I Loved You Before I Met You (New Version)

85

   Lauren's out of the shower and laying in bed when I walk into the bedroom. I quickly grab my night clothes and go down the hall to shower. When I get back to the bedroom, Lauren is laying on her side facing the wall already under the cover. I slip in bed behind her and wrap an arm around her waist then pull her tight against me. "I missed you." I whisper in her ear as I softly kiss below her ear.

   "Mmm, I missed you too but it's only been a few minutes since you saw me." Lauren says laughing as she turns over facing me. She smiles as I gently place my hand on her cheek and stroke my thumb against her soft skin. Her eyes close as she nuzzles against my hand and a smile graces her beautiful lips.

   "I always miss you when I'm not around you." I pull Lauren more flush against my body even though we are already pressed together. "I love you." I say as I kiss her inviting lips. The smile those three words earn me makes my heart beat like crazy. I will never get tired of the way just a smile, a look or touch from her affects me. Before I can say anything else she closes the space between our lips in a slow tender kiss.

   We both softly moan into the kiss and Lauren pulls away with a breathless smile on her face. "I love you too, Kyler." She presses against me, intimately but not in a sexual way, "I love you more than anything." She declares as she nuzzles her face into my neck and lightly kisses me and entwines our legs.

   "I'm so tired and ready to sleep." Lauren says as she slips her hand under my shirt resting it against my side.

   I smile as I tighten my hold around Lauren and give her a quick hug. "Me too." I whisper as I slip my hand under the back of her shirt. I have realized since we have been together, that both of us love skin to skin contact even when it's not sexual. There's just something comforting about it. I kiss her head and she tries to move closer to me even though it's not possible and we both close our eyes and drift off to sleep.

   Tuesday morning I'm up early. By early I mean I'm up at 5 a.m. for some reason. I think it's a mixture of excitement and nerves. I'm excited to find the perfect ring for Lauren and to propose but nervous at the same time because this is a big step and I'm nervous she might say no. What if she actually doesn't want to get married again? Or what if she doesn't want to marry... me? I know she loves me so I just hope I'm nervous for no reason.

   I head downstairs to the kitchen and make a pot of coffee. Once it's ready I fix a cup and head out to the back porch. This gives me a perfect opportunity to plan out my proposal to Lauren. I had already decided on the spot because it means a lot to me. I've just got to work out the other details and what I want to say.

   I'm so lost in my thoughts that I lose track of time until I hear a soft noise behind me and the faint sound of footsteps on the porch. Before I can even turn around to see who it is, I know it's Lauren. I smile as the sweet scent of her Light Blue perfume invades my senses and consumes me and her arms wrap around my waist.

   I lean into Lauren and rest against her. "What are you doing out here?" She inquires. I sit my coffee cup on the porch banister and rest my hands on her arms. As I start to move her arms so I can turn around she says "I want to hold you for a moment."

   Another smile tugs at my lips as I feel Lauren tighten her arms around me. "What time is it?" I ask out loud.

   Before I can look at my watch Lauren says "it's 7:05 a.m." Wow, I didn't realize I have been out here nearly two hours. Her body is warm against me and I could stay like this for as long as she would allow but I know I have to get ready because Katie will be here by 8.

   "I really love you, you know that?" I say with a chuckle but there's no humor in it. Lauren turns me around and gently caresses my check as she smiles at me.

   "I really love you too, Kyler." Lauren replies as she traces her fingers over my lips. God, I don't want to leave her right now but I need to get ready. She also doesn't know that Katie is coming to get me either.

   "I actually need to go get ready because I will be leaving soon. Katie is coming to get me at 8 to go somewhere with her. I will be back by lunch time, then I want to take you to some of my favorite places." Lauren pouts at me but it's a playful pout. I peck her lips "you're not mad about me going with Katie are you?" I ask just to be sure.

   Lauren shakes her head, "no baby it's fine. I know you want to spend some time with your best friend. I'm going to work on sending my resume out to a few more schools while you're gone. If you're not back by the time I'm finished with that then I will see if Mary needs help with anything. Just enjoy your time with your best friend, I know you've missed her." I grab my empty coffee cup as she grabs my other hand and pulls me inside. Lauren takes the cup out of my hand and pats my hip with her other hand "go get ready baby, I will wash this up." I kiss her and head upstairs to get ready quickly since I don't have a lot of time now.

   Katie gets here a couple minutes after 8 and I kiss Lauren bye and head out the door. We decided to stop by Starbucks first and get some coffee before starting our search. After we leave Starbucks we go to a few smaller jewelry stores to see what they have in engagement rings. It's close to 10 when we leave the third jewelry store, having no luck, so I tell Katie to head to Cordova Mall. There's a Kay Jewelers in the mall and I have a feeling I might find what I want there.

   Once we get parked and walk into the mall, I head straight for Kay Jewelers. It's 10:15, they haven't been open long and it's not busy at the mall yet so hopefully this will be good. Katie and I look through all the engagement ring cases and nothing stands out to me yet. "How much are you wanting to spend?" Katie asks.

   "I put $5,000 back just in case. It doesn't have to be that much but it has to be perfect." Katie nods and pulls me over to the bridal ring sets case. I had never thought about getting a bridal set but it will not hurt to look.