Eternity's Ending (our version of events) - Book One

Vincent

It has taken everything I have to keep her crowned "Champion of the Best Speech Ever" in the three months it's been since she unveiled her reasons for loving me. My antsiness is not the result of a need to assert my dominance. I do that by beating her to the bottom of our morning cup of coffee; often times at the expense of my taste buds. I've even developed a victory dance that further rubs her nose in it.

I actually had a response formed the very moment her lips parted to form the initial word of her answer. Xander having reasons at all was as sustaining as the reasons themselves. Still, I forced myself to stave off my reply until I could be sure my words wouldn't render her speechless and crown me Champ. I anticipated having to take baby steps with Xander, ease her into the various stages of a committed relationship. No such guidance was necessary. The thing to be admired about Xander is once she is sure of what she wants, she moves forward without caution and no regard for standard protocol. What remained to be determined, however, was whether her moving forward was leading her in the direction of my ultimate destination.

I'm 99 percent sure it is but the one percent of uncertainty causes my hands to shake. I don't move fast enough to hide my trembling hands beneath the bubbles coating the top layer of the bath water we are sitting in.

"Are you cold or something?" she asks as the back of her head rests on my chest.

I breathe in air made visible by the nearly boiling water Xander and I are partially submerged in. Chilly is an impossible state at this moment. Our skin is creased with moisture, indicating we should have departed some time ago but I ensure we remain.

"No, I'm not cold. I'm sweating."

I raise a shaky hand and head off the perspiration, steam mixture running toward my eyes. I lower it back into the water and search beneath the bubbles for her hand. Our fingers tangle as our palms cohere to one another. My wholeness rests in being affixed to her. I consider the brevity of forever as I feel her hand in mine. I am unimpressed with the prospect of being allowed to simply spend time with her, whether it be this very moment or an eternity. I need, we need, more than time because this is more than love. As such, it deserves more than to be limited by the spans of time. We need to be, like God, beyond creation and therefore beyond destruction.

I guard the hand I hold. I have managed to do absolutely nothing yet absolutely everything to earn her. She belongs with me and to me, not as a possession but as a promise; the promise of the very best love can offer. I revel in the knowledge that my wait is over, love has finally shown her my way.

"Imagine the two of us," the broken silence blocks any escape plans I have drafted. I clear away the hesitancy and push forward. "We're dancing along the shoreline of the Pacific. The steady cadence of the ocean waves bands together with the rhythm of my heartbeat composing the music I lead you to."

I move my legs side to side, creating miniature waves in the bathtub. Xander places an ear on my chest then taps out its rhythm.

"Notes from our song wash ashore, continuing our dance yet erasing all evidence of its occurrence," I catch a glimpse of her smiling at the picture she is painting in her head.

"You're wearing white. I am wearing out the words 'I love you' and 'you're beautiful'. Promises are made. You pledge continued happiness at my side. I vow to provide you with music to dance to long after the note of the final wave has been played."

Her hand still taps out my heartbeat, which we both realize has picked up the pace.

"I can make this a reality for us, Xander. There is just one thing left to do."

"What's that?" she is whispering in anticipation of the question drawing near.

"Marry me," I remember the ring hiding beneath the bath rug sitting inches from us both but I don't reach for it.

"Breathe, Xander." She exhales but remains quiet.

"I don't want to be the Champ," I whisper into her ear before placing kisses on the crown of her head, "it doesn't have to be the Best Speech Ever just..."

"One word in the affirmative," Xander finishes the sentence for me.

I reach down and pull the ring from its hiding place, holding it in my closed fist.

"Say you will," I whisper.

"Yes."