⇾ 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 | 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐈

Chapter Seventy-Two: A Real Romantic Softie, Lennon is

"John, hurry it up, will ye?"

John rolled his eyes with an amused smile on his face. "I mustn't keep the guests waiting," he whispered, winking before he turned and disappeared in the stairwell. I went towards the table to cover up what was left of the casserole and salad we'd been eating. I took them and put them into the fridge before going to work on the dishes.

One thing I'd learned over the years was that sometimes it felt good to just be alone. It was good to just go over everything in your head to yourself rather than discussing it with someone. It was great to have friends, but it was also good to take time to yourself.

I'd made it through half of the dishes when someone entered the room behind me. I turned and saw Jane waiting with an eager smile.

I grinned. "What've ye got to say?" I asked with a little giggle.

"You're getting married!" she whisper-yelled, her face twisting in excitement.

I flashed her the ring. "You bet I am," I responded, laughing.

"Yay!" she screeched rather loudly and I put a frantic finger to my mouth, unable to stop giggling as I told her to be quiet.

She came over to me, continuing to smile. "Need any help?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No," I answered. "I'm almost done."

"Sure?"

"I'm sure," I responded, continuing my work. Jane sat down at the counter, taking another cupcake out of the container they were in. I finished up my work and washed my hands, going to join her at the island and leaning down against my hands.

A moment later, Maureen and Pattie joined us.

"Get boring down there?" I asked them amusedly. Maureen and Pattie took the other two seats at the counter.

"Congratulations," said Maureen timidly with a bright smile. I didn't talk to Maureen as much as Pattie and Jane, but from the time that I had spent with her, I knew that she was very nice.

"Thank you," I said, smiling.

"You feel any different?" asked Jane.

I giggled and shook my head, taking a cupcake of my own out of the container. They were pretty good. "Of course I don't. I'm still the same old Donna Epstein I was before."

"But you'll be Donna Lennon in a few months time!" said Jane optimistically.

~~~

The boys were all downstairs for quite a while. Pattie and I told Jane and Maureen about Tahiti, and they told us all about the Virgin Islands. From the way they talked, they had just as much a good time as us.

When the others finally came back up, they were all laughing and sweating as if they'd just put on a whole concert down there.

John came up and put his arms around me, bending down to kiss me on the cheek. All of the others went towards the door to retrieve their jackets.

"Thank you so much for having us," said Jane when her and Paul were getting ready to leave, pulling me into a hug.

"Thank you for coming," I responded promptly, pulling away to smile.

"Bye, Donna!" Paul said optimistically with a little pat on my back, followed closely by the rest of the Beatles bidding me goodbye before disappearing out my front door.

"Bri," I said, turning to him with a smile. "Thank you for coming." I went and threw my arms around his neck.

"Anytime, kiddo," he said to me, pulling back to kiss me on the forehead. "Thanks for having me."

"Goodnight, Brian," said John, waving to him as he went towards the door.

"Goodnight," he responded.

When the door closed behind him and we heard him walk away, John and I turned to look at one another. We both seemed to notice the change in the atmosphere as we were left alone.

"You feel that?" he asked, cracking a mischievous smirk.

"It appears I do," I responded innocently.

"You're beautiful," he said simply.

"Am I?" I asked, flushing a deep shade of red. I watched out the front windows as Brian's headlights fluttered across the walls and disappeared.

"Mhm," John affirmed. "You are."

I looked into his eyes and smiled. He closed the painfully large gap between us with a slow and passionate kiss.

"I—." When he pulled away, I was left breathless. He eyed me imploringly, beckoning me to finish my sentence. "I love you," I said. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

He smiled. "That's awfully coincidental," he quipped. "Because I love you, I love you, I love you too." Without warning, he swooped down to take me into his arms, silencing my alarmed yelp with another kiss.