Grown ish: Zoey and Aaron's Story (BOOK 1)

Part 40: Promise

Zoey narrates.

Aaron and I were officially back together. Well, unofficially, until tonight.

This evening I'm at home, alone, whilst everyone else went for drinks at Titanium. I knew Marcus would be there, and I couldn't build up the courage to tell him I was no longer single, so instead I decided to stay away. For as long as possible, anyways.

I'm in the kitchen making myself a snack, when I hear a knock at the door. Through the window, I can see it's Aaron, so I quickly run to open the door, as I face him, smiling.

'Hey, you.' He says, but I don't reply, instead, grabbing his face and kissing him hard. He reciprocates and places his arm around my waist, shutting the door behind him and coming inside.

He lifts me up, and I wrap my legs around him, continuing kissing him. He places me on the breakfast bar, and he pulls away from my lips, and instead, places two soft kisses on each side of my neck.

We face each other and he cups my face.

'Hello.' He says.

'Hi.' I reply, laughing.

'I'm sorry. I can't help myself. I've missed you too much.' I say.

'I've missed you too.' He says, biting his lip.

I'm still sitting on the counter, as he stands between my legs, which are still wrapped around his.

'I brought you something.' He says.

He pulls something out from his pocket. It's a box. A ring box.

He must sense my panic.

'Relax. I'm not proposing.' He says, laughing, and I glare at him.

'Zoey. I know that until now, our relationship has been so rocky. We've been through so much. I know I've made mistakes. And truly, I apologise sincerely, even though I know that no amount of apology could ever make up for what I've done. I also want you to know how excited I was for us to start a family together. Our baby girl was the best thing to ever happen to me.' He says, as I start to tear up.

He continues.

'Well, I should say second best. The best thing to ever happen to me, was you. When I met you 3 years ago, I never would have imagined that my feelings for you would grow so strong. There's no one like you, Zoey. And I love you. So much. With every fibre of my being. And I never want to be apart from you again. So...'

He opens the ring box in front of me. Its a beautiful, simple, silver band, with a sparkly diamond.

'This is a promise ring. With this ring, I promise that I will love you for the rest of our lives, that I will always be there for you, and that one day, I'll replace this ring, when I make you my wife.' He says, as I chuckle at his romantic gesture, tears escaping down my face, my heart feeling full.

'Only if you'll accept it.' He adds.

I take his face in my hands.

'Aaron freaking Jackson. I love you so so much. Of course I want to be your wife.' I say, and he laughs.

He takes my left hand.

'May I?' He asks, and I nod.

He takes my ring finger and pushes the ring on to it. I admire the ring on my hand.

'Thank you. For everything.' I say, staring into his eyes. We lock eyes intently, before I pull him close to me, and we hug, tightly.

He buries his head in my neck and I tighten my grip around him.

And we stay like that, wrapped in each other's embrace, for as long as I can remember.

_____

The next morning, I leave Aaron in my bed, asleep, whilst I head down to the kitchen, to see the girls. My hands are behind my back.

'Morning.' They say, smiling.

'Hey.' I reply.

'I want to show you guys something.' I say, as they all look confused.

I take my hand and show them the ring, as they all gasp.

'Zoey! Oh my god!!' Ana squeals.

'He proposed?!' Jazz says, shocked, as she jumps up and down in excitement.

'Ahh Zo I'm so happy for you!' Nomi says.

'I knew it.' Sky adds.

'Not exactly.' I say.

'It's a promise ring. Aaron gave it to me last night. He promised that he'd always love me and be there for me, and that one day he'd replace this ring when me makes me his...wife!' I say, my face beaming.

'How romantic!' Ana says.

'This is amazing, Zoey!' Nomi says.

The girls continue to talk about it, as I stare at the ring on my hand, wondering how I got so lucky.

_____