Loyal

Chapter 45

Music: Latch-Disclosure/Sam Smith

Vera's POV

            "What now?" I ask Colin, giddy from the excitement of getting engaged. He laughs, buckling his seatbelt in.

                        "Let's just enjoy the rest of the night, or morning, together. Let's just go."

            "Go where?"

                        "Anywhere, baby girl." Colin takes off, and before I know it we're cruising through the streets of San Francisco. After the fair, neither of us wanted to go home. I sent a quick text to Leah and we were off.

            Morning light gently breaks through the dark sky. I watch the horizon across the bay, turning from purple to a bright orange. It's breathtakingly beautiful. I feel myself getting a little nauseous, but it fades away as soon as I turn to look at Colin.

            "Can we go on the Golden Gate Bridge?" I ask him. Colin brakes immediately and makes a u-turn in the middle of an area where it's clearly illegal.

                        "Of course," he grins at me before speeding the opposite direction. When we finally get to the bridge, day is officially making an entrance. The hills of the city, oddly enough, lull away the sickness in my stomach. The sun is a brilliant orange pushing through the light purple sky. Colin parks before we can actually drive across.

            "What are we doing?" I ask.

                        "Let's walk." We both get out and Colin holds my hand tightly as we walk onto the Golden Gate.

            The cool bay air brushes against me and I shiver against Colin. He pulls me closer to him, his arm coming around me for extra warmth. When we make it a good distance onto the bridge we stand against the railing, looking out onto the choppy water.

            "Colin, this is beautiful," I say, unable to find the proper words to explain the view. He comes behind me, holding me closer to him.

                        "Not as beautiful as you, Vera."

            "I can't believe you asked me to marry you." My hair dances past me, the breeze catching onto us. I look out onto Alcatraz, the city, and the water, which is turning different colors under the morning sky. It's perfection. I hold Colin's hand tighter, thankful for the opportunity to share such a beautiful moment with him.

                        "I can't believe you said yes," Colin says quietly.

            "Why would I not?"

                        Colin hesitates. "You're so innocent, perfect. There are a lot of skeletons in my closet."

            "We all have skeletons, Colin."

            Colin holds me closer against him, kissing me on the cheek.

                        "Your skeletons are beautiful compared to mine."

            "I love you, Mr. Kaepernick."

                        I feel him smile as he holds me tighter.

                        "I love you more, Mrs. Kaepernick." Colin turns me around, my back against the railing, and presses against me. The breeze swirls around us as Colin lifts my chin and kisses me. It's a passionate kiss, his tongue coaxing mine. His hands move down my body, to my back. I'm losing myself to him, but before I fully can, a boisterous voice interrupts our moment of passion.

            "Sir! Ma'am! Please don't do it!" Colin pulls away from me and we both look to the direction the voice is coming from. A guard comes running toward us, hands waving frantically in the air.

                        "I'm sorry?" Colin asks, confused. The man pauses to assess the situation, looking from me to Colin. He takes off his hat and shrugs.

            "I'm so sorry. We don't usually get people walking around the bridge this early unless they're about to commit suicide. A lot of them try to jump the bridge, but we catch 'em before they can."

            Colin and I double over in laughter, the man puts his hat back on, embarrassed.

            "I can assure you we are not about to commit suicide. We're about to get married," Colin says, kissing me lightly on the lips. The guard lets out a laugh and heads back the other way.

            "Young love! So sweet," he exclaims, waving to us as he walks away. "Congratulations to you two!"

            As he walks away Colin looks down at me.

                        "Where were we again?"

            "We were in the middle of a hot steamy kiss, Mr. Kaepernick."

                        "Ahh, yess." Colin dips his head back down to mine, his lips catching mine in a deep kiss.

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Vera's POV

As soon as I get into the apartment, Leah jumps on me, screaming.

            "YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!" Her statement is followed by several loud squeals. As soon as she gathers composure I burst into laughter. I'm excited too. I can't help it. I never thought I would be the one getting married. Especially before Leah!

            "Ugh, I can't believe it! We have so much planning to do! Let's start this weekend! Right after my finals!" I let Leah get her excitement and wedding jitters out of the way before telling her exactly how the romantic proposal went.

                        "It just sucks because Colin is going to be gone for a week, for training in Arizona. He leaves tomorrow morning," I finish. I hate the idea of being away from Colin for so long, but respect his passion for football. After my long talk with Leah I feel nauseous again. When she retreats to do some studying, I go to my room to lie down. I dig through my purse, looking for my phone. Instead of finding my phone, I come across a clear dvd case. Flipping it over in my hand I see that the cover says, "Colin <3." I try to remember where it had come from, and decide Colin must have slipped it into my purse when I wasn't looking. Just as I'm about to open it, I feel the overwhelming sickness that has been masking itself as nausea, and before I can stop myself, I vomit. I throw up all over my bed. I kneel to the ground, dry heaving.

            "Vera?" Leah comes into my bedroom. "Vera! Are you okay?" I nod quickly, standing up.

                        "Leah, I'm fine. I just, haven't fully gotten over that cold." Leah folds her arms across her chest.

            "Are you freaking kidding me!? That's it, I told you to go to the hospital! You said you did! Get in the car, we're going to the ER!"

                        "Leah. Stop. It's nothing to worry about. I'll go tomorrow morning, I promise. Before I drop off Colin at the airport." Leah's expression doesn't soften until I put my hands together, as if to beg.

                        "I promise Leah."

            "Fine. If I find out you didn't go, I'm calling the damn ambulance." Leah heads out the door and I go back to my bed, grabbing the dvd and putting onto my nightstand before lying down on my bed.