lifeguard↠ e.d.

5. a proposal

ten
grace

"the kids are adorable aren't they." ethan says as he sits down on the grass next to me. "as in the kids, i mean grayson. he's just the cutest when he's playing soccer."

"you're so dumb." i roll my eyes and laugh. "what are you doing here anyways? aren't you supposed to be at the beach? saving lives?"

"someone's covering for me. but that's what i came over here for. i was thinking we could talk over a late lunch. maybe break a first while we're at it."

"ethan, you know i cant leave. ill get in so much troub-"
he puts his finger over my lips. "ill take the blame. it's all going to be okay. plus, grayson and alisha obviously have it under control."

i sigh. "fine, but we can't take long."

"great!" ethan smiles perkily. he jumps up, and pulls me along with him. as we began walking towards his truck in its rightful parking place in the grass, the soccer ball rolled over to us. soon enough grayson came running to get it, with a confused look on his face.

"where are you guys going?" grayson pants, grabbing the soccer ball.
"i'm taking her to the grille."
"why?"

"wait isn't that the restaurant with the really good burgers?" i ask, but they both ignore me.

"because i can." ethan retorts as grayson rolls his eyes. "im gonna take her back, we won't be long at all."
grayson eyes ethan skeptically before running back to the kids with the soccer ball in hand.

"anyways, after you m'lady." ethan smirks, opening his truck door and motions for me to go in.

"why thank you mr dolan." i kiss his cheek, and before i can get into the truck to slip into the passengers seat, he grabs my chin and plants his lips on mine.

"almost forgot i could do that." he pulls away smiling.

"technically, you can't do that whenever you want! plus if my uncle were to see you do that he would kill me." i laugh as i get into the truck. ethan follows my steps, shutting the door closed.

"eh. my windows are tinted anyways." ethan smirks as he leans in again. i lean back and cross my arms. a smirk of my own spreads across my face.

"ethan," i scold, shaking my head and laughing.

"okay, okay! don't discipline me, i'm just getting a little ahead of myself, that's all."

"a little?"

"maybe a lot, i'm just excited. do you know how long i've been waiting for what happened last night to happen?"

i blush, and i look down at my hands. "i cant say that i didn't feel the same way." this time he blushes. a perfect shade of red spread on his cheeks

"are you," i pause, pretending to be shocked. "blushing?" i gasp.

"hell no! i just uh- we should get going."

L I F E G U A R D

i was skipping through his playlist when i landed on a specific one, and not even five seconds into the song he was telling me to skip it.

"grace skip it i swear to god."

"why? is it a sin for ethan dolan to listen to a slow song." i laugh. his attempts to grab the phone made me laugh even more. "but how did we go from kendrick lamar to this?"

"listen, it's a good song." he heaves a sigh. "if i'm gonna be honest with you, i wanted to learn how to play the guitar to play this son- oh look we're here time to get out of the truck and never speak of this again!" he swerves into a parking spot and cuts the car off, the music along with it.

"oh, so the bad boy is soft i see?"

he pauses. "can we leave now?" he rushes, jumping out of the truck.

"it's cute!" i laugh as i get out. he grabs my hand and drags me inside the restaurant.

L I F E G U A R D

"i cant eat anymore." i groan. ethan looks at me as if he were offended.
"you have so many fries left!" he exclaims.
"i ate with the kids earlier!" i laugh. "this is my second lunch."

"i do that all the time." he says, making me laugh even harder. "grace, tell me when the waiter is around."

i frown. "why?"
"because i forgot my wallet, again."

"ethan dolan, i don't have any money on me either! we are not going to leave without paying!" i whisper yell.

"fuck no, i'd never do that. i mean, i've done it once or twice but that's beside the point."

i roll my eyes. "he's over there."
ethan's eyes light up, a smirk spreading across his face. "go along with what i'm about to do, okay?" he scoots out of the booth and stands up.

"everyone, can i get your attention please?" ethan grabs my hand and pulls me out of the booth. the room goes quiet, and all eyes were on us.

"grace, you know that this has been our favorite restaurant for a while now, so i don't think there could be a better place for me to do this." he reaches into his pocket and goes down on one knee. cheers and whistles filled the room. "grace, will you marry me?"

i put my hands over my mouth to act surprised, and apparently it worked. i nodded my head yes and put my left hand down so he could put the ring on it. the people in the room got even louder, cheering relentlessly.

he stands up and kisses my lips, laughing as he does so. "i cant believe that actually worked." he whispers.

"me either." the cheering dies down, and the waiter rushes to us.

"i just saw what happened, congratulations!" he exclaims. "your meal is on the house."

"thank you so much." ethan sighs of relief. "it means more than you know." he smiles, and takes our plates to the kitchen.

we both walk out the door hand in hand, and once it closes, we both die of laughter.

"ethan dolan, you need to start bringing your damn wallet to places."

"hey! that was fun wasn't it? you broke another first sweetheart. you're becoming more spontaneous by the minute."

we both get in the truck, and my mind was already racing. "does this mean we're together?" i ask.

"i mean, that's kinda what happened right?"
"what do you mean?"
"you're my girlfriend. i'm your boyfriend." my eyes widen, and i'm sure my heart started to beat even faster.

"so that means it's over?"

"what's over?"

"our marriage."

"we can still be boyfriend and girlfriend, i mean, i wouldn't mind it. and i'm being serious."

"i don't think i'd mind it either." a grin spreads across my face.