Ring in hand.
“Range, the last six months with you have been the best six months of my life. I wake up a happier man knowing I have youin my corner. I go to sleep feeling like a king knowing you’re near. I long for the moment I hear your voice over the phone or read your words through text.
“I am in love with you, and I am falling deeper every day. Life is greater with you in my line of vision. I can think more clearly. Love better. Listen more. And, learn something new with every encounter.”
My thumb pressed against the back of my index finger.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
He cleared his throat as everything around us began to take shape again. Everything had stopped. Forks halted mid-air. Mouths remained agape, unmoving. Eyes targeted us like red dots at the shooting range.
Slowly, steadily, I counted each time my fingers collided.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
My temperature heightened significantly. Volcanic ash pushed from my nose with each breath I took.
“I guess I’m saying all of that to say that I want to be your husband. I want to be your everything. If you’ll have me. So, Range, will you be my wife?”
My nostrils flared with unrestricted and unfiltered emotions. A smirk pulled my lips upward into a one-sided smirk. My internal systems were clashing. The glitch forced me forward, pulling Kason into my chest. The need for physical touch was due to my desire to be recentered. I had fallen into an endless hole and couldn’t catch my footing.
Kason’s body was anchoring. I clung to him with hopes that it would all disappear in a blink and we’d be back in his bed, uncomplicated and uncompromised.
“Range,” Kason whispered, mouth near my ear.
“This complicates us,” I admitted, “It will lead to expectations you can’t meet. I hold space for you in my heart, and though small, it’s forcing me to save you the embarrassment that is always a chance during a public proposal. I am going to smile, Kason, and I am going to nod my head for the cameraman who managed to keep his objective concealed until now. But, when the forks return to their plates and we’re back in your car, the gloves will come off– so will the ring.”
“Ra–”
I pulled away, disconnecting our bodies. Kason’s eyes had changed. So had his posture. His confidence plummeted. I watched it all tumble as I lifted and lowered my head. His smile was conditional. But, so was my answer.
It wasn’t a yes.
It was a yes for the moment.
He slid the beautiful diamond on my finger. It fit perfectly. He had impeccable taste. It was timeless,classic.
My hands pressed against his cheeks. My lips pressed against his lips. My tongue penetrated his mouth as I squeezed my walls together. It didn’t matter that I was still in disarray inside. My body still responded to Kason the same as it always had.
Lustfully.
Sexually.
It yearned for his touch. His tenderness. His tongue. And the tip of his dick.
His actions had removed the safety net he provided from underneath me. Marriage was my destiny, but this didn’t feel remotely close to the path necessary to reach my destination. My intuition had never steered me in the wrong direction. I doubtedthe pit of doom forming in my stomach was useless. It had a purpose. A meaning. It was an indication. A warning. A message.
