Whatever Happens

Chapter 11

"That was great." I smiled up at Dean as we walked along the illuminated pathway.

He'd just taken me to a dinner theater. He said it was to remedy the fact that I'd never seen Grease, but I knew it must have been expensive. Simply watching the movie with him would have made me happy.

I never thought I cared for musicals, but I loved it. The food was amazing too, even though I'd forgotten all about it for a while, because I'd been so into the show.

He smiled back. "I'm glad you liked it."

We walked, hand in hand, until we came to a brightly lit gazebo. We were in a garden area behind the theater. I guessed that in the Spring and Summer, there would be flowers everywhere. Since it was the middle of Fall, there weren't too many. It was still beautiful though.

Moving to the far end, I looked out over the pond. Dean let go of my hand and turned to lean against the railing, apparently uninterested in the ambiance.

After a second, I realized he was focusing on me, very intently. Feeling a little awkward with so much attention, I peeked up at him.

"I kinda like you, ya know," he said with a grin.

How cute was he?

I turned fully to face him and grinned back. "That's good, because I kinda like you too."

He watched me for a moment before he reached into his pocket, pulled out a little box, and placed it in my hand. My eyes went wide when I realized it must be some kind of jewelry.

"You didn't have to get me anything," I said. "Everything else was enough!"

"Just open it," he said, looking amused.

Surprised as I was, I was also feeling pretty pleased. Smiling, I took off the ribbon and opened the box. Inside lay a gold bracelet. The charm was an adorable elephant inside a heart, and it didn't look cheap.

"It's beautiful." I glanced up at him before looking back at the bracelet. "I love it."

Seeming pleased, he took the bracelet from the box and opened the clasp to put on me. Of course, I happily obliged.

After it was in place, I just admired it for a second. When I looked up at him again, he was watching me seriously and his face was a little closer than it had been a minute ago.

Understanding what he was - finally - doing, I smiled softly as he tentatively touched my face. For a moment, he just looked in my eyes and gently rubbed his thumb across my cheek.

He leaned in and my eyes automatically closed when he touched his lips to mine. He kissed me softly and sweetly. And apparently, he wasn't in any hurry.

After a minute, his hand left my face and he took my hand, lacing our fingers together. My free hand went to his neck and my fingers weaved into his hair.

I'm not sure how long we went on like that, but I marveled over how wonderful it felt. It was pretty chaste - certainly nothing like the last time I'd been in this kind of situation. But it was so much sweeter, and somehow, much more intimate.

With a few more small kisses, Dean pulled away and we smiled at each other as we tried to catch our breath.

"Can I ask you something?" he said, still sounding a little breathless.

"Of course." I smiled.

"Be my girlfriend?"

My smile grew and I nodded before pulling his lips back to mine.