2 years later. . .
Elizabeth's P.O.V-
Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap.
It's the sound my fingers make as they tap against the window sill. My leg is shaking with anxiety as my eyes stay glued to the front of the house.
Andreas is coming today.
Let me rephrase that. Andreas is coming to Boston to see me. It's been almost 8 months since I've seen him and I don't think I can wait any longer. The last time he messaged me was 3 hours ago, and nothing has come in since. He knows I can't wait for anything, he should know that I'm waiting here for him, why isn't he texting me every five minutes?
What if he's lost? Oh god, Boston is huge he could be anywhere.
"Oh, stop it," I mumble to myself.
I hear a tsking coming from my open bedroom door, "I knew you would start talking to yourself like a crazy person soon. Mom swore the gene skipped you, but I highly doubt it." I groan and throw a pillow at Bridget.
"Couldn't you have just stayed with Teddy up in Aspen?"
"Ewe, no! There was nothing for me to do up there." Teddy and his fellowship friends decided to take a trip up to Aspen for the summer break, he asked, wait- no, begged Bridget to come up there with him, but she complained and told him no. He was sad, but also sounded relieved. If she would have gone, she would have driven him crazy.
He dodged a bullet.
"Go downstairs and help mom make dinner or something." I shoo her off with a wave, darting my eyes out the window to see if Andreas is out there, he isn't.
She walks over to me, pushing my head out the way as she looks out the window, "You know he's actually coming to see me. I am hard to stay away from." I roll my eyes. "He will come when he comes Eliza. Take a chill pill." She finally leaves my room.
I jump when my phone rings, but it isn't who I expect. "Jill, make it quick, Andreas may call me any minute now."
"Let me guess, you're sitting at your window waiting for him like a perched bird?" She laughs.
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." I hold my chin high.
Yet again, she laughs, "I miss you so much! It's lonely down here at campus. The only people to talk to are the lunch ladies and the crossing guard. I wish you could have stayed." Jill, like a fucking nerd, decided to stay at Berkeley during the summer to take extra classes. I would have done the same thing, but why take classes over the summer when I can hang with my boyfriend and have hot sex.
"I wanted you to come here to Boston with me. I could have shown you the sights, stayed up all night, and watch romantic movies."
"My education comes first for me, you know that."
"How's Daniel doing in Europe?"
"Making money and probably partying with the Queen. The last time I talked to him was last night and he was coming back from the studio." Her voice saddens. "I am worried about him, though. He's been working so hard in the studio lately, and coming home late and having to get back up again."
"It's Daniel, you know how hard he works and I'm sure he's fine." I try to soothe her worrying mind. In front of the house, I see a taxi pull up- OH MY GOD!
"Jesus, can you not scream so loud." Jill winces. I didn't even know I said that out loud.
"I need to go, Andreas is here."
"I figured." I just know she's rolling her eyes.
"I'll call you later. I love you." I tell her, putting on my house shoes and combing down my wild curls.
"No, the hell you won't, you'll be too busy having sex with him. Love you too, bye." She hangs up first.
Once my hair is tame and I've smoothed down my teddy bear pajamas, it's the best pajamas I have, I run out the door, but am pushed to the side by a tall empire state building person.
"Move bitch." Bridget said as she booked it down the stairs to the door.
"Bridget, no!" I scream. "He's my boyfriend," I whine like a child getting told no.
"And he's my best friend!" A knock comes from the door and Bridget opens it. In walks Andreas and I swear my heart stops.
He's so tall, was he always that tall? His hair is dark black, the smile is so golden and bright. Looking at him is like the first time all over again. A black t-shirt and coat cling to his upper body, dark jeans on the bottom with boots. I smiled at them. I told him to bring boots, it sometimes snows, and is hard to walk through without boots.
I stand in the middle of the staircase; I can't go any further since Bridget has it blocked off. He sits down his suitcase and bag; Bridget wasted no time wrapping her entire body around him.
