Everywhere I look, I see preparations being made for war, dampening my mood slightly. Cerastean soldiers scurry past, hard at work, even at this time of the morning. As I pass by one of the giant windows displaying the sweeping vista of space, I see fighter ships practicing maneuvers. Two days ago, an immense Cerastean ship arrived. It will be taking most of the troops to the front lines while we stay behind and guard Earth. As I walk down the hall, I have to make room for troops transferring huge pallets of supplies and weapons, preparing to depart in two days.
I’m scared – scared for myself, for the Cerasteans, for my friends, for the unsuspecting population on Earth. But I can’t dwell on that fear, or I’m going to freak out. I channel all my energy into the Presenting Ceremony. And on L’Corte.
As I rush to get back to my dorm, I mentally go over the plans for today’s ceremony. It’s going to be lovely. I like that it’s going to be such a big ceremony. Almost everyone on board the ship is going to attend.
Planning this event has given me so many ideas I want to use at my own Presenting Ceremony. If I had known how quickly things would get serious with L’Corte, I would have made plans to include myself. But it’s too late, and that’s okay. Cancer taught me that plans change and evolve. Sometimes, things outside your control will dump your plans right out the window. So, I don’t mind waiting. It’s better to just live for today. Our time will come. I want to make sure that today is about the other brides.
After a quick shower, I blow dry my hair and get the strands tucked behind my ear in a sleek pixie style with a deep side part. I can’t wait until it grows out of this awkward in-between length. I miss having long hair. I miss being able to pull it into a ponytail and get it out of my way. Giving my hair a critical look, I grab my makeup case and try to set it on the sink counter. I have to push a bunch of my roommates' clutter out of the way. That will be another thing I won’t miss if I move into L’Corte’s place. He has his own bathroom. No more having to share with others.
Wrapped in my favorite bathrobe, I head to my room, mentally trying to decide on what to wear. I’m so distracted by my own thoughts that I almost don’t notice the large garment bag hanging in the middle of the living room.
Slowly, I approach the bag, wondering how it got here. It wasn’t here when I went to take my shower. I look around the living room and small kitchenette, but no one else is around. When I stop in front of the bag, I spot a small piece of paper pinned to it. Grabbing the post-it, I see my name.
“What in the world?”
Unzipping the bag, I see pale blue lace and white chiffon. Reaching into the carrier, I pull out the ao dai dress I admired in the Requisitions Office last week.
“I have a question for you,” I hear a masculine voice ask from behind me.
Whirling around, I gasp when I see L’Corte standing behind me, staring at me with a worshipful gaze. Just behind him, I see Natasha’s grinning face as she closes her bedroom door.
My mouth opens and closes several times, trying to form words.
“Oh shit,” finally emerges from my lips when L’Corte drops gracefully to one knee and brings out a small box from behind his back.
“Will you marry me?”
“I… I…” I can’t get my darn mouth to work. L’Corte flips the lid on the ring box open.
It’s the hexagon ring.
The next thing I know, I’m wrapped around L’Corte, screaming and babbling in his ear. With a grin, he slips the ring out of the box and slides it onto my finger. It’s even the right size.
“How?” I stammer.
“I had help,” he says with a very pleased grin, placing a soft kiss on my flabbergasted face.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I spot Natasha tip-toeing past us. She opens the front door to our dorm and yells into the hall, “She said yes.” A loud cheer goes up, and the next thing I know, my living room is filled to bursting with all my friends. L’Corte sets me on my feet, and all my friends start hugging me. Someone hands me a bouquet of flowers filled with blue hydrangeas and white gardenias. It matches the dress, just like I had envisioned.
I’m pressing the flowers to my nose, taking a long sniff, when I see Laney hand L’Corte a large shoebox. With a shy smile, he turns and presents me with the box. Just based on the designer's name emblazoned on the box, I already know what’s inside will be drool-worthy. I carefully hand the flowers to one of my roommates and lift the cover.
Parting the tissue paper, I stare at the contents of the shoe box. Nestled inside is a crystal-encrusted pair of heels that takes my breath away. Natasha leans in and coos over the shoes. I barely keep myself from snarling at her like a territorial wolf.
“These are next season,” I gasp, whipping my eyes up to L’Corte’s in shock. “You can’t get these!”
“I called in a favor,” L’Corte says with a shrug. “One of our healing centers treated a member of the designer’s family.”
“This is… I don’t have words. This is amazing. Thank you.” I take the box out of L’Corte’s hand and reverently set it on my coffee table. It’s hard to let the shoes go. I kind of want to pet them for a while. With a last longing look at the container hiding my new shoes from me, I turn and pull L’Corte’s lips to mine. The happily chatting crowd around us fades as I focus entirely on the kiss.
A throat clears right next to us, making me reluctantly pull back from L’Corte.
“Hey, I’m sorry to interrupt, but your mom wants to talk to you,” Maya says with an apologetic grimace, offering me a tablet.
“Oh no. She knows?” I gasp.
“I can hear you,” I hear my mother’s sharp voice say from the tablet in Maya’s hand.Shit, I mouth at Maya, who hands me the tablet with a sympathetic expression. I take the tablet and head to my room. I’m glad to see L’Corte follow me. I don’t want to do this call alone. Iwillthrow him under the bus if I have to. With my mom, it’s every man for himself.
“Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad” I say sheepishly to my parents’ expectant faces.
