recovery - j.b.

fifty eight

audrey

that night, latavia and avery came to the bungalow to help me get ready for the date. the surprise that justin left was a dress for me to wear to the date. he was being really cute but really secretive and it was making me nervous. when avery finished taking pictures of me on her phone, i left out toward the beach.

when i got there, justin had a staff of people around him as he sat on his phone. once he finally realized i was there, he put his phone away. "okay seriously, that took so long."

"blame best friends." i chuckle. "avery literally did a small photoshoot."

"i don't blame her. you look sexy." he kisses me before pulling the chair out and telling me to sit. a date on the beach was on my bucket list but most of these fuckboys nowadays, i never thought it'd happen. but dating justin came with a lot of unexpected things.

"are you paying them to cater to us?" i question, taking his glass of wine since mine is empty. "you're lazy."

"i can't cook." he pouts. "that chef dream would be a disaster."

"that facebook diy helped." i say, making him roll his eyes. "im kidding, i love you."

"mm, love you too." he hummed, filling the empty glass with wine and drinking it. "what did ryan say to you earlier? he kept acting strange around me."

"nothing, he got boat sick so i shook him around."

the only reason i'm lying is because if i bring up the topic of marriage, i don't want justin to think he has to propose or something. i'd like that but i don't want to pressure him. who knows of we're even ready?

he lifted an eyebrow, probably not believing me but he went along with it. "okay." he chuckles. "but tomorrow we are going in that submarine thing."

"of course we are." i roll my eyes. "if we go snorkeling, i'm not. i'm tired of adding heat to my hair."

"wear it natural." he says. "you never wear it natural."

"because i look like someone's grandma when i wear it natural." i say causing him to laugh. "when it's long and curly that's because i put leave in conditioner in it but when it's a curly afro that's when it's all natural."

"at our wedding, you're wearing your hair in an afro." he winks, my heart beating. the topic of marriage just kept coming up today and it was lowkey freaking me out.

"that wouldn't work, how would i put my veil on?"

"we'll make it work." he says, then one of the staff her hired came over with a platter. when she put our plates down, i looked at the food. "i don't know what this is but it looks interesting."

"you try it first." i quickly say.

"we'll try it together." he squints. i pick up my fork, piecing into the unfamiliar food, then biting into it. justin did the same, the odd looking food turning out to taste hella good. "i'm gonna learn to make this."

"i'd like to see you try."

+

after eating, justin decided we should take a walk on the beach. it was getting fairy cold out so he gave me his blazer, and we kept walking. "i know you lied about ryan, what did he say?" justin randomly questioned, grabbing my hand.

he stopped so we could talk. sighing, i speak. "avery and latavia kept talking about how you're being secretive and they assumed you were going to propose tonight. ryan told us you weren't."

he stayed silent.

"was ryan lying?" i question, nudging him. his feet went into the water, his white vans getting wet. considering he wasn't even wearing a full suit, i understand why he'd be wearing vans.

"technically yes but no." he frowned at his now wet shoes. "i'm not proposing but i wanted to give you a promise ring."

now i was at loss of words. "are you serious?"

he grabbed something from his pocket, then opened it. it was a promise ring with two different colored stones. my mouth fell open, it looked fucking expensive. "it's our birth stones. or makes engraved on the side."

"justin, i-" i was literally at loss for words. this is the cutest, sweetest thing someone has ever done. "i love you so much."

i threw my arms around him, and he chuckles. "i love you too." he kisses my cheek. "will you take the promise ring? neither of us are ready for marriage but i want to marry you, when we're ready."

"of course." i smile, kissing him. he slides the ring on my finger before picking me up. my legs wrap around him, my arms around his neck. "you know, i never thought i'd ever be in this stage of a relationship. every relationship starts good, we have sex then they start being careless and not giving a fuck."

"i'm not like that, i promise." he kisses me.

"i know that." i cup his face. "now let's go back so we can finish up this romantic night the right way."

"i hope that means a back massage." he puts me down, then grabs my hand.

"and more." i wink.

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should i write a romantic love scene? my friend said too much smut is overwhelming and i don't want to make anyone uncomfortable