"I missed you so much, Dre!" She squeals. He chuckles, clinging to her body tightly. She kisses his cheeks.
"Missed you too, babe." He said to her, spitting her hair out his mouth. I see his eyes looking around for me, they find me on the staircase. Clad in teddy bear pajamas, bed hair, and wet palms. I try to contain myself, try to keep my ground. His eyes smile at me, and he mouths, "Hi baby."
I blush, waving back like it's my first time meeting him, "Hi." I mouth back.
"Bridget, let him go please, he is my boyfriend. I should have the opportunity to hold him first."
Her head turns in my direction, she thinks for a moment, then lets him go. "We have to hang out later."
"Of course, we will."
She sneers down at me, "Now presenting to you, my troll of a sister."
God, I want to smash her face in, "Thank you, kind jester." She sticks her tongue out and follows the smell of my mother's pot roast in the kitchen.
When she leaves, Andreas and I stand in the foyer. I shiver when the cold air wraps around me, he notices and shuts the door. The only sound to be heard are the voices from the kitchen and our breaths intermingling with each other.
It's been so long; it feels like a millennium.
"Hi," I speak.
"Hello, Elizabeth." To hear my name on his tongue sends a strong gust of wind to my gut. I take a step towards him and he takes one to me, but before we could touch each other my parents come barging down the hall from the kitchen.
"Andreas is that you!" She coos. "Come here, son-in-law." Her oven mit hands pull him towards her as her arms wrap around him. Then, she leans back and kisses him right on the lips. He just stares at her, smiling, but also stunned. My father does the same thing.
"Mom," I say to her quietly. "You've got to stop kissing him on the lips, I'm the only one that should be doing that, and stop calling him your son-in-law, we're not married."
"Not yet." My father points out. "It's only a matter of time, isn't that right Andreas." He yanks his shoulder so hard that Andreas jolts forward. I can see an embarrassing red come across his cheeks.
My father and Andreas are now closer than ever, as we can see. He was hesitant at first, thinking Andreas would realize he didn't want a girlfriend a flake out, but he didn't. And my father was glad of that.
Andreas stutters, "Uh- I don't know- well, maybe." My eyes widen at this. We never talked about marriage, or even being engaged really. The only time it was mentioned was when he called me Elizabeth Chen, and for a moment I was able to envision myself as his wife, cooking him dinner and having his children.
It was for a split second.
Nothing more.
"Come to the kitchen, I'm sure you're hungry." They both grab a hand and guide him towards the kitchen. He just looks at me, pleading, I shrug my shoulders saying that it's out of my hands.
I follow behind them.
Andreas sniffs, "That smells good, what is it?" He asked, sitting on the stool at the countertop. I stand to the side, watching everything.
"Pot roast." My mother answered. "Remember when you came home for Christmas last year and you said you loved my pot roast?" He nods his head, smiling as the memory plays in his head. "When Eliza told us you were coming, I had to make it for you."
"You didn't have to do all this for me." He spoke.
She waves him off, "Anything for my Andreas."
"Andreas, is that you?" My 90-year-old grandmother hobbles into the kitchen, cane in her hand as she chews on a cookie. I think it's a prune cookie that helps her poop.
"Hi, grandma." She wraps her arm around him, he kisses the top of her head. It took him a while to get used to calling her grandma. In the beginning, when she was skeptical about him, she made him call her Mrs. Bratton, my mother's maiden name. When she realized he wasn't going anywhere, she told him to call her grandma.
Her eyes dart to me, "Why didn't you tell me he was coming here? I would have dressed better." She's wearing her favorite purple robe with black slippers.
"I did tell you, but you were too busy watching Stranger Things."
Andreas gasps, "You watched the show without me. I thought we would watch it together." He gets a pained look on his face.
She shrugs her shoulders, "We can watch it after dinner, you don't have anything to do, do you?" He looks at me.
"I was going to spend some time with Elizabeth, maybe we can rain check," I swear she sticks her middle finger up at me. I can't believe I'm competing against my grandma for my boyfriend.
