Normal //Ryan Metzger

26: yes, you nerd

   "Hey you," I heard Ryan whisper to me as I fought the idea of waking up. I rolled over to the opposite side of his, hiding from the light that was shining through the window. He laughed as he propped himself up onto his pillow.
   "No," I groaned, shoving my face into one of the pillows. I tried my hardest to fall back asleep but Ryan wasn't having it.
   "Cmon sleepy," he laughed, pulling the pillow away from my face. I tried to reach for it again, but he was too quick and had it in the air,his long arms keeping it out of my reach. "Gotta get up some time."
   "My happiness is when we sleep," I said, trying to