I wanted it.
I wanted to know the significance of it all. Why had he chosen this ring? I wanted to hear the declaration of love that I knew came with a ring like this. I wanted everything, and I wanted it with Chase.
Right now.
“This isn’t me asking you to marry me,” Chase finally said after a moment of eternity passed.
“It isn’t?” I raised an eyebrow. He laughed at me, then bit his lip and let it go before continuing.
“It’s more than that, peaches. This is more than an engagement ring.” Chase took my hand, slipping the ring perfectly on my ring finger. His hand held mine and the ring sparkled between us. There weren’t any stones on it, but I didn’t need them. The shine from the metal was blinding enough and the simplicity of it showed me just how much Chase really did know me.
“This ring symbolizes us. That we are tied together from here on out, either by love or by friendship. Whatever it is, we will always be there for each other, no matter what. And that we’ll never forget.”
I twirled the ring on my finger.
“It’s a forget-me-knot.”
“It is.” He leaned down to kiss me on the lips.
“Just like Thumbelina and Cornelius.” I smiled up at Chase, who rolled his eyes.
“I will never live this down, will I?”
“Never.” I laughed and held out my hand to look over the ring again.
It was perfect in every way. It was us, the us who knew each other so long ago, who grew up apart, but somehow found their way back to each other. It was the us we had created together. The us we were never going to let go of, because just as Chase had said, we were tied together now.
Paper or not.
This was it.
This was Chase keeping me.