"You mean sex, right?" At that, my father coughs on his wine while my mother's hand jolts as she stirs up the pot roast, flicking some of the juice out of the pan. "What! Don't act like that's not what we were all thinking."
Alright, I need to end this.
I walk over and grab Andreas's hand, it feels warm in mine, "We're going to be in my room. We'll be down for dinner."
As we run from the kitchen and up the stairs, I hear my father yell, "Keep the door open."
No way.
Once the door shuts, it's just Andreas and me. My body holds up against the door, the anticipation to jump his bones scorches through my body, but I don't move, instead, I just watch him watch me. He stands a few feet away from me, walking around my room admiring everything.
"I always imagined what your room looked like." He said, hands fingering some photos on the wall.
"Is it everything you imagined?" I asked.
He turns to me, fire in his eyes, "I would say yes, but one thing is missing." I hear his voice drop an octave.
"What?" My voice was breathless and my chest was heaving. I see his eyes moving from my breast to my face.
"You, laying on your bed, naked." From that statement, I laughed. It was soon quieted by his lips pressing on mine, one arm looped around my waist while his hand held us up against the door. It wasn't an eager or heated kiss, instead, it was soft and pleasurable. My toes curled in my socks and every vein in my body burned. My hands hang dead by my side, not even being able to move or hold onto him.
This kiss is killing me.
He moves from my lips to the nape of my neck, mumbling against my skin, "I didn't know you could miss a person this much."
I just breathed, that's all I could manage to do as he kissed and touched me everywhere.
"Aren't you going to say anything, or have I taken your breath away?" A pleasant sigh leaves my lips as he caresses my side. "I guess I took your breath away then."
I find myself being picked up and carried to my bed, he laid me down gently like a doll. First, my legs, butt, arms, and then head. For a minute, he just stared at me, taking in every breath, blink, beat, and tingle.
"How long do we have before someone bursts into this room?"
My hands can move again and I hold his arms, "10 minutes."
"Let's use that time wisely then." We start making out on my childhood bed as we memorized each other's bodies again. He still felt the same, warm body, the same dragon tattoo that I once kissed, and those soft black eyes that can darken if provoked.
At just the right time, someone burst into my room just as Andreas's hand starts to slide down my leg.
"Grandma!" I screamed, covering myself with my top.
She scoffs, "Please Elizabeth, I have boobs too, you have nothing I haven't seen. Come on Andreas, we need to watch Stranger Things." As she walks to the door, she turns to see that Andreas isn't following. "Come boy." Her voice was sterner.
He looks at me like I can stop her from taking him, "I told you someone would come in. You better go down there before she drags you." He looks back, seeing the look of impatience in her eyes. His lips connect with my lips, then pats my thigh and follow my grandma.
"Shit." I curse
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"So, that's just the kitchen. Then, when you go down this hallway, there's a bidet that literally cleans your ass better than soap and water. I have always seen them in fancy movies but never been somewhere lavish enough to see one. I'm telling you; you and Andreas have to come here in the summer with Parker and me." Tana rambles this all to me on facetime.
"If you tell me there are letters on the towels, I'm going to have a heart attack," I tell her, chewing on my popcorn. During 20 minutes of the tour, I had her pause so I could make a snack. When I started walking past the living room to get to the stairs, I checked in on Andreas. He and my grandma were sucked into the world of Stranger Things, not even noticing that I walked past.
He might like her more than me, I can't believe I'm jealous of my grandma hanging with my boyfriend.
"Oh, then you haven't seen anything yet." I watch as she runs with the camera, I can't pinpoint anything since the camera is shaky and some random noise comes over it. The camera stops shaking and sits on the counter, she grabs something from the right side, and low and behold, a towel with the letter L on it for Lyon. Parker Lyon. "He's so fucking rich!"
"Even though I'm seeing it, I can't believe it! This is the type of stuff you see in movies, not in real life. Has he made you your own towel?"
