Bring You Back to Love

Chapter 14

I hear myself gasp slightly as I look around my backyard. There are white Christmas lights strung all around with Sam Smith playing through a small speaker near my back porch.

My eyes slowly fall to the middle of the yard to see a table set up for dinner for 2 with candles in the middle. Standing beside the table is my favorite brown eyed boy with a cheeky grin on his face. I notice he's wearing khaki shorts and his purple and green plaid Ralph Lauren button up, which happens to be my favorite outfit on him.

Once our eyes meet, we meet in the middle and I watch his eyes run over me. "Boy, do I know how to pick out clothes for you or what?"

I laugh slightly and nod, glancing down at my dress once before looking back to him. "You clean up pretty nice yourself, Boggs."

"Thank ya, thank ya very much." He winks before coming around and pulling my chair out, allowing me to sit down.

I sigh, looking around again as he sits across from me. "So you sent me on a wild goose chase today because..?"

He laughs and drapes a napkin across his lap. "It's really bugging you that you don't know, isn't it?" When I give him a look, he laughs again. "Nah, it was really so I could set all this up without you knowing about it. But, did you have fun?"

A soft smile spreads across my lips and I nod. "I did. I mean, not as much fun without you, but still fun. I beat them all at mini golf and I got 4 new books, and a cookies and cream milkshake."

"I knew that all that would happen." He smiles, proud of himself. "Hungry? We have a 3 course meal ahead of us. OH WAITER!"

Turning slightly, I see Tri coming at us with a tray carrying 2 bowls. "Good evening. Here is your salads."

I can't help but giggle at him before he walks away. I look over at Sam and shake my head. "They're gonna hate you when this is over."

With a shrug, he starts to dig in to the salad in front of him. "I told them I'd owe them big time."

It's quiet for a moment before I speak up again after taking a few bites of my salad. "So what is all this for?"

"Well it's 2 fold actually," he says wiping his mouth. "Number 1, today happens to be 2 months since we got back together."

My eyes light up, realizing the day. "Oh my goodness, it is! That's crazy. I mean, good crazy, just I can't believe it's gone so fast. Ok, so what's the other part?"

He grins mischievously and finishes up his salad. "Sorry, you're gonna have to wait til dessert for that one, Mally bean. WAITER!"

Snapping his fingers again, Brayden comes out then carrying 2 plates, placing them in front of each of us. "Your dinner, your majesties."

I laugh out loud then and Sam gives him a look before Brayden rolls his eyes and walks back towards my house.

My eyes light up as soon as I see the food in front of me. "Mmm chicken alfredo, my favorite!"

"I know," Sam says proudly with a mouth full already.

A giggle escapes my lips when I see a bit of alfredo sauce at the corner of his mouth. "Sam, babycakes, you got a little something... Come here"

We lean in just enough to reach each other across the table so I can wipe his mouth a napkin. He smirks and pulls a crooked grin.

It was my weakness. Always has been. When he grins like that, it pulls my direct attention to his lips and I can't do anything but kiss him. So I do.

When I lean back, he's still staring at me with that same look. "Would you stop?"

"Why?" He asked innocently with a chuckle, shoving another bite of food into his mouth.

I raise an eyebrow and shake my head, twirling my fork around in my noodles. "Because you know why."

Another laugh escapes him as he wipes his mouth. I can almost guarantee he's gonna make me say it until I see him sigh and smile at me again. "I love you, Mal."

Looking up at him again, I smile bigger. "And I love you, Sam," I reply simply.

I go back to my food, twisting my fork in it again before slipping another bite in my mouth. We continue talking over our food and go on to finish dessert as well, which was my favorite, Oreo cheesecake. I know Sam didn't make all this food but I didn't wanna burst his bubble and ask who did.

"Alright, Boggs. We made it through this whole dinner, now tell me what else is up." I say, wiping my mouth for the final time.

He rubs his hands together before reaching behind his back and pulls out an envelope, getting a folded paper out of it and handing it over to me.

I'm confused at first when I see the heading at the top, but when I read the first sentence, I know exactly what it is. My eyes widen and a smile bigger than Texas spreads across my face. "You got in to Vanderbilt? W-what? Explain!"

He smiles back and nods, putting his elbows on the table and leaning onto them. "Yep. I applied, got in, and now I will be moving in there in a week."

Excitement takes over me and I run over, jumping into his arms, wrapping mine around his neck and hugging him hard. "I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU! This is... I was worried about this and now..."

"I know, baby, I know. You're stuck with me now." He says, looking down at me and winking.

I grin and nod, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "I'm perfectly fine with that."

He presses his lips to mine for a moment before A Thousand Years by Christina Perri comes through the speakers.

Pulling away, I giggle slightly. "Throwback much?"

He smiles and nods again. "Yeah, but you used to sing this all the time and every time I heard it, I could only think of you.... So, can I have this dance, Mally bean?"

When he holds out his hand, I take it and we come together a few feet from the table, swaying slowly back and forth.

It's quiet for a moment and I breathe a sigh of relief. Everything was fine, everything was perfect again. This was where I was supposed to be in life all along. I look up at him and smile. "I could say it a million times and it still doesn't compare to how much I truly do love you, but I do. I love you I love you I love you, Sam."

He takes a breath, smiling back to me before he replies. "I'm in love with you. And I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have... and I am in love with you, Mallory Brooke."

I look at him with my mouth dropped open and a slight smile playing at the corners of my lips before it grows into a full one. "Oh my god... Samuel Harrison Boggs you memorized my favorite part in my favorite book."

"Oh, did I? I could've sworn I made all that up." He raises eyebrows and gives me a goofy grin, holding up a finger. "Not only did I memorize that part, I read the whole thing. Okay?"

I giggle and shake my head, looping my arms around his neck and staring up at him. "After I begged you to read it 3 years ago, you finally did?"

He nods and presses his forehead to mine gently. "And I swear if you tell anybody that, I'll deny it and never have your babies."

A loud laugh escapes me then and I nod, kissing his nose. "Your secret's safe with me. Okay?"

"Okay." He says just above a whisper as the song ends.

It's quiet now, but we're still swaying back and forth, wrapped in each other's arms with the stars as our only audience and it hit me that this is my own definition of happiness. And I hoped it was his.