[Photo is of Sean!]
Sean has been acting so weird since we got home from dinner with his mom and my dad. He had been especially cryptic when I asked him about it and evasive. He was unsually silent most of the night. I tried to shrug it off and ignore it, but inside it was worrying me. Had I done something? Did something happen that made him upset?
I stripped down to my underwear and slid into bed, feeling tired. I couldn't stop worrying about what was wrong with my boyfriend. He was still int the living room watcing TV. I had asked if he was coming to bed and he had said 'Yeah in a little bit,' and went back to watching TV. It felt weird to lay here without him next to me but I was pretty tired and eventually found myself drifting off to sleep. Maybe he was mad at me I thought to myself as my eyes slid shut.
* * * *
The daylight was streaming through the blinds when my eyes blinked open. I yawned and rolled over. Sean wasn't here. I'm pretty sure he did finally come to bed last night after I'd fallen asleep but now he was gone before I woke up. He must be mad at me. He's completely avoiding me and he won't even tell me why. In all our years being friends, he's never acted this way. Why wouldn't he just talk to me?
I sighed and sat up in bed, moving over to the edge and stretching. I raised my arms above my head and yawned again when something caught my eye. There was a vase of flowers on the nightstand on my side of the bed. I reached over to grab a piece of paper that was situated underneath the vase. The flowers were beautiful. They were pink and red roses. I found myself blushing like a girl. Oh my god I've been given flowers and I'm freaking out over it. I never thought I'd care to receive flowers, but since Sean had given them to me I loved it. It was pretty romantic even though it was super cheesy.
I looked at the piece of paper in my hands and carefully unfolded it. Sean's handwriting was kind of sloppy which made me chuckle, but I couldn't help but smile widely when I read what he had written.
Babe,
Get your ass out of bed already! Sorry I had to run to work to let Sarah in (she forgot her keys.)
Meet me for breakfast at Jeremiah's at 10. Love you!
I read his little note over and over again. This was so sweet. I guess he figured he had to make up for our awkward dinner last night. I have to say, I didn't know Sean could be this romantic, or that I'd enjoy it this much. I checked the time on the alarm clock, it was 9:30. Shit! I hurried out of bed and into our bathroom, stepping out of my underwear and quickly taking a shower. I was giddy with excitment. I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist, proceeding back into the bedroom to pick out something to wear. I ended up deciding on a grey button down shirt and some dark jeans. I hurried down the hallway and grabbed my coat and keys, before shuffling out of the apartment at 9:40. That was record time for me.
* * * *
I pulled into the parking lot at the restaurant Jeremiah's and looked around for Sean's car. I spotted it and then noticed him standing by the entrance door looking at his phone. I all but jumped out of the car and locked it before making my way towards him.
"You sir, are being incredibly romantic this morning," I said cheerfully, causing him to look up.
"I thought you might like it," he answered a little timidly. A broad smile spread over my face.
"I love it!" I exclaimed as we made our way inside. The red haired and freckly hostess asked us how many people and we told her it was for two. She smiled and winked at me, which I found confusing. Did she know we were together or something?
Sean and I sat down opposite each other and looked at our menus.
"Would you like anything to drink?" The hostess asked, twirling her hair slightly.
"I'll just have some water," I replied.
"I'd like some chocolate milk," Sean said, but his eyes were focused on me and he was grinning. I bumped his foot under the table and his smile widened even more.
"So what's the occasion?" I asked after we were by ourselves. He arched an eyebrow questioningly.
"There's not occasion," he said a little too quickly. I shook my head.
"I thought maybe you were mad at me last night, and now this," I gestured around me. He just shrugged, but he never took his chocolate brown eyes off of mine.
"Well it's sweet," I said, which caused him to turn a light shade of pink. Sean was actually blushing! "Even after knowing you for so long, I have to say you've suprised me."
"That's a good thing," he replied, "surprises are fun. They keep things interesting." A waitress with long black hair brought us our drinks.
"Here's you water," She said, handing me my glass. "And chocolate milk." She set the glass down in front of Sean. "Are you guys ready to order?" I looked up at her, her gray eyes were shining. She brushed a stray hair back behind her ear.
"Yeah, uh I'd like the buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup," I told her. She nodded. "Can I get a side of bacon with that?" I asked.
"Of course. And for you?" She turned to Sean.
"I'll have the same," he replied, looking at her briefly before returning his gaze to me. It seemed like he couldn't take his eyes off me with was adorable and made me blush.
We ate in a comfortable silence, and I reached over without thinking and grabbed his hand that was resting on the edge of the table. He looked at me with wide eyes and then glanced around. I didn't care about what other people were thinking in that moment. I was focused solely on him and how amazing he had made my morning. This was honestly the sweetest thing ever.
After we finished the meal I tried to pay but Sean insisted, even when I tried to pay just for my meal.