"Not yet, but maybe soon." She goes back to their bedroom, plopping down on the million thread count sheets.
Tana and Parker are at his villa in the south of France. His family owns a bunch of oil rigs and multi-million dollar houses out in Calabasas and the valley. I heard his father parties with Dwayne Johnson and Tom Cruise. Anyway, Tana has been benefiting from his wealth. He takes her on vacations during the summer, spring break, and winter break. I remember her asking what her family thinks, she said they were worried, but when Parker flew them out to Dubai, they understood.
"You know what's crazy?"
"What?"
She sighs, "I won't lie and say I wasn't interested in his money, because, in the beginning, I was. When we started hanging out and talking more, I got to like him and realize he's more than his money. He admitted to me that throwing money at me was his only way to convince me to like him. We were both shallow, but not anymore. I- I may even love him, Eliza."
I blow out a breath, "This is serious, Tana. I never heard you say you loved anyone, not even us."
"Don't you dare say that I tell you I love you all the time? Do you think I could love him, that we could be more and forever, like you and Andreas?"
I lay back on my bed, stretching out my limbs, "Well, that's a big question to ask someone. I don't know if I can answer it properly."
"Alright, then tell me how you knew you loved Andreas?"
"Ummm, for me I don't think there was a defining moment. At first, it was just sex, for the both of us, then somewhere down the line, it turned into liking each other, then love. It was little things like I couldn't even look at another guy the same way after Andreas. He was always on my mind, even when we weren't talking, his smell was all over me, he was what I saw when I woke up and went to sleep. No matter what I did, he wasn't leaving me and I him. I felt so beautiful when he looked at me, so wanted. There's nothing like being wanted, Tana, truly wanted. If you have to question if you love someone, then you probably don't, and that's fine maybe your feelings for him will come later. Not everyone falls in love at the same time."
"Elizabeth Pratt, that's the deepest shit you've ever said! I can say I feel a little of that for Parker, but not extremely, I think that I could love him one day." In the background, I hear someone yelling her name, probably Parker. "Hey, I've got to go, Parker's taking me to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, talk to you later, love you!" She hangs up before I can say goodbye.
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Later on that night, I went downstairs to check on Andreas and my grandma. The TV was off, the only thing seen was the soft glow of the lamp and the murmuring of their voices. Turns out, my grandmother found my baby photo album and was showing him naked photos of me in the bath, pictures of me with braces, and my Harry Potter era.
"Grandma, what the hell is wrong with you!" I screamed.
She snaps her fingers, "Don't you curse in front of me, I won't hesitate to whoop you."
"It's so embarrassing!" I whine.
"If I cared, I wouldn't be showing the photos." I see a smirk widen across her face.
She's so evil.
I sit next to Andreas, laying my head on his shoulders while I get embarrassed in front of him. "You were a cute baby," said Andreas.
"Not really, Bridget was the pretty baby if anything."
He kisses my head, "Not in my eyes."
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"I want to drive," I tell Andreas, taking the keys off the hook by the front door.
"Are you sure, I could take us, baby? You know I don't mind driving you around."
"I know you don't, but the more I get behind the wheel, the better I'll get at it," I say, putting on my shoes at the front door.
He nods his head, grabbing my bag for me, "After you, then."
I get settled behind the steering wheel, putting the key in the ignition. Since I've been back home for the summer, I've been driving every day. Whether that's driving around the corner, going to the grocery store to grab groceries for the house, or picking up my father for lunch.
As I drive more and more, it's making me more comfortable in my skin.
"Should I hold onto the door handle or what?" Andreas teases.
"Stop being dramatic, you drama queen. We'll be fine." I start the car up, pull out of the driveway and start down the street. My hands on the wheel are steady, and I make sure no one is walking around me or cars coming my way. My breath is steady and my heart rate is normal.
"So, where are you taking me exactly because you never told me," asked Andreas, messing with the radio.
I smack his hand, "No music. I'm not at that stage yet, and I'm taking you to my parent's country club."
