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Italic - inner monologue bold - past
Chapter seventeen - GETTING THERE
Five months later (December 14, 2007) - 10:00pm
Destino's Italian Restaurant - New York
"I was standing right here when I decided to invest in this place." Justin stood in front of the entrance of the building out on the side walk. It had been five months since the two embarked on their sold out tour. Now they were in New York but they still had five more months left to go. So much had happened since then.
He asked her out on a date months ago and was just now accomplishing that. Only because of their busy schedule. AND he ended it with Cameron in September. That was when he decided to be alone for a while. But this didn't stop him from spending time with Beyoncé.
"I cut the ribbon the night of the opening. It was packed. So many people were here. I was just surprised." He stood there, collecting his thoughts. Reminiscing about the past.
"I wish I could've been here." He woke up from the trance to put his gaze on her. "I bet it was very special."
"It was." He agreed, turning to face her. She watched him take a step closer, never breaking her gaze. "Bee..." He hesitated.
"What's wrong?" She noticed how nervous he looked. Was he about to tell her some bad news.
"I wanna be with you. I wanna...marry you. You know that, right?" She held her head down, blushing slightly.
"You remind me all the time."
"But like I said before, when it's...the right time. I've decided to be alone. I won't hook up with anyone else until I'm ready to settle down. We both know it will be with you." Her heart fluttered the second he said that. She knew he wanted to marry her but for some reason it felt like it was JUST dawning on her. How serious he was. "I wanna give you something." She watched him reach in his pocket for something. "I was gonna wait till after we got back to the hotel." He held up a brown, leather jewelry box.
"Justin..." Her heart skipped a beat.
"Don't panic. I'm not proposing to you. I just..." He lifted the lid, revealing a sparkling diamond ring. "It's not an engagement ring. It's a promise ring." She chuckled softly. "I know it's cheesy but I don't care. I'm not myself when I'm with you. I'm a completely different person. I'm doing things that I never thought I'd do." She peered in his eyes, trying so hard not to shed a tear. "I want you to wear this. And when you look at it, think about us. Our future. This ring represents my heart. My commitment to you. We may not be serious right now but you know that you're the only woman who makes me feel like this. You know how much I love you. And no one could ever take your place." She couldn't help herself. Her eyes were leaking within seconds of hearing those beautiful words. "So will you wear it?" She sniffled, diligently patting the area beneath her eyes.
