Belly POV
One month after the fight with Conrad, things had calmed down a bit for them. There had been no word from him since his angry departure from Jeremiah's dorm.
Belly had contacted her mother and explained everything that had happened; she was really worried about Conrad's mental state and only an adult could help them.
Laurel and Conrad had a special bond as he was the first child in the family.
She decided to let her mother handle the situation and focus on her new life.
Belly and Jere had started their classes.
Last year, Jere had pushed her to take a writing and publishing class.
Like Laurel, she had always had a passion for books, especially romance, but had never thought of making a career out of it due to a lack of confidence in herself and her academic success.
These classes allowed her to see that she had more advanced writing and analytical skills than she had ever believed.
In addition to playing volleyball, she wanted to try her luck in the field and specialize in that area.
She would see at the end of the year if this was the right choice or if she wanted to change paths. Life and university offered her a lot of possibilities and she had confidence in the future, she was young and had the right to make mistakes, but she had to try, otherwise she would regret it.
Jeremiah specialized in international business, but with an environmental and social dimension.
He wanted to build his business in a field that was meaningful to the world and to himself, and it was important to him to keep his soul while earning some money to build his own life and family.
At the same time, he took computer development courses to learn how to build applications, which seemed to complement his desire to be an entrepreneur.
Belly and Jeremiah had not spoken again about the Conrad event, after he cried in Belly's arms.
Jeremiah was back to normal, but Belly sensed that he was very sad, but he refused to talk about it for the moment and she had to respect that.
He told her that he had her and that was the most important thing, but she told him that family was important too.
He replied, "You are my family, Bells, I don't need anything else.
Belly left him alone with the subject for the moment, but deep down she hoped that Conrad would apologize to his brother.
So she had done everything to cheer him up, they had taken the time to go on one date a week, sometimes outside to discovers new places and sometimes in their movie marathon bubble.
Belly blushed at the thought, but they also had a lot of sex. .. They were insatiable,
They fucked abslolutely everywhere and at every opportunity, in the shower, in the morning when their roommates weren't there, between classes when their room was empty, in the back of Jere's Jeep....
They were making up for lost time,they wanted each other so much it was scary sometimes.
One time they were so horny they even rented a hotel room near campus to be together.
She couldn't get enough of him, she never thought she would be so sexually attracted to anyone, let alone her best friend. But in the end, maybe that was their strength, knowing each other down to the smallest detail, but also discovering new things about each other every day.
Belly also wanted Jere to feel loved unconditionally, just as he had always made her feel like she was the perfect girl for him.
Belly came out of her thoughts, she had just gotten to her room and had to get ready for their date this week, which seemed to be turning into a weekend.
She was late, very late, it was 6:30 and Jere had to pick her up at 7. She didn't know where they were going, he wanted to surprise her, he just told her to take some spare clothes for the weekend and if possible sexy lingerie.
He was a naughty boy.
Luckily, she had packed her bag last night, but she had to hurry to shower and get dressed.
She had been hanging around a bit after class because she was starting to get along with the other students, especially Anika and Josh, who was taking the same classes as her.
Anika was also on the volleyball team, so Belly was super happy to have found a friend with the same ambitions.
Josh was Anika's childhood friend, he described himself as an outgoing bookworm, he was a handsome boy and his relationship with Anika reminded him of her and Jere.
Belly got out of the shower as quickly as she could and put on a nice black dress with little white sneakers for comfort.
She had complied with Jere's request and put on a set of black satin lingerie under her dress.
She heard a knock at her door, it was Jere.
Belly always felt the butterflies in her stomach before seeing her boyfriend.
Not knowing where he was taking her this weekend made her even more nervous, but in the best way.
She opened the door to see him holding a bouquet of flowers, daisies of course, her favorite.
He was wearing a white shirt that showed off his muscles with jeans and his black converse.
His skin was still tanned from the summer, and his blond curls had been cut after his trip to the hair salon earlier that week.
He was so hot.
He woke her from her daydream, "Hey Bells," he said with a big smile.
"For you, my beautiful girl," he handed her the flowers and planted a kiss on her cheek.