His eyes light up, "Yayyy!" He cheers like a little girl.
"While we drive, tell me how your internship is going, I need to be occupied." Andreas graduated last year and later got an internship teaching 11-year-olds. The cool thing about it is that it's at his old intermediate school, and the last time I checked he loved it.
"Good actually, the kids are taking a liking to me and I'm learning a lot. I've got to complete some more paperwork and then I'll be able to look for jobs. Next time you'll see me, I'll be Mr. Chen; a 5th-grade biology teacher." I hear the proudness in his voice.
I pat his knee, "Good for you! I knew that jock brain was good for something, at least." I mumble the last part, but he hears me.
"Why didn't you take summer classes like Jill? I thought you two were nerds."
I gasp, "First of all, we aren't nerds but smart individuals. Secondly, I didn't take summer classes because I wanted a break from the large coursework, it's a lot of work to become a forensic scientist, and I wanted to spend time with you."
He leans over and kisses my head, "How sweet of you."
I pulled up to the entrance of the club, Tyler, who's been the valet since I was in high school takes the keys from me. "Ms. Elizabeth, it's been so long since I've seen you. You've so grown now. How's college treating you?"
"It's kicking my butt, but I'll be fine. I never introduced you, but this is my boyfriend, Andreas Chen."
"Ah, nice to meet you." He said, shaking Andreas's hand. "You treat her good, she's a good one."
"I know." Andreas takes my hand in his.
Andreas was acting all giddy once we got inside. They have tons of activities to offer, such as tennis, basketball, swimming, squash, golf, and other things. And if you don't want to play any sports, they have a nice lunch hall, bar, spa and lounge area.
I watched as he walked around, not knowing what he wanted to do first. He's like a child discovering an arcade for the first time. I grab his hand, "What do you want to do? You've got to pick."
"Let's play tennis, ah man, we don't have any clothes." He pouts.
"Lucky, I came prepared." Inside my bag, I pull out shorts and a t-shirt for him while I have a workout shirt and tennis skirt. "I knew you would want to do something athletic, so I brought you clothes."
"You know me so well." He kisses my head. "Come on before someone takes the court, I want that one right there." We stand in the foyer of the country club, right in front of us, looking out the tall glass windows was an open court. I walk us to the changing areas; I point him to the men's while I go to the women's.
The game was heated.
He tried to distract me by wiping his forehead with the hem of his shirt, sadly, it worked and he scored a point. If he wanted to play dirty, so could I. When the fall flew past me, I walked slowly to get it, not without bending over and showing him my ass. He didn't like that, because a group of teenagers walked by and eyed me.
The game was over after that.
I won, obviously.
When we went back inside the building, he tried to bulldoze himself in the showers with me, saying he needed someone to help reach his back since he couldn't. It took all my strength, and manipulation skills, to get him to leave me alone.
"I'm starving, whooping your ass on the tennis court made me hungry." He teases, walking beside me.
I scoff, "The audacity! You know I won, I was always told I had a killer serve, don't be jealous."
"The way you lie is scary." He kissed my temple, pulling me close to him by my waist. "You know I won, just admit it."
I cross my arms, pouting like a child, "Never, but I will get you something to eat. Follow me." I direct us into the lunch area where tons of older people are already eating.
"Elizabeth is that you!" I hear someone say across the room. Turning in the direction of the windows, I see Mrs. Clemen waving her brown hand at me. Her friends all look in my direction, mostly at the tall wall of muscle next to me.
Mrs. Clemens plays bridge with my grandmother every Tuesday and Thursday. My grandmother loathes Mrs. Clemens, mostly because she beats her at bridge and she thinks she cheats. At the end of the day, my grandmother is a sore loser.
Next to her were Mrs. Jackson, Mrs. Ortiz, and Mrs. Brandon. All four wealthy women whose husbands left them millions of dollars and multi-million-dollar houses. The only thing they have to do with their day is come here, go get their feet done and complain about the state of the world.
