A Sokeefe Engagement

Chapter 2 - Keefe

I was standing in the great hall, telling a story about a Sasquatch to a few emissaries and members of the Council. Everyone was laughing (Sasquatch farts are universally hilarious) when a strong wave of emotions hit me. That's when I knew Foster had arrived. I excused myself and turned to look for her, scanning the room for a petite blonde doing her best to blend into the crowd.

But she wasn't hiding in the crowd this time. Instead I found her at the top of the staircase, arm in arm with Dex. I swear, for a few seconds my heart stopped beating. Don't get me wrong, Sophie is beautiful whether she's waking up with major bed head or covered with Verdi feathers. But tonight I'm pretty sure my mouth fell open when I saw her - she was breathtaking. I had already started to make my way over to the stairs when her eyes met mine. She blushed and I knew my face must have given away every thought I was having, so I grinned at her and mouthed the word 'Wow.' I had to laugh as her blush spread, it was too easy to tease her.

We reached the bottom of the stairs at the same time. I know I should have said hi to Dex, but I couldn't take my eyes off of her to do so. He must have gotten the hint because he excused himself pretty quickly.

I couldn't help but internally celebrate that this knockout of a woman was my girlfriend. "You. Are. Stunning." My words were rewarded with a warm burst of happiness and relief, like she'd been nervous about what I'd think. But tonight's ensemble was pretty different from her usual picks. The pale pink color brought out the golden highlights in her brown eyes and blonde hair. And while the strapless gown displayed the defined strength of her arms and shoulders, everything about her looked soft and ethereal.

She was still looking up at me with her dreamy brown eyes. "Seriously Sophie. You look... perfect."

Sophie smiled, "You look very handsome." Then she blushed. "Dex may have caught me staring at you a few minutes ago."

I couldn't help but feel pleased that my extra efforts that evening had paid off. Tucking an escaped strand of hair behind her ear, I leaned closer, "Happy to know I can still make a good impression." She nodded, and it took me another moment to realize we were starting to get some stares, probably because we were blocking the staircase. Or maybe because we clearly couldn't take our eyes off of each other.

I slipped her hand into mine and guided her toward our assigned table. The event planner had been kind enough to seat us with friends. But as we drew closer, I realized all I wanted to do was keep walking until we were far away, out of the line of sight from all of the stares and questions that seemed to follow us at every turn.

I slowed our pace and leaned down to whisper into her ear, "Let's sneak away as soon as we can."

Sophie glanced up at me. She must have seen how serious I was because it only took a moment before she squeezed my hand and whispered, "Absolutely."