Hi, guys! The sequel is finally here! I will be making so many references to Time After Time so read that first if you haven't already! This book is basically a continuation of the legacy from Time After Time. Kind of hard to appreciate a lot of details here if you don't know what happened in book one lol. Hope y'all enjoy this prologue... can't wait to show y'all what comes next 🤭
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June 15, 1995
Daniel drives through the streets with Rosalía in the passenger seat. They ride in comfortable silence as an Aaliyah song plays on the radio. Rosalía softly sings and bops her head along to the song. She progressively gets louder until she's singing at full volume, fully getting into it. Daniel glances at her and chortles before setting his eyes back on the road. Rosalía has pretty nice vocals so he thoroughly enjoys hearing her sing. The song finally ends, so Rosalía turns the knob on the stereo to look for a new station. She stops when "Dreaming of You" by Selena sounds through the speakers, making her heart drop. A frown slowly forms on her face as she slumps back into her seat.
Instantly recognizing the song, Daniel turns his attention to her while they're at a red light. He places a hand on her thigh and lightly squeezes it in an attempt to provide comfort. "You okay, love?" he asks. It's only been a little over two months since Rosalía's favorite singer, Selena, tragically died, which affected her deeply. The woman sighs sadly. "Yeah, I'm fine," she dully replies. Daniel gives her a sympathetic look. "Do you want to change the stat-" he begins to say before getting interrupted. "No, no, don't," Rosalía quickly opposes. "Okay," the man whispers before looking ahead again. The light turns green and he continues driving.
Soon enough, they arrive in the parking lot of their apartment building and hop out of the car. They walk to the elevator hand-in-hand and get in, pressing the button for their floor. Daniel wipes his clammy hand on his pants, which Rosalía takes notice of. She examines his face and body language. He's tense and trying really hard to hide something. "Are you okay? You've been acting kind of weird all night," his girlfriend calls him out.
The couple had gotten dressed up and went out to dinner and dancing at Daniel's request. They both love going to dances and he wanted to make this night as romantic and special as he could for his girlfriend. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he responds, trying to sound normal. The elevator doors open and the two walk out. As they approach their shared apartment, Daniel tugs on Rosalía's hand, making her stop. "What's wrong?" she asks. "I just want to say something before we go in..." the man trails off, smiling softly. Rosalía nods, waiting for him to proceed.
"Okay, um... You know, I still remember the first time I saw you 11 years ago. It still feels like it was yesterday. When I saw you walking in my direction, I just remember thinking: 'wow, she's pretty.' I thought you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen... which I still do, of course," he voices. Rosalía smiles fondly, feeling her heart flutter. Daniel pulls the woman forward and takes out his keys. "If only I knew back then that I had just seen my future best friend, girlfriend, and the love of my life... " he continues before unlocking the door and opening it. He lets Rosalía walk in first and she turns on the light. As soon as she does, people pop out from their hiding spots, startling her.
A mariachi band, Lucille, Mr. Miyagi, the homies, and Rosalía's family are inside the apartment. She steps further inside, giving everyone a quizzical look. The mariachi starts playing "Yo Quiero Ser Tu Amante [I Want To Be Your Lover]" by Vicente Fernández and Rosalía smiles, pleasantly surprised by the serenade. Daniel comes up to her and snakes his arm around her waist, watching the band perform. When the song is almost over, Daniel slips away from his girlfriend and stands behind her. The lead singer sings the last line and the music soon ends, making everyone clap.
Rosalía whirls around to ask her boyfriend what's going on but is stunned when she sees him down on one knee. Her smile drops as she stares at him in complete shock. Daniel just stares back with a nervous and hopeful smile. "We've been together for almost 11 years and there's no one else I'd rather spend the rest of my life with..." he commences, taking a small black box from behind his back and opening it to unveil a beautiful diamond ring. Rosalía's hands fly to her mouth when she sees it. Oh, my God, is this really happening? She wonders as tears well up in her eyes. "Rosalía Amaya Juárez... will you marry me?" Daniel finally pops the question, staring up at her with hopeful eyes.
The tears threaten to spill from the woman's eyes as she smiles down at him. Everyone watches in anticipation, desperately wanting her to say yes. She rapidly nods her head and answers, "yes. Yes, I'll marry you!" Everyone cheers and the mariachi starts playing a happy tune. Daniel releases a gleeful laugh and takes the ring out of the box. Rosalía lowers her left hand and he slips the ring onto her finger before straightening up and embracing his now-fiancée in a bear hug. They both laugh ecstatically, feeling like they're on top of the world. Daniel pulls back just enough to capture Rosalía's lips in a passionate kiss.
Everyone starts surrounding them to congratulate them, all excited that they're finally getting married. "Congratulations, Rosalía-san and Daniel-san. This have strong root, huh?" Mr. Miyagi pipes up, chuckling. He always knew these two were perfect for each other. He's excited to see where life takes them and is happy to know that they'll always have each other. "Yes, it does," Rosalía replies, grinning at her fiancé. Their parents are next to come up to them to express their joy for the couple, followed by their friends. They spend the rest of the night celebrating their engagement with their loved ones but slip away at one point to have some privacy.
They stand on the balcony looking at the view of the city. "This is the start of a new chapter for us," Daniel comments, wrapping his arm around Rosalía's shoulders. She lifts her hand to admire her ring. "Yeah... I can't wait," she replies, turning her head to gaze into the man's eyes. She pecks his lips before resting her head on his shoulder. "Rosalía LaRusso... I like the sound of that," Daniel claims. His fiancée giggles at this. She thinks about it for a moment before speaking up.
"Nah... Rosalía Juárez LaRusso."