I hated the days when my grandmother would make me hang with them during the dark days of the car crash. I couldn't be left alone, so after school, she would pick me up and take me here. I had to hold her yarn while she knitted and talked about how scandalous women were becoming and their lack of propriety.
"Who are those women?" Andreas asked me.
"The real widows of Boston." I grab his hand in mine and directed us towards the table. "We're just going to say hi and leave." I smiled at Mrs. Clemens, "Hi, it's nice to see you again, how have you been?"
When she smiles at me, I see pink lipstick stuck to her white teeth. She always put on too much lipstick, I never had the heart to tell her, "Fine, darling. When I saw you across the room, I was surprised to see what I saw. It's nice to see young people here. What made me more interested was the hunk of man standing next to you, care to introduce us."
"Yes, please, introduce us," said Mrs. Ortiz. She glided one of her talons down Andreas's arm, making goosebumps appear on his skin. If she was younger, I would yank him away, but these women are harmless.
Maybe.
"This is my boyfriend, Andreas Chen. He visited me for a couple of days. Andreas, this is Mrs. Jackson, Mrs. Ortiz, Mrs. Clemens, and Mrs. Brandon." He shakes each one of their hands, smiling politely.
Mrs. Brandon is the only one to stand up and walk to Andreas, embracing him in a hug, "It's so very nice to meet you." She holds him a little longer than necessary, he doesn't seem to be uncomfortable.
Mrs. Ortiz pulls her by the hem of her flower dress, "Leave the boy alone, you may scare him off." Mrs. Brandon rolls her eyes and sits down next to her. "Please, you guys, sit down."
"Oh, well we need to be-", I was going to tell them no, but with the look in their wrinkly eyes, I couldn't say no. "Fine, I guess we can stay and chat."
And chatting we did. They asked us questions, wait, let me rephrase that, they asked Andreas all the questions while I sat there and listened.
What are you in college for?
Do you have any brothers that look like you?
Where did you meet our little Elizabeth?
The last question knocked me for a loop, Mrs. Jackson asked this one. "So, Andreas, when are you going to propose to our Elizabeth?" I choke on the water that was brought to me only minutes ago. My face reads embarrassment and nervousness. Andreas on the other hand is calm, cool, and collected as he rubs my back softly.
"Elaine, don't scare them like that. It's not like how it was in our time, women want to get married later in life. Careers come first." said Mrs. Ortiz.
Mrs. Jackson scoffs, "God, this generation. So, you haven't answered the question, when are you going to propose. Are you even thinking of proposing?"asked Mrs. Jackson.
My back is as straight as an arrow. We never talked about marriage before, the only time it came close was when Andreas referred to me as Elizabeth Chen. I won't lie, hearing that made my stomach do a million summersaults.
I immediately imagined us having children, and making him dinner, all that romantic shit.
I turn to him, wondering what he's going to say.
"Well, Elizabeth is still in college and I'm an intern with only 500 bucks in my bank account. Marriage is the last thing on my mind." A smile drops from my face.
Marriage is the last thing on my mind.
Marriage is the last thing on my mind.
Marriage is the last thing on my mind.
Marriage.
Is.
The.
Last.
Thing.
On.
My.
Mind.
He wouldn't even consider marrying me? Am I repulsive? No way, I'm hot.
"But you would consider marrying her, right? Our Elizabeth is the package deal. She can cook, nice body, and look at that face." Mrs. Clemens squeezes my face, waving it around. Usually, I would push her away, but my arms feel so heavy that I let her do it.
He smiles at me, "She does have all those qualities, yes."
That was all he said.
We spend the evening eating our lunch and talking about nonsense. We said bye to the women and went on home. The whole ride was spent quiet, Andreas wanted to talk but I told him I was sick and needed some peace.
He complied.
My parents decided to go out tonight, their infamous dating Saturdays. Bridget went out with some old friends from high school and my grandma passed out on the couch while watching Sanford & Son.
Andreas and I lounged in my room. When I walked out of the shower, I saw him laying on my bed watching my computer.