She smiled back and took the flowers in her hands and smelled them; it reminded her of summer; Susannah's garden.. carefree time.
"Thank you Jere..." she replied, "you are the best... I love you," she approached him and put her arms around his neck and kissed him gently on the cheek, planting many little kisses on his face until she reached his mouth and kissed him passionately.
They pulled apart and he replied, "I love you too, Bells, although I can kiss you all night, we have to go."
"So," she began, "are you going to tell me where we're going?"
Jeremiah grabbed Belly's bag and her hand and made her jog to the car. "You'll have to guess, baby."
"The bouquet is a first clue, the second and third are in the car."
"Oohhh, I love guessing."
Arriving at the car, he put her bag in the trunk, they got into the jeep.
"I'll give you the second clue when we stop on the way," he told her.
They drove for an hour with the music blasting and them singing at the top of their lungs like they did when they were kids.
She still had no idea where she was going, but she decided to go with the flow.
The sun was about to set, the sky was beautiful.
He took a highway exit and said, "We'll be at our next stop in 5 minutes, bells."
She looked around and didn't know where they were when she suddenly recognized it.
It was that well-known motel where she, Jeremiah, and Conrad were stuck during that thunderstorm.
Belly didn't know what to think, she hadn't expected to go back there one day.
"Jere, what are we doing here?" "Don't tell me you rented the presidential suite at this fancy motel," she said jokingly.
He replied laughing, "Don't worry Bells, it's just a stop."
They got out of the car and Jere took her hand to lead her exactly where he wanted her to go, near the parking lot,
She understood then that he wanted to take her to the place where everything changed for them, the moment she chose him, the moment she knew he was it for her.
He stopped and stood in front of her, taking her hands in his.
"You remember Bells?" he whispered.
"Yes... Yes I remember, how could I forget..."
He let go of her hand and took a small box out of his pocket.
"Bells here is a gift for you, second clue," she was so surprised,
She took the small box in her hand, which looked like a package for a piece of jewelry, when she opened it she found a small silver ring with a turquoise blue shell-shaped stone.
The ring was simple but so beautiful.
Belly stopped for a few seconds with a realization, a ring, what did that mean to Jeremiah, was he implying a commitment with this gift?
He must have understood her thought because he added, "Don't worry Bells, it's not a proposal."
She didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. She loves him, but they have time to think about these things.
"When it happens, it won't be in the parking lot of some crappy motel, even if it means something to us."
He continued with a smile, "I wanted to give you this gift as a commitment on my part to this relationship, but also to create new memories in this place, which was the worst but also one of the most beautiful moments of my life, with what happened last month I needed to find positive memories and also tell you I love you very much".
Belly was speechless, every time she thought she knew everything about her boyfriend, he found a way to surprise her even more.
He gently took her left hand, grabbed the ring and asked her, "Bells, will you accept this gift which represents our past, present and future as well as my promise to always take care of you and love you? I know we are young and don't know anything yet, but I know that the feelings I have for you are the truest thing in the world for me.
Belly was moved and tears flowed down her face, "yes, yes, yes... I love you so much and I love this ring, by accepting it I promise to always be your family and to love you without conditions, I want to grow with you and continue this journey by your side whatever the future brings us".
He placed the ring on her finger and immediately gave her a passionate kiss, wrapped his arms around her waist and carried her in the same way that they had kissed each other last year in this very same place.
They kiss for what seems like an eternity, unable to tear themselves away from each other.
When they finally broke apart, with big smiles on their faces and foreheads touching.
Belly whispered to him, "I finally understand what you meant when you said that if you kissed me you didn't know if you could ever stop, I feel the same way".
He gave her one last tender kiss and asked with smile, "So, Bells, have you guessed where we're going?"
She caught her breath and replied, "I think I do.... the daisies, the motel, the shell on the ring. I saw that you left a little Rosy's sticker on the car seat."
She put her hand under his chin and said, "Let me see. I say we go to ...... Cousins Beach Baby."
Jeremiah laughed and replied "yes, you're good Bells, Cousins beach for my Sherlock, let's go before it's too late, I want to skinny dip with you".
He kissed her one last time and they ran to the car to drive off to make some new and wonderful memories together.