Together Again II Mat Barzal

Twenty-Nine: Mat

My road trip with Bela was long but enjoyable. The ring was still in the box, buried in my suitcase. We got to the hotel and checked into our room. Ours was right next to Ethan and Shreya's, which would make it easier to find each other in the morning.

Bela opened the door to our hotel room.

"Holy bloody hell, Mat!" She glanced at the giant bed and everything nice and organized. I got a special room for a special few days.

She gave me a hug and hopped on the bed. I went next to her and we fell asleep before unpacking. It was a long trip.

I woke up happy and nervous at the same time. I went downstairs to pick up breakfast for me and Bela. I met Ethan downstairs and we gave each other a big hug.

"How are you doing, man?" I asked.

"Pretty good," He said.

I saw Shreya sitting down at a table, eating a muffin. I went over to her and said hello.

"Shreya told me about what's going down tonight," Ethan said. "I'm so happy for you, man,"

"Thanks," I smiled. "Well, I've gotta get the princess some food before she wakes up,"

"I'm already awake, Maty," Shreya said.

"I meant my girlfriend," I laughed.

"Can you believe it's your last day of calling her girlfriend?" Shreya asked.

"Now you have to call her Beyonce," Ethan said.

"Fiance," Shreya corrected. "Why would he call her Beyonce?"

"What the hell is a fiance?" Ethan asked.

I laughed, going to the counter to get some food. I remembered that Bela's favorite cereal is Honey Nut Cheerios, so I got her some. I got myself some Fruit Loops. I also got two blueberry muffins and some fruit. I wasn't going to eat it, but Bela would.

"Hey, princess," I said, opening the door.

"Hello, my handsome prince," She kissed my lips.

I handed her the breakfast that I got. We finished it, then got ready to meet Shreya and Ethan at the beach. When we got to the beach, we set up our umbrella, beach towels, and chairs. We saw Shreya and Ethan and we waved them over. We said hello and started having fun.

Ethan raced me to the ocean while the girls stayed back to tan. We swam for hours, catching waves and swimming from "sharks" which just happened to be dolphins. Shreya and Bela were laughing at us, but soon they joined in. We splashed each other and got hit by multiple crashing waves.

I picked up some bread and cold cuts from the store to have a picnic lunch on the beach. The weather was perfect if it was slightly less windy. After lunch, we relaxed a bit. Shreya brought a book to read and Bela and I fell asleep. Ethan was finishing off the leftover food from the picnic.

"Hey, Bela, wanna go get our nails done?" Shreya asked Bela.

"That sounds fun," Bela said.

"Guys, we'll be back in an hour or two," Shreya said to me and Ethan.

We took them leaving as an excuse to clown around and be idiots as usual.

"Wanna swim to that island over there?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Let's go,"

We swam so deep into the ocean that we could barely hear anything. We kept swimming. We didn't notice how far away the island really was until we were almost there.

"And we're sure this isn't Long Island?" I joked.

"Nah," Ethan said, out of breath. "Long Island's closer,"

Once we hit the island, we took a breather.

"Holy shit, is that the beach?" Ethan asked, looking at the microscopic people on the beach.

"Yeah," I said. "We went pretty far,"

"Wanna head back?" He asked.

"I kinda wanna live here," I laid down and a bug pinched me. "Ouch,"

"Don't wanna live here anymore, eh?" He laughed.

"I hate bugs," I murmured.

"Except Bugs Bunny," Ethan laughed.

"Oh, shut up," I laughed along with him.

We took a while to swim back, but the waves helped us get back. We went back to our chairs and pulled out two of the Gatorade bottles that I bought. I handed one to Ethan and took one for myself.

"Are you nervous for tonight?" Ethan asked me.

"Extremely," I said.

"Don't worry, man," Ethan said. "She's gonna say yes,"

I smiled and took a sip of Gatorade.

When Bela and Shreya came back, we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. They took much longer than an hour, but we did have a late lunch.

I showered and got dressed after Bela did. She was doing her makeup as I gave her a kiss on her cheek.

When we were all ready, we both looked in the bathroom mirror.

"You look gorgeous, baby," I smiled. She turned around and smiled at me. I kissed her, getting some lipstick on my mouth.

"Pink looks good on you, Mathew," She smiled at me, wiping it off.

We met Shreya and Ethan outside the hotel room and went to the restaurant together.

When we finished eating, we went to take a walk on the beach. The sunset was beautiful. I held the ring tightly in my jacket pocket. I took a deep breath. I looked at Bela in her gorgeous brown eyes.

"I never noticed how beautiful your nails are," I took her hand, kissed it, and got on one knee.

She held her other hand to her mouth as she smiled. A tear of joy ran down her face.

"Isabela Grace Matthews, I have been in love with you since the moment we met in kindergarten," I started.

Shreya squealed as Ethan held her.

"From the first time I gave you that bloody nose and the time you came back- both times-" I laughed. "I knew you were the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with,"

Bela's smile could be seen from miles away.

I took the ring from my jacket pocket and opened it in front of her.

"Oh my gosh," She smiled.

"Will you make me that happiest man in the world and marry me?" I asked.