"Are you serious Elizabeth?"
"What?" I asked, putting lotion on my feet.
"I was praying you would walk out the bathroom in nothing but a towel, drop it slowly and change in front of me. The dream is now dead."
I laughed, "I can go and put a towel on." I suggest.
He waves a hand, "Nah, I'm over it. Come over here." He said softly. I run over and snuggle under him, my head laying on his chest as one of his hands slides under my shirt to cup a boob.
I sigh, satisfied. "I miss that."
He gently squeezed it, "So do I. God, I missed you so much Elizabeth." He pushed over the computer and made me straddle his waist. I rubbed his chest while he stared with heat in his eyes. My hand creeps up his shirt and then suddenly stops.
Marriage is the last thing on my mind.
His words simmer in my mind, and I can't get them out. He notices something is wrong.
"What's up?"
I shake my head, "Oh, uh, it's nothing. Let's forget about it." I go to kiss his neck, but he moves away.
"No, something is clearly bothering you, let's talk about it." I groan and roll back on the bed. "What is it, baby?"
"The country club."
"What about it?"
"At the country club, Mrs. Jackson asked when you would marry me, or if you would, and you said that it's not on your mind. You didn't say right now, or not today, just it's not on your mind. It made me feel that- that maybe you don't want to spend forever with me."
He sighs deeply, "Oh. E." His voice was regretful. "I- I didn't mean it like that." I just shake my head, not wanting to talk about it anymore.
He pushed my computer to the end of the bed; he pushed my legs open and got on top of me. Turning my head so I can look at him, "You think I don't want to be with you, are you that dumb?" He runs a thumb on my cheek. "I couldn't even imagine breathing without you, living without you. You're the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I go to sleep. I love you, till death do us part."
"But you said-", he silenced me by putting a finger on my lips.
"I know what I said, and it came out wrong and I'm sorry about that. I want to be married, most importantly, I want to marry you." I feel all the air being sucked out of me when he pushes all his weight on me. His lips skim over mine, and I spread my legs, even more, to fit him in. "The thought of tying yourself to someone for the rest of your life, it scared the living shit out of me, for a while at least. When I met you, the thought of being with you until I died didn't scare me anymore, it boosted the fire in my body. We are young and have many things to figure out, I can't even take care of you, I want to be able to give you everything, Elizabeth. A big house, all the short skirts you want, and a room where your grandmother can come over and stay in there so she doesn't drive us insane." I chuckle.
"So, you do want to marry me, then?" I asked, trying to regulate my voice so it doesn't come out shaky.
He grins, "Yes, I do."
"Then why didn't you say that at the country club?"
Pain comes across his eyes, "Because, how can I promise to marry you when I can't even give you the life you deserve." His lips go into a flat line as his forehead rests on mine. "Look at this house, Elizabeth, so big and spacious. I could never get you something like this on a teacher's salary."
"You know I don't care about money, even if I grew up with it. I could be happy living in a shack with you." I can't believe he would think I would be so shallow as to level this relationship based on money.
He scoffs, "You say that now, but about in 10 or 15 years. Everyone you knew has grand houses, nice cars, and taking drips to Dubai."
"First of all, you know I don't care for Dubai, so that's a couple thousand saved." I joked. "Second of all, it doesn't matter to me, how could you think I would care about that?" He shrugs his shoulders. "I want to be with you because I love you and I want you to marry me because of that, not want to because you can't give me the American dream, I don't want the American dream, I want you. You're my dream."
"Ok then, if that's the case, don't you ever, for one second, think I don't want to marry you, because I do. You are mine; you hear me?" I nod my head, tears streaming down my cheek, he wipes the tears from them. His forehead rest against mine, "I want to be with you for the rest of my life."
I let his words seep in.
I want to be with you for the rest of my life.
I want to be with you for the rest of my life.
I.
Want.
To.
Be.
With.
You.
For.
The.
Rest.
Of.
My.
Life.
Now that's better than anything I ever heard.