Because I’m not thinking about the ring and what it means.
Nope. Not one bit.
Right now, Aaron and I are good. There are no more lies or secrets. And we’re rebuilding the trust between us. I don’t need any more upheaval in my life, including what this ring might signify.
If I focus on the waffles, everything will be okay.
“It’ll be okay,” Aaron reaches for the ring-fork and dumps it into a cup of soapy water. “I can get it clean. That was a better plan in my head.”
“What plan?”
You see? I’m still in denial and dazzled by breakfast carbs.
“The ring.”
“Ring,” I repeat.
“Yes, the ring,” Aaron holds the cup in front of me. I can now see the ring sitting at the bottom, still covered in syrup.
“You’re going to need that dishwashing soap they use to clean oily ducks after a pipeline spill,” I point. “Also works as a great stain remover. Dry cleaners use it all the time.”
Aaron clutches my hand and pulls it to his lips. “Camellia, I’m not worried about stains right now. I’m asking you to marry me.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“What do you think the ring is for?”
I blink several times as this information registers in my brain. “Marry you?”
“Yes, I’d like you to do that. If you’re not busy for the next fifty or sixty years.”
I take the cup from his hand, jam my fingers into the water, and pluck out the ring. Now it’s sticky and wet. Every woman’s dream.
That’s what he said. Heh.
“Camellia?”
“Yes?”
“Is that yes, you’ll marry me? Or yes, you heard me call your name?”
I know I shouldn’t let this go on any longer. I should put the man out of his misery. But he’s the one keeping the Vitamin D from me. And by D, I mean his dick, not the kind of Vitamin D you get in the sunshine. Although you can probably do both, but make sure you slather on sunscreen for the pasty parts of your body.
“It’s a: yes - I heard you call my name,” I smack a kiss on his lips. “But as for the proposal? It’s anot yet.”
He frowns. “Not yet?”
“Correct,” I grab the other fork on the tray and dig into the un-tainted side of the waffles. “It’s not a no. It’s anot yet. I will eventually marry you, but not today. Not this weekend.Not. Yet.”
Aaron takes my delicious tray of goodies away and sets it on the nightstand.
“Hey! I was eating that!”
“Not until you tell me what the hell you’re talking about,” Aaron is pouting now.
I sigh. “Sparky, I love you. No doubt about it. You’re the love of my life, and I’ve known that forever. But we’ve both been through an incredibly intense few weeks. I would like to have time alone for us to get to know each other better before we take the next step. We’ve been apart for two decades.”
“But you said…” Aaron draws out.
