Amelia wasn't looking for love. She wasn't looking for anything. All she wanted was to enjoy her vacation and celebrate her best friend's wedding. Little did she know she would develop feelings for a complete stranger. Maybe he felt the same way abo...
They took the train back to his place, it was closer. The storm was almost upon them. He could feel the change in the atmosphere. The air was tinged with a slight warning as the atmosphere shifted and a wild breeze began to blow.
He didn't want to be caught in this storm. New York can be quite messy when it snowed and people tend to get stranded. He'd had a long day. He was too tired to spend three hours traveling home, when he was just half an hour away. It sounds ridiculous, but he was speaking from a past experience. It had happened to him before.
During the whole train ride home he kept thinking about her having that panic attack. For the first time he saw real fear in her eyes. His heart broke for her and he hated that he didn't know what to do for her in the moment. He hated that his hands were tied, that she didn't immediately confide her feelings to him. He hated the fact that her ex was such an idiot.
Amelia was so sweet and loving. How could anyone do that to her? She was small and perfect. When he met her that day, he immediately felt protective towards her. Even when they were literally trampling through the jungle, he was watching out for her, trying to make sure she didn't fall. His first instinct was always to wrap her in his arms and keep her safe.
It was at this thought that an idea started to bloom in his mind. He knew what he had to do for her. She deserved it. He only hoped that she would keep her promise and not run away when he did ask. He already decided that he was going to ask her to marry him. He just needed the right moment. He had to time it perfectly. He would have to be very creative and make sure she didn't foresee it. If she did, she might panic again and say that she wasn't ready. She was ready. She just didn't want to admit it.
The entire idea was scary, he got that. Marriage terrified him. He was most afraid that he wouldn't know the right things to do and turn out to be a terrible husband. The very last thing he could ever want was to be a disappointment to Lia. He never wanted to loose her trust, or her love, or let her down.
On the other hand, he certainly didn't want to be alone in life. He was growing older. He wanted to share his years with someone he loved. He wanted to make new memories and do the things that are only special when you have someone you cared about, to share them with. Lia was that person for him.
He whole idea of proposing gave him so much anxiety. The first time he was spontaneous and just blurted it out in a moment of pure joy. He was young and carefree. It was perfect in it's own way. But this time...this time he was going to plan it well. He wasn't that young anymore and he needed to be smart and do things the right way so he wouldn't scare her. He didn't think he would ever have another chance at love if he couldn't be with Li. She was it for him. He dreaded loosing her everyday. It was a dark cloud that hung over his head due to the lessons life had taught him. That was also why he felt he should ask her to marry him now. Why waste time, any thing can happen at any moment and their lives could be forever changed. Why not make the most of the time they had now? They had no idea what the future held. No one did.
It as around eight when they arrived at his place. They were both cold and hungry. He let Lia get undressed and have her shower first, while he got started on dinner. It wasn't anything much. He was reheating soup that he'd already made. Nothing like hot soup on a cold stormy day.
She looked adorable dressed in his grey pajamas when she came into the kitchen.
"I've an idea," he told her as she wrapped her arms around his middle, and laid her cheek on his back.
He was standing at the stove, stirring the soup to keep it from burning.
"What's that?" She asked.
"Let's take a small trip."
"Where?"
"Nowhere far. Right here. New York."
"Where exactly?"
"Upstate. There's a place I want to show you."
"When?" She asked curiously.
"Well that's flexible. Whenever you can get away."
"The year just started so I have lots of vacation days," she noted.
"Perfect. It could be just a long weekend away."
"When would you like to go?" She asked.
"Valentine's day, February?"
"Oh."
She released him and stepped back.
He turned off the stove and covered the soup with the lid. He then reached for her and took her in his arms. He rested his head on top of hers.
"I just think that it would be nice to get away from the city. Plus, this will be our first thing to celebrate together."
"We had New Years," she said into his chest.
"That doesn't count. We were broken up at the time."
"No, I think we had just made up."
"Barely," he countered, "let's plan a small getaway for Valentines, just the two of us, leave this city behind."
He unwrapped her arms from around his middle and lifted her chin up with his index finger, "Say yes Lia...please...for me."
He knew she couldn't say no if he asked nicely enough.
"Ok, let's do it," she declared.
He swooped down and kissed her soundly. When they broke apart, she took a deep breath and swayed a little. He steadied her by placing his hands on her hips.
"Thanks baby. I promise this will be the best Valentines you ever had."
"Well, I haven't had that many, so there isn't much to compare it to."
She was always so skeptical of everything. He found it cute and had this deep urge to prove her wrong. She was so easy to love, it was incredible. He never knew loving someone could bring so much joy to his life. He was happy and he knew that in the days to come, he would be even more happy, as long as he had her by his side.
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Hello,
I sincerely apologize for such a long wait for this chapter. Life happened and truth be told, I've had some really crappy moments.
