Twilight of Shadows | LingOrm (GxG)

FOURTY ONE

Atid raised an eyebrow, watching Earn inspect the rings with laser focus. "Wait a minute... are you already buying a ring?" he asked, amusement creeping into his voice.

Earn glanced at him, barely fazed. "It's for Lada," she replied casually, turning the ring under the light to admire it.

Atid's jaw dropped. "For Lada? Girl, y'all just had sex once after being apart for two years! You haven't even had, like, one deep, emotional, heart-to-heart conversation yet, and now you're out here buying a ring?!" His hands flew up dramatically, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Earn rolled her eyes but smiled. "Relax! I'm not asking her to marry me, Atid. It's just to ask her to be my girlfriend." She paused, squinting at another ring. "Besides, I need to talk to Narin first. She has to know what's going on between her mommy and me. No way I can leave her out of this."

Atid shook his head, exasperated. "Girl, this section screams wedding rings. Are you sure you're not getting ahead of yourself?" He gestured wildly towards the diamond-cut section as if it were offensive. "Let's move over here-this is more 'girlfriend' territory."

Earn shot him a grin and held up another ring for his approval. "How about this one?"

Atid's eyes widened, and he gave an approving nod. "Now that's a ring! It's gorgeous, babe. I can already picture Lada wearing it, looking all elegant and bossy."

Earn grinned, satisfied. She picked a rose gold ring with a nude pink diamond-cut design, admiring it in her hand. "This one. It's perfect."

Atid crossed his arms, curious. "So... when's the big moment?"

"Tomorrow. Over dinner," Earn replied, slipping the ring into the small box.

Atid's jaw dropped again. "You're gonna ask her just like that? No grand plan? No fireworks?"

Earn scoffed. "I'm not proposing, you idiot. I'm just asking her to be my girlfriend!"

"Same difference! But come to think of it, just skip the 'girlfriend' stage and propose already," Atid said with a confused look, half-serious.

Earn smacked his arm, laughing. "I can't just jump straight to proposing, Atid! I left her for two years. Calm down, you're making me nervous!"

Atid shrugged, his grin widening. "If you're going down this road, you better tell your mom, babe. I mean, she's gotta know you're not exactly in a... traditional relationship, if you know what i mean."

Earn sighed, shooting him a knowing glance. "You're right. But I think she already knows. I mean, my mom's sharp-she probably figured it out before I did but kept quite about it."

Atid smirked. "She's definitely going to want details. When are you telling her?"

Earn thought for a moment. "I'm visiting her later today. Want to come along? I'm sure she'd love to see her favorite 'son,'" she teased, nudging him playfully.

Atid rolled his eyes but couldn't hide his grin. "Sure, but only because I miss your mom's cooking, not your face."

Earn burst out laughing, playfully shoving him. "Oh, you love me. Admit it."

Atid shot her a wink. "Yeah, yeah. Just don't expect me to hold your hand when you drop this 'girlfriend' bombshell."

"Deal," Earn said with a chuckle. "But I might need you to distract her with compliments while I figure out how to break it to her."

Atid laughed. "I got you covered, babe."

•••

Atid hopped out of the car, grinning as he called out, "Mae Paew!" from outside the gate.