The Girl

FORTY-TWO: UNDER THE GUN

"She's got her halo and wings hidden under his eyes, but she's an angel for sure..."

SONG: UNDER THE GUN

ARTIST: THE KILLERS

Brianna watched as I attempted to lip sync a Rush song. Amusement sat in the brown of her eyes as I messed up and frowned before picking it up again. She laughed and crawled over to the edge of the bed, pushing herself up to rest on her knees. Her arms came to wrap around my neck, mouth finding mine. I exhaled heavily, sinking my teeth into her bottom lip and tugged on it before breaking away.

"Stockholm is pretty," She commented, resting her head against my shoulder and looked out the window. "You get to see so much of the world."

"Can I be cheesy and honest for a moment?" I asked, watching a grin spread across her lips as she nodded her head. "All this shit doesn't even matter to me unless you're holding my hand."

She gave me a blank stare as I broke away from her. I took a deep breath and walked to my suitcase, producing the Cranberries CD case I had kept from her old car. She gave me a soft smile.

"You remembered my weird obsession with the Cranberries," She mused and took the case from me, raising an eyebrow when she heard a weird rattle inside of it.

"I used a lot of my savings, but I saw it in Ireland--inside of an antique shop--and I thought of you," I was shaking now, dropping down to one knee in front of the bed as she stared down at the open CD case.

"Holy shit," She blurted. "Luke--Babe--"

"And we don't have to get married now, okay? But I would love it if you became my wife," I took the ring from inside of the case and watched as tears rolled down her cheeks.

She was smiling through them and I just wanted to forget the ring and hug her as tightly as I could. Before I could do anything, she was nodding her head.

"Yes," She whispered and allowed me to take her hand. Her breathing hitched as the cool silver of the band wrapped around her skin. The subtle diamond in the midst of it. "It kind of looks like a halo."

"Yeah, I think it was called a Unique Vintage Halo ring," I told her and then brought myself to sit down beside her. "How are you feeling?"

"Scared, turned on, happy," She admitted through her tears and reached for my hand, intertwining our fingers. "My brothers are going to have a field day."

I grimaced at the thought of her brothers. "Forgot about them."

"They'll be fine. They just bet on how long it would take you to ask me," She blushed at her admission and bit down on her lip. "I can't stop staring at the ring."

"I figured you wouldn't. Simple but effective," I told her, knowing she'd catch the reference. She grinned and moved closer to kiss me. "I love you."

"I love you, too, so much," She muttered and placed her hands on the back of my neck, crawling onto my lap. I felt the cool of her ring against my skin and couldn't help but to smile.

She giggled and then leaned back, pulling her shirt over her head. I bit down on my lip, tugging her closer and then laying her down against the sheets. Her fingertips grazed my lips, tentative. I closed my eyes and indulged in her touch, biting down on my lip.

"I don't want to remember anything before you," Brianna whispered and lifted her head, pressing our lips together.

I groaned, feeling her hands at the waistband of my boxers. I allowed her pull them off, leaving me bare and her with far too many layers. My hands gripped her sleeping shorts, pulling them off as my mouth moved down the length of her neck. Brianna whimpered and gripped my arms, biting down on her lip.