When We Met

Thirty

|Martin|

"So, you both are dating now?" Deborah asks as she launches herself on the slab that separates the bar from the dance floor.

"I'd like to say, yes." I mutter as I place the empty glasses at their respective places. It's four in the morning, and somehow, there is not even a single soul that is lurking in the club at this hour. I took it as an opportunity to clean up the mess that's otherwise known as a bar.

"What kind of an answer is that? Did you not ask her to be your girlfriend?" Deb asks and I ask the same question for the umpteenth time. Why did she decide to not leave me the heck alone?

"Don't you have a bed to sleep on? Stop pestering me for severely stupid answers."

"You have zero knowledge when it comes to romance and relationships. Do something about it. Every girl wants to have a guy who goes down on one knee and proposes to her."

"What the fuck, Deborah? It's not like we're getting married or something..."

Although the idea does seem tempting. I don't say that out loud, for obvious reasons.

"Listen up. For the sake of formality, just ask her to be your girlfriend. That's the least you can do. Make your relationship with her official." She crosses one leg over the other and looks at me with an expression that I can't decipher at all.

"Would it make any difference? We've kind of come to a silent agreement that we're dating. Isn't that enough?"

"It might be. But the promise of a future comes with an official declaration. I know you've fallen head over heels for that woman, and I'm really happy for you. Just ask her out. It won't do you any harm."

I think about it. She has a point. And Cheryl does love all this cheesy stuff, if done in a certain way.

"Okay."

"That's my boy."

********

Hey. I'm sleeping over at Maddie's place tonight. So, I'll see you tomorrow only. I hope that's okay..?

I read Cheryl's text message and try to not get too disappointed. After all the pep talk Deb gave to me, I had made up my mind to actually ask Cheryl out. I bought a bouquet of orchids (her favorite flower) for her and I had full plans of going down on one knee and asking her to be my girlfriend (Deborah literally trivialised the whole concept of proposals).

Well, I can only hope that the flowers don't rot.

I genuinely appreciate Cheryl's close friendship with Madeline, and that's exactly why I type an affirmative reply and ask her to enjoy the sleepover. For all I know, she needs some girl time as well. Even if we've come to realise that we are a lot more than just friends, I don't want that realisation to colonise her time with her friends. Truth be told, I came in the picture a lot later than Madeline.

I bring my car to a stop and get out of it, twirling the keys around my index finger and whistling randomly, the bouquet of orchids caged inside my fist. Deb's car is not parked anywhere along the driveway, so I'm assuming that it's all me tonight. I should've just bought a snackbox, or something...

But as I reach the door to our shared apartment, I find that it is already open. My first thought is burglary, but then I wipe it right off because a trained burglar would never use the front door. So, I slowly push it open and become acquainted with pitch black darkness.

"The fuck?" My voice echoes eerily and I shudder at the thought of something happening to my sister, even when I'm hundred percent sure that she is with Jace.

I fumble for the switch board, and that's when the the fiery glare of the lights blind my vision.

"Hey! Remember I have corneas?" I groan and cover my eyes with my fingers, rubbing them in concentric circles.

And prior to anything else, I notice the familiar scent of the deodorant Cheryl uses. My eyes fly open and right in front of me, I see the girl in question smiling widely at me, wearing a magenta dress with thin straps. Her hair is up in a messy bun and she's wearing zero makeup. The sight sends a pleasurable shiver down my spine and I immediately start grinning from ear to ear.

"I thought you were with Madeline." I say as I drop the keys on the counter and walk towards her. Her smile widens as I hook my arm around her waist and pull her flush against my chest.

"You brought me flowers?" She asks as her gaze meets the bouquet. She takes them from me and I mentally slap my forehead. There goes my plan down the drain...

"That's not how it was supposed to happen..." I mutter.

"Really?" She takes a step back and looks at me. And then, something really unexpected happens. Her body lowers to the point where she's bent on one knee and holding the flowers in my direction. "Is this how you pictured the scene? With roles reversed, obviously."

I don't know what to say. Is she joking around or something?

"Cheryl, what are you doing?" I ask as I kneel down in front of her and take the bouquet from her hands.

"That's me asking you to be my boyfriend, you dumbo. Clearly, I had to take charge because you double clearly aren't poetic enough!"

Oh.

She intertwines our fingers together and comes closer to me, so close that our foreheads press against each other. I look into her eyes and get lost in the warmth they provide.

"Dylan," She starts. "I know that this is really abrupt and you might not want to take things further, and I'm totally okay with it. But, I just wanted you to know that I'm ready to keep my past in the past and not let it throw a curtain over our present and our future. I'm not afraid of commitments, Dylan. Not anymore. And for some reason, I know that you'll never break my heart." She traces the edges of my face with her fingers and I close my eyes to relish the sensation of her warm skin against mine. "I don't care if it's too early, Dylan. Because it feels right. So damn right that the thought of not being with you scares me."

Her thumb runs against my lower lip and I open my eyes to her beautiful face.

"I don't care either." I say. "You're a mastermind, because I had bought you your favorite flowers because I wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend. Will you say yes?"

She bursts into a fit of giggles and I join in. I can see the pool of tears in her eyes and the redness on her cheeks is only adding fuel to my pumped up nerves.

"Stop giggling and say yes." I say, which makes her laugh even more.

"Let me think." She winks and I groan.

"Come on, babe. You're killing me here."

"No, I want to think this over about a million times so that I don't end up–" I don't listen to what she's saying and hoist her up on my shoulder. She howls with laughter and I simply chuckle along with her. Once in my bedroom, I drop her on my bed and cover her body with mine, making sure that my weight doesn't rest on her. She winds her arms around my neck and grins at me, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

"I'd say yes in every language, Dylan Martin. Nothing else. You shouldn't even ask." She whispers and presses her lips against the corner of my mouth. I turn my head a little, so that our lips meet and I kiss her with every ounce of energy I have.

In no time, my T-shirt is left abandoned on the floor and I'm kissing down her neck. Her back arches in response and she flips us around. I place her on my lap and drown my fingers in the cascade of her silky smooth hair. With my other hand, I unzip her dress and smolder her with kisses along her collar bones.
The thought about dinner goes out of the window as we enjoy each other's company in the most romantic way possible.

*******