year," I replied. There was no way all of that happened in just one year. There was no way I had only known Kat for that long. It felt like a lifetime.

One year ago I hadn't even met her. Now, she was my favorite person in the world.

Thank God for her clumsiness. There was no telling where I'd be if she wasn't.

A waitress came around and took our order. Anybody that didn't know Kat would be shocked at the amount of food she ordered, but I knew she could eat her weight. Even the waitress looked her over and asked, "Are you sure, Hun?"

I chuckled. "She's sure."

Kat smiled over at me gratefully as the girl walked away, muttering, "...Okaaay."

"You know me too well," Kat told me. "Thank you for taking me out today. I needed a day like this. I can't believe you remembered."

"Come on, me? Of course I did. I'm a romantic." Maybe I was exaggerating just a bit. But I had at least put some thought into the day.

"Sure..." she teased. 

"You don't believe me?" When she giggled and shook her head, I pulled her other surprise from my pocket. It was a small box. I slid it over to her. "Open it."

Her face lit up when she opened it. "It's beautiful, Shawn," she breathed. It was a necklace in her birthstone, turquoise. I had to ask Stephanie for help picking it out. She knew better than I about jewelry and birthstones and all that.

"I told you," I responded. She stuck her tongue out at me, already donning the necklace. She was too cute.

Kat glanced down at the necklace again. "I love it," she told me again. "Now I feel bad because I didn't get you anything."

I winked over at her. "I know several things you can give me. They all include intercourse, of course, so preferably not here." Come on, she walked right into that one.

She blushed, probably because our server had come back with our food and most likely heard me. Oh well, what did I care?

"You're the worst," Kat whispered as the girl walked away. She wasn't fooling me, though. I could see the little smile tugging at her lips.

I smirked back. "You didn't say no."

She began picking at her food. "I was just about to." She was the worst liar I think I'd ever met.

"Sure..." I said, making her giggle again. That was just my favorite sound in the world.

She put her food down and started fiddling with her engagement ring. She had developed almost a nervous tick with that thing. "So, I've been thinking."

Uh oh. I sat back a little, almost bracing myself. This didn't sound good, especially if it was about the ring.

"About?" I prodded. It was better to just ask than let it well up. That's what she had spent a year trying to teach me, anyway.

She held up her hand, showing me the  ring. I told her what I had said to comfort her about a dozen times before. "I told you, it doesn't have to be soon. You can wear that thing for five more years and then decide you want to marry me. ...Or you don't have to wear it, if it bothers you." The last part hurt me a little.

She started talking all at once. "No, no! No, it's actually the opposite!" She reached under the table and held on of my hands with the hand she wore her ring on. "I actually wanted to talk about when you want to get married."

I was floored. This was the first time she'd even brought up any sort of planning. "When are you thinking?" I asked.

I felt myself growing nervous. I had been the one to bring up the whole idea, but when I thought about it actually happening, it was kinda nerve-racking. Would I even make a good husband? I knew of at least one girl stateside that would answer-and had already answered-a big, fat "no".

Kat was nervous, too, and somehow that made it better. Knowing we both weren't sure of ourselves. I was sure of her, definitely. I knew she was the one. But of me?

When was I ever?

She broke the silence. "Well, not this year, obviously." I didn't know what made it obvious, but I somehow agreed. "But... what about next year? You know, a nice, like, spring wedding." She was actually excited at the thought.

I was too. All of my nervousness was changing to excitement. It all just melded into one emotion that I couldn't even try to explain.

Spring next year. I could live with that.

By spring the next year, Sarah Katherine McMahon would be my wife. Except she wouldn't be McMahon, would she? She'd be Mrs. Hickenbottom.

Spring next year was so close but so far away at the same time.

I finally decided I would go nuts if I just sat there and dwelled on it.

So I forced myself to come back to the present, where I was sitting with the best girl in world and she was holding my hand under the table while telling me all about the last thing she knew oh too much about. Where I was having a nice anniversary dinner, and later we would watch a movie and do much more than watch a movie.

Where life was good, at least in one aspect.

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-A/N-
Yo, yo, yo. I'm late as hell but it's okay because Shawtherine is too cute. Look at my babies, I love them so much.