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Chapter 24 - The Proposal

"Hey baby girl" Jake's voice answered sweeter than ever. "Jake, I love you. What's going on?" You asked. "That last key unlocks something very special. But I need you to think really hard. Do you remember your birthday last year?" He asked you. You thought back to when they had to extend their tour during your birthday. "Yeah.." you said, waiting for him to explain. "The last box is on our bed..." he said "go open it." The line clicked as he hung up. You took another drink of your vodka cran and shakily made your way upstairs. You slowly opened the bedroom door, half expecting Jake to jump out, but he didn't. It was just an empty room with a singular lock box placed on the neatly made bed. You placed the key in, slowly turning it until you heard the click. You opened the box to see two plane tickets and a note.

'Love of my life, last year for your birthday, I planned a vacation for us, two whole weeks just you and I. I was unable to deliver and it broke my heart. You deserve the best, always. I promised you that I would make it up to you. Please, come with me to Italy. Happy early Birthday beautiful girl. Oh and one more thing... turn around.'

You dropped the tickets and quickly whipped your head around to see Jake down on one knee, holding open a small black velvet box. Inside was a huge diamond ring. Your hand shot up to cover your mouth as you gasped. Jake gulped as tears started to fall down his cheeks. "I love you. You make my heart skip beats. You excite me. You fulfill me. You-" you couldn't help but interrupt him "YES!" You shouted excitedly as you pulled him up off of his knees and into a passionate kiss. He pulled back "Will you marry me?" He asked. You nodded erratically "Yes, yes, yes!" You said kissing him some more. "Oh thank God" he whispered in between your kisses. He put his hands up to your cheeks and held your face "I love you" he said looking into your eyes. You began to cry, trying your best not to sob uncontrollably. "I love you too, Jake. Thank you for all of this." You kissed his forehead and ran your hands down his back. "We're engaged." He said to you, sounding as excited as a little kid with a new toy. You giggled "yeah we are". Jake placed the ring on your finger and you stared at it in disbelief. "Jake this is... incredible." He smiled at you "well then it fits you perfectly". He grabbed your hand and began to drag you downstairs "Now, let's celebrate."

As soon as you made it downstairs all you could hear was cheering and applause, all of the boys and their friends were there, celebrating your engagement. Josh ran up to you and pulled you into a huge hug, he leaned his head in to talk into your ear, trying to speak over the loud claps and cheers "I am SO happy for you guys. I love you both." He said before pulling away to practically jump Jake. You exchanged hugs, high fives, and smiles with the rest of the crowd before finally getting to hug Jake again, holding him and squeezing him for what was probably way too long. "ALRIGHT LETS GET DRUNK!" Josh yelled. "SHOTS!" Sammy chimed in. You looked at Jake and nodded, shots sounded so nice right now. Danny lined up the glasses and poured Tito's evenly into each one. Simultaneously you all grabbed your glasses and waited for someone's cue. Jake spoke up "To love" he said as you all tapped your shot glasses together, and tilted your heads back in unison to take them. As everyone began to mingle you made your way out back to smoke a cigarette, seeing Sam sitting on the porch swing. You plopped down next to him, and he gave you a side hug and a coy smile. "Clever..." you said chuckling. Sam giggled "Did you enjoy our scavenger hunt?" You took a drag of your cigarette "I'll never forget it." You said. "I really love you guys and am so happy to be a part of this family. You Kiszka's are crazy, wonderful, talented, and hilarious." Sam nodded and gave you a quick kiss on the cheek "As are you my lady. We are happy to have you". He popped up out of his seat and went back inside.

A couple hours had gone by and the party was still in full swing. "Bonfire!" Yelled Josh. You all made your way outside, grabbing whatever chairs and drinks you could. You watched as Jake and Josh did what they did best, make a huge ass fire. You loved watching them together, they were so cohesive without even needing to talk. Josh's girlfriend set up a chair next to yours and leaned over to you. "I'm so happy for you guys." She said cheerfully. You smiled at her "thank you" was all you could get out. For some reason, something about her just didn't sit right with you. You didn't even know why, you just didn't like her. "Can you grab me another beer, babe?" Josh shouted over to her. She smiled at him, popped up and quickly made her way inside. Josh really liked this girl, you had to find a way to be okay with that. She came out, handed Josh a beer and then walked up to Jake, leaning in and whispering something into his ear. He shook his head at her and then leaned in, whispering something back to her. 'Okay, what the fuck was that?' You thought to yourself. You tried not to let it bother you, but it did. You pushed it out of your mind as best you could and just enjoyed your night with the boys and your new fiancé, the love of your life.

The night was dying down and everyone had left except for the Kiszka's and Josh's new girlfriend. Jake was obviously way too drunk, and Josh and his girlfriend were practically dry humping in a lawn chair. You decided to take Jake upstairs, and help him to bed. "Come on baby, let's get you in bed." You said helping him up from his chair. He didn't fight you on it in the slightest, he knew he was done for the night. He stood up and everything that was on his lap was now in the wet grass. "I got it" you said leaning down to grab his lighter, phone, and pack of cigarettes. Getting Jake up the stairs proved to be more of a challenge than you had originally expected. He was stumbling, and kept pausing to look at you and tell you how beautiful you were or how much he loved you. It was cute, no doubt about it, but it was definitely an ordeal. You finally got him into the bedroom, and you unbuckled his pants and helped him into some sweatpants. You laid him down and tucked him in, doing your best to sing a sweet song for him. You played with his hair until he fell asleep, which didn't take long. You stared at him for a moment, taking in everything that had happened tonight. You knew how lucky you were, how great Jake was, and how in love you were. You couldn't wait to me Mrs. Kiszka. As you went to change into pajamas you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket. You pulled it out to check, realizing it was actually Jake's phone. There was a text from Josh's girlfriend. 'What the fuck was she doing texting him?' You thought. You had to read it. You unlocked his phone and pulled up the message.

"I thought you were going to tell her before you proposed??"