May 3, 1964
Donna's POV
"O-of c-course I will," I blubbered, covering my face with my hands as I nodded in case he hadn't caught my stuttering reply. John stood up and put his arms around me. I was too numb with shock and joy to even react.
I heard a few people cheer from random places around me and that's when I realized there were probably fifty people staring.
"I love you, I love you, I love you," John kept saying over and over and over again as he held me, swaying me lightly from left to right.
I finally found my senses enough to wrap my arms around him and respond. "I love you too," I spluttered and he pulled away for a minute. I saw that he was smiling at me proudly.
Then, he held up the box with the ring in it. "You just gonna leave it in there?"
I laughed and wiped my eyes as he pulled it out and slid it onto my ring finger. I sniffled slightly before marveling at it.
"It's so beautiful," I said, barely able to talk because of how much I was crying.
"You like it?" he asked excitedly.
"Of course I do," I said. "I-I'm sorry I was being so stubborn," I added.
He laughed and put his arms back around me, balancing his chin on top of my head. "It's okay," he assured me. "You had every right to."
"How were you going to do it?" I asked curiously as he pulled away again, coughing because of how my crying had completely ruined my throat. I giggled before he could respond. "I'm such a baby," I said, looking from John to where Pattie and George were standing, wide smiles on their faces.
Everyone else laughed. John shoved me playfully on the arm. "No you're not," he said promptly before telling me that he hadn't really had too much of a plan figured out. He just wanted to wait for the right moment, but preferably not on the beach with no planning ahead, which I guess made sense.
"Thank God that's over!" George said teasingly. "Now he can shut up about it!" George came over and put his arms around me, getting me all wet since he'd been swimming just moments before. "Congratulations, Epstein," he said, then pulled away with a sly smile. "Or, almost-Lennon! Yeah? It's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
John rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Yes, it has got a nice ring to it," he mused.
"Now, can we go swimming again?" asked George. "Time's a-ticking!"
~~~
When we finally retreated back upstairs to get a good sleep before we left for Tahiti in the morning, I trailed alongside John, gazing wistfully at the ring on my finger. I didn't think what had just happened would settle with me for a while.
The first thing we made sure to do when we got back up to the room was to lock the door.
"God," John said as I was getting my clothes to take a shower, studying me up and down with a lustful look in his eyes. "I can't believe you're all mine," he whispered with a cheeky smile.
I raised my eyebrows with a little blush. "Yeah?"
He stood up and walked over to me, gently taking the clothes I'd grabbed away from me and put them back where I'd got them. "I don't think you'll need those," he said challengingly.
"I won't?" I asked, biting my lip to keep from giggling. "There is something that I do need, though," I said innocently.
He looked at me imploringly, tugging on the waistband of my swimsuit bottoms. "Do share," he hummed.
"I could use some help," I said, giving him a cheeky smile and nodding towards the shower in the bathroom.
There was something different in the air tonight. It was something more electrifying, more demanding, more intense. We both just wanted each other. And we wanted each other forever. The thought alone made me shiver when he put his purposeful lips to mine.
Forever seems like such a long time, I remember thinking when we stumbled our way into the bathroom, attacking one another with passionate and intense love.
When I was younger, I couldn't imagine what it'd be like to be the age I was now. It felt like it was miles in the future.
Time flies when you're having fun, they said. I didn't have fun, so time never flew for me.
The past three years had been the fastest years of my entire life. It was like I blinked and everything changed. I'd made the best friends I could have ever known and met the love of my life within months. It was still crazy to think about it that way. Time had gone by so fast and so slow at the same time. The first day of my last year of school felt like centuries ago, and the last felt like an eternity.
The boys auditioning for Decca? I doubt they even remembered it. Going to Hamburg? How long had we been there? It all led to this. The boys were famous. Now I was about to marry one of them. Where had the time gone?
The air around us was intense. John and I's lips were made to go together. Despite how many times we'd done this, tonight felt different. I was nervous again like I was the very first time. When we pulled away from one another to remove our clothing, I could see that John's cheeks were tinged pink, like he was nervous too. He sat me up on the cold countertop to continue leaving trails of kisses up and down my body, being delicate as he started, but slowly becoming more aggressive as he went on. He kept looking up at me to make sure I was alright as he trailed to my nether regions. I wanted more. I never wanted him to stop. I whimpered as his lips touched me again and I reached down to push him closer.
I wanted him and he wanted me, and that's what made it all feel so right.
~~~
Ahhh, how tf do I follow that up??🥺Hope you're all enjoying eekk!😊💞
~Lilly <3