Oblivion (Completed)

Ryan

February

We've finally done it. We've settled into a regular life where we both have jobs and eat three meals a day. Endless days in which we crawl under the covers together at night and fall asleep in each others arms, unafraid and completely comfortable. It's everything I feared would be boring when I was younger, yet it's the most thrilling feeling I've ever known. She is my safety, and waking up to those sleepy, doe eyes makes all the bad in the world seem like nothing at all.

There are a million reasons why I'm about to do this; I think of a new one every day. Yes, she's already wearing my grandmother's ring on her finger, plus the wedding band and anniversary ring I gave her back in December.

I'm pretty much shit out luck in the ring department now that I want to give her something as I re-propose. I mean four rings is a little excessive, especially if you like actually being able to bend your finger. So I had to come up with something else. Something I could her that would mean something more. Something that will last forever. Something that will be a part of me until the day I die.

I fumble with the buttons on my coat, as I'm wearing thick gloves, but I've sneakily managed to get them all undone just as we reach the center of the gazebo. It's so cold I can see Henley's breath in little puffs in front of her, and her eyes water from the wind as she smiles and looks toward the frozen lake.

She lets out a little sigh of contentment, and it sounds like she's swooning. As far as she knows, today is just any old day, and the fact that she's so in love with it falls as one of the many reasons I need this woman in my life forever. Her peace is mine.

I let go of Diesel's leash and he runs to sit beside her, sticking his nose through the rails. They're an adorable pair. I'd take a picture with my phone if I had an extra hand, but I've got other business to execute. I take a deep breath and place my hands on her waist behind her. I lean in and nuzzle my nose into the tiny bit of skin showing on her neck. She's so warm, somehow, and the sweet smell of her skin always gives me goosebumps. I've got tons now, as I press a kiss to her skin and whisper her name.

When she turns, she kisses me before I get a chance to take another breath.

"Mmm, I love you," she whispers against my lips before she comes in for more.

She always surprises me, and she feels so good I can barely pull myself away to pull off the proposal. I rub my thumbs around the corners of her mouth until she pulls away and looks at me with a dreamy, questioning gaze like I'm up to something, and I watch her eyes go wide as I shed my gloves and pull off my coat so I can start unbuttoning my shirt.

I think she's holding her breath. Her cheeks redden from me, from what I'm doing, because I'm more powerful than the cold and wind. I don't think she knows what's coming, but she definitely knows something's up. I must seem nuts, taking off my shirt in 15F weather. I take her gloved left hand in mine and stare into her glassy eyes as I move her hand beneath my shirt above my heart. They were moist before this all began, but now they're pretty streams running down her cheeks, ready to freeze against her hot skin. She feels it...that we're about to add another big, beautiful moment to our story.

When she's covered by the fabric and shielded from the wind, I reach to pull off her glove so her bare skin can touch mine and attempt the speech I've written and edited in my head about two dozen times since last night. Her fingers trace the newly raised skin softly, but she doesn't ask what the new ink in my skin is just yet; she's just staring at me in awe. Somehow, this moment feels more real than the last time I proposed, and I actually find myself stuttering.

"Henley...Do you feel that? My heart...it's pounding. I love you, and I've loved you since the second I laid eyes on you. Maybe I didn't realize it then, or what knowing you and growing to love you would mean to me...but I can say without a doubt, that the moment I saw you, I knew you'd be something to me. Was it love at first sight? For a twenty year old guy, buzzed on a ton of beers, I was too stupid to tell...but yeah, I really think it was,"