"Jake, I planned to have breakfast with you. I'm paying," He said in a tone that meant, 'that is final.' I shook my head and relented. After he paid the bill Sean grabbed me by the hand and we walked out of the restaurant, feeling completely carefree. I went to walk over to my car but Sean stopped me by tugging my hand.
"We'll get it later," he said, "C'mon." I was surprised but I had no problem with that. I wonder if he had some cute date planned and he wanted to surprise me. He held my hand the entire drive in the car. It was a long drive too. We drove and drove until there were all sorts of trees surrounding us in all directions. The sight was absolutely stunning as the leaves were all various shades of yellows, oranges, and reds.
"So where are we going?" I asked with a smile on my face. He gave my hand a squeeze in response. "You're being so cute today." I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, causing them to go pink.
"We're almost there," he said, pulling the car into a dirt parking lot. Nobody else was around. There was a small hiking trail leading off into the woods. Sean turned to me as he shut off the engine and his eyes were sparkling and boring into mine.
"Are we finally going on that picnic that we never ended up doing?" I asked curiously. He nodded and grinned. We got out of the car and he went around to the trunk, grabbing out a some blankets and a cooler. He handed me the blankets and picked up the cooler.
"Do you need some help?" I asked. He shook his head.
"It's not far." We walked up the trail a little ways before we came to a clearing. The trees spaced out a little bit more and Sean walked over to a spot he picked in the yellow grass.
"How about right here?" He asked, setting down the cooler and looking back at me.
"It's perfect," I smiled. I threw the biggest blanket down for us to sit on. Sean opened the cooler and dug around in it. He had made us simple peanut butter and honey sandwiches. I shook my head and couldn't wipe the smile off my face. This was the best date we'd ever gone on! It was just simple and perfect.
I wrapped both of us in the other big blanket and we huddled close together in the brisk October air. I ate my sandwich slowly, as I was still full from the nice breakfast we'd had not long ago. I noticed that Sean had hardly touched his sandwich. He brought out a mug with a lid and handed it to me. It was warm to the touch.
"What is it?" I asked as I took it from him. He just smiled knowingly. Hot chocolate. That's what I was.
"Mmm," I said as I sipped slowly on the warm drink. Hot chocolate was my favorite thing to drink when it was cold. "You want some?" Sean took it from my hands and took a sip.
"Jake I love you," he said suddenly.
"I love you too Sean," I said, kissing his forehead. "Thanks for all of this. You're the best babe." I settled with my back against his warm chest in between his legs. He wrapped his arms around me and leaned down to kiss me. We kissed slowly and sensually. It was one of the best kisses we've ever had. I could feel all the emotions behind it. It was as if fireworks went off in my stomach. It was always like that when I felt Sean's lips. They tasted sweet and I savored the hint of chocolate on his lips.
"We've known each other for a long time," he said, pulling away from me. "And a lot has happened in the past year. We've always been best friends. I remember the day I met you as if it as yesterday."
"Yeah. We were goofy little kids. I can't believe it's been so long," I said fondly of the memories. Sean's grip on me tightened. "What's wrong?" I asked and turned in his lap to face him. He smiled at me.
"Jake I know these last few months have been incredibly hard for you, and I wish all the time that I could take some of that pain away from you, because you are the most important thing to me. I care about you more than anything," He said, his eyes became watery. "I love you more than you can ever know. You're my whole life. When you're having a bad day, I'm having a bad day, when you smile, I smile. You are the most beautiful human being inside and out and I consider myself incredibly lucky every day when I wake up next to you." I felt my eyes prick with tears. Happy tears of course.
"I feel lucky to have you Sean. You're my rock, my strength, and I'd be lost without you," I told him, my heart feeling tingly inside. Sean took both of my hands in his and looked deeply into my eyes.
"Jake, I have something to ask you," He said, dipping one hand into his coat pocket. My eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh my god," I exclaimed, covering my mouth with my free hand. He flipped open the simple black case to reveal a single silver band. It was simple, with a thin indent on each edge. I took a shaky breath and looked into Sean's teary eyes with my own.
"Will you marry me Jake?" He asked, taking the ring out of the case. I didn't even hesitate. I crashed my lips into his, knocking him backwards onto the blanket.
"Yes! Yes!" I said in betweeen kisses. I ran my hand through his hair and carressed his face, some stubble was forming on his jaw and I couldn't help but kiss him up and down. He chuckled and I he grabbed my hand and slipped the ring onto my finger.
"You're amazing," he breathed, pulling me into a tight hug. I clung to his coat, bunching it up in my fists and burying my face in his neck.
"I love you so much!" I stammered. "God I love you!" He looked into my eyes.
"Jake I want you to know, your dad approves," he said smiling broadly. I've never seen him more happy and excited, but then again, I've never been this excited in my life either. Oh my god! Sean asked me to marry him! My thoughts drifted to Collin and I looked up at the sky. I swear I could see him smiling and a tear of joy slipped down my cheek.