LENNOX ▸ RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK

THIRTY • LOVE AND MARRIAGE

It was the perfect day in London... if "perfect" meant "inadequate."

It would've been a grand weekend. Lenny and Ruben had planned to spend the entire day in bed with an occasional break to eat here or there. Unfortunately, the heater in their house had decided to break on them and spurt unnecessary amounts of heat when they needed it most.

They were sitting on the couch on the third day of a winter storm hitting England in the middle of spring. Ruben had shed himself of his t-shirt, sitting leisurely on the sofa in only his shorts. Lennox had picked up his discarded shirt, decorating her body in that and her panties, nothing else. The radiator made it too hot for anything else.

Half of her body was currently laying on top of the man she loved as he declined on the sofa, legs stretched out before him, and they both watched the telly.

Lenny's right leg was thrown over Ruben's torso as her chest rested against his shoulder and her fingers teasingly ran through his short hair, playfully tugging at strands every now and again.

"Hey, Lenny." She hummed, acknowledging him and motioned for him to go on. "Marry me."

Lennox thought she hadn't heard him correctly.

Her fingers jerked to a stop in his hair, pulling away as her hand rested on his chest, pulling her upright. She sat up, legs straddling his waist and hands resting on his abdomen. Her eyes were nearly bugging out of her head. "What?"

His own hands rested on her hip bones as he repeated his statement.

"Marry me."

He repeated his words as if he were asking her what she'd want for dinner, as casual as could be. He even added a shrug to emphasize the extreme casualty of the situation.

"Rubes," she warned, holding an accusing finger up to him. She couldn't recall a time where she had held herself and her emotions back more than now. And with Ruben fake proposing to her multiple times in the past few days, she just had to be sure. "Don't joke around."

His dark chocolate eyes stared into her light ones as he smiled genuinely at her, taking her pointed finger in his hand and kissing it. "I'm not, baby."

Lenny still wasn't fully convinced. "Ruben..."

"Lenny, I want to spend this winter storm and all the others that come our way with you. I want you lying on top of me as we watch TV and make corny jokes to one another. I want to spend every Christmas and birthday and every day in between with you. And I want to do it with you as my wife. You said you didn't want a fancy proposal; you wanted it to be casual. And what's more us than lying on the couch in barely any clothes and watching the telly. So, just say yes. Marry me."

His hand slipped into the pocket of his shorts as he pulled out a ring box, opening it to reveal the most beautiful ring Lennox had ever seen. By now, her eyes were glazed over as tears streamed down her face. She wiped them away, clearing her vision as she wildly nodded at the man before her.

Lenny's head tilted to the side in confusion. "Have you had that in your pocket all day?"

Ruben's eyes narrowed in slight annoyance. "Yes, baby."

"Like, all day? And you waited till just now to ask me?"

"Yes, oh, my God. Can we talk about this after you answer my question? I'm trying to propose to you, woman!"

Lenny took one look at him, at the way his nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed when he was annoyed. At the way he stared her down, waiting for an answer. At his large hands gripping her hips and the prominent v-line on display thanks to his shorts riding down. At his dark brown eyes, which, even when annoyed at her, held nothing but pure love and adoration for the woman before him. And she knew.

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes!" She gave him a second or two to slip the ring onto her finger before she threw herself at him, arms wrapping around his neck as her legs maintained their straddle around his waist. Her lips met his in a fiery passion; it was by far the best kiss they'd shared.

Lenny pulled back enough to ask, "Now can we talk about how you've had that thing in your pocket all day and you waited till just now to ask me?"

Ruben smiled, pushing his lips back to hers and mumbling, "Absolutely not."

And when they parted for air, nearly an hour later, they had shed themselves of their clothing and were laying on the couch out of breath and sweating more profusely than they had been before. They'd have gone into a dark slumber had their doorbell not rung. Lenny quickly looked at Ruben, both raising their fingers to their noses and stating, "Noes goes!" simultaneously. Lennox groaned then; if they did it at the same time, they'd both have to do the unwanted task. That was how the game was played.

So, Lennox shrugged Ruben's shirt back on as he slipped into his shorts and the couple made their way to their front door, opening it to reveal a slew of their friends all holding various pool floats, goggles, and things of the like.

Logan, who was stood at the front of the group, greeted her friends. "It's bloody cold out here and you've got a pool that heats up..."

Lennox rolled her eyes, chuckling as five or six more of their friends followed Logan inside. They all made their way to the backyard, slipping out of their clothing and jumping into the pool as it heated up. Lenny felt Ruben walk up beside her.

"Should we tell them?"

"Tell us what?"

Both Lenny and Ruben turned to see Rebekah entering the kitchen with a beer in hand, hoping to find a bottle opener.

Lenny's eyes drifted to Ruben's as he nodded his head, before a wide smile spread out across her face. She turned back to Rebekah, gently lifting her left hand up to her best friend, the light from the diamond on her ring finger gleaming in the light.

Bekah's eyes widened as they traveled back and forth between Lennox, Ruben and the ring. She then proceeded to let out an impressively loud squeal, throwing her arms around her best friends and squeezing them both. "Ahhh! Congratulations!" she yelled, jumping up and down and squishing them tighter together in the hug.

"What happened?!" Jesse asked, running into the house with nearly everyone else following behind him. They had heard Rebekah's screams and understandably panicked.

"Rubes and Lenny are getting married!" Bekah squealed once more, jumping up and down in excitement as she tugged at Lenny's hand and showed off her new accessory.

A round of applause and chatter and overall happiness filled the room as the friends congratulated the couple. And as they spent the night celebrating the engagement, Lenny found herself to be the luckiest girl in the world.