My Beautiful Chaos

Chocolate Milk and Football Teams

I finally made it into the supermarket, digging through my purse in search of the list I made so I wouldn't forget something. The list was actually unnecessary since I just needed some breakup supplies, like ice cream, chocolate, Nutella and copious amounts of chocolate milk, don't judge.

I didn't really think that I needed any of this, but my best friend insisted that I was depressed and had to get the break up out of my system. I just thought it was stupid, who cares if your boyfriend was creeping around with your sister, not me, nope, not at all.

I finally found the list and held it up in triumph, making my way to the dairy section to find my guilty pleasure. There was just something about chocolate milk that made me think of comfort and hugs and nights spent in my grandparent's cabin in front of the fireplace in the winter.

That memory was ruined now, though, I had taken Jace with me the last time we visited, the stupid boy had to ruin EVERYTHING, didn't he? I felt a painful pang go through my chest remembering how much he had made us all laugh when he slipped and couldn't get up in the snow around the cabin. Always the clumsy idiot.

My eyes stung with unshed tears. NO. I would not break down when I was so close to getting chocolate milk and convincing myself that none of this was even happening. I closed my eyes, shook my head twice and squared my shoulders, taking a deep breath. I collected myself and kept moving towards the dairy section, looking down at my list to see if I had forgotten anything Trixie had insisted I get for my break-up binge night.

I still found it a little odd that she was so insistent on me coming to get all of this stuff. She adored Jace, I honestly thought she would try to force me to talk to him. I had been avoiding his calls ever since I found him at his apartment, sprawled on the floor with my sister on top of him. They may have been fully clothed, but I know cheating when I see it. He hadn't stopped coming by my place and trying to talk to me, but I refused to see him or my sister. I never wanted to see him ever again. I would talk to my sister, Kat, at some point. But that point was NOT today, or you know, for the next five years or so.

I made it to the chocolate milk aisle and looked up from my list only to stop mid-step. Jace was leaning against the milk fridge in a suit with his arms crossed over his chest. His glasses kept sliding off and he pushed them back up as his beautiful warm brown eyes fell on me. He immediately stood up straight and took a step towards me.

I turned, ready to bolt, only to be blocked by Jace's huge brother and his professional football teammates.

I turned back, glaring at Jace as he smiled sheepishly, showing off those dimples I loved so much.

"Let me go" I insisted and he walked up to me, grabbing my hands in his,

"Not before you hear me out, I didn't cheat on you, Lizzy. I swear I didn't cheat on you, I would never do that," He said with such sincerity that I almost believed him.

"Keep your excuses to yourself, you cheating bastard!"

"I swear to you I didn't cheat, I've never cheated in my entire life,"

I scoffed, ripping my hands from his,

"Yeah, I can tell. Who gives their girlfriend a key to the apartment they're using to cheat on her with?"

"See! That right there is proof that I didn't cheat! I would never be stupid enough to be caught if I was cheating!"

"Really not helping yourself out here, bro," Bryson, Jace's younger football player brother groaned out from where he was blocking my way with his team.

Jace dragged his hand through his thick chestnut hair, blowing out air in exasperation before grabbing my hands and pressing them against his chest in an iron grip.

"I didn't want you to find out like this, but Kat was just helping me with something."

"Yeah, I saw that,"

"NO! Not like that! The reason I was on the floor was because I was practicing something and I was startled when I heard your keys and I lost my footing and fell and then something slipped out of my pocket. Something I really didn't want you to see, Kat did the first thing that came to her mind and sprang on me to get to it before you could see it."

I stared at him blankly. How much of an idiot does this man think I am?

I shook my head and pulled my hands away from him,

"Goodbye, Jace," I whispered out, my throat clogging up with unshed tears at his panicked expression. I grabbed a carton of chocolate milk and turned back towards the wall of men who had all scattered at the sight of my teary eyes.

"Lizzy!" He called out, and I turned because I was such a sucker for punishment and tears, and I really just wanted to look at him one last time.

I wasn't expecting for him to be on one knee holding up a diamond ring, though.

"This is what we were hiding from you. She was helping me plan a dance number for the proposal I was planning," I nearly ran to him in that moment, my resolve nearly breaking as a few tears ran down his cheeks. He never cried.

"I-I swear to you, Lizzy. I didn't cheat, I was just trying to ask in the best way possible for you to spend the rest of your life with me. Please, please don't tell me that that isn't an option anymore,"

The tears were really streaming down my cheeks now. I wanted to believe him, especially because Kat was a choreographer and that the hardest part about it was to think that she would ever go near him. She was my other half, after all.

I had remained silent for a little while by now and Jace looked as if he was in physical pain, he probably was, how comfortable can a knee really be on a tiled floor? I saw nothing but honesty in his eyes, and it felt like I could breathe again because I believed him, I knew he wasn't lying.

"Please, Lizzy. I'm begging you not to leave me. Please, marry me?"

I let out a short chuckle and shook my head walking towards him. He immediately shot up and wrapped his arms tightly around me,

"I love you, I love you so much," He kept mumbling, hugging me to him in a death grip.

I hugged him back, unable to see this as the wrong decision since I knew Kat was crazy enough to jump over anyone if she wanted to keep a surprise from me. Jace held up the ring to me and slipped it onto my finger, despite the fact that I hadn't actually said yes.

I punched him hard in the stomach and he huffed out, bending over in pain,

"That's for ruining my actual proposal, you asshat,"

He smiled, obviously still in pain, and grabbed my face in his hands before kissing me soundly, like there wasn't a crowd that had formed around us, mostly consisting of a professional football team, like it was just us, and in that moment, I couldn't agree more.