say yes. (dwayne hoover)

chapter thirteen

warnings: mentions of sex/sex related things. 

this chapter is very short, but i promise more fun things are coming!! this was also one of the most fun (silliest) chapters to write. 

Ramona was laying on Dwayne's chest as he traced circles on her arm. It was late, and they should've gone to sleep, but they were both too deep in their own thoughts to close their eyes.

Dwayne couldn't stop thinking about how happy he was. How much he loved kissing Ramona and the taste of his lips on her neck. He looked down at her while she stared up. He wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to kiss her all night. No scratch that, all day every day. He would've done it, too, if she didn't seem so tired.

Ramona's thoughts were not as blissful. While she was unbelievably happy that Dwayne reciprocated her feelings, she couldn't move past the knot in her stomach. Did she even deserve this? Did she deserve to be with someone like Dwayne when she was such a mess?

Every single relationship she had ever been in had ended in flames. She couldn't help but think that it must have something to do with her. She had to be doing something wrong.

Right when Dwayne was about to doze off to sleep, Ramona hoarsely whispered, "Dwayne?"

"Yeah?"

She chewed her lip for a moment. "Why do you like me?"

Dwayne was confused, knitting his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Why?"

He thought for a moment. "Well, you're beautiful. I like...your nose, and your lips, and your legs. And you're smart. And funny. And kind. And understanding," he rambled. Then, he let out a breath, placing his hand on the side of her face. "I don't know if I can put into words what you're looking for. Because when I think about you...I just think that you're perfect."

Ramona smiled sadly at him. "I'm not. I'm not those things."

"You are."

"No. I'm not. I... can't do geometry. And I'm awkward. I get upset easily. And...well, I'm fat. I'm fat and I'm not really that pretty." She looked back up to the ceiling. "I'm fucked up. I try to hide it, but I know you see it sometimes. I can't promise that I'll be good at any of this."

Dwayne looked down at her and frowned. "Don't talk about yourself like that. All of those things that you hate...I love them. I love the way you look. And maybe you can't see it, but I see that you're a lot more than those little things. You might be fucked up, but who cares? So am I. So is everyone else. I'm not going to expect anything from you. I just...want you."

"You mean it?"

Dwayne moved Ramona off of him, making her fall down on the bed. He leaned over her and placed his hands on the side of her face. He leaned down and kissed her hard, making her breathe in sharply as she reciprocated. "I've never meant anything more. Don't ever doubt that."

In the morning, after waking up in each other's arms, Ramona and Dwayne got ready to explore the city on their last day.

"The beach is like twenty minutes away. Or there's Hollywood Boulevard." Ramona listed off ideas.

"Isn't Hollywood Boulevard filled with creeps dressed as Elmo?"

"Probably wanna skip that one," she laughed. "Let's do the beach, then."

Dwayne nodded and then stood up from the bed to get ready. He went over to where Ramona was standing in front of the dresser, looking at the map. When he got next to her, she turned around quickly and kissed him, laughing into his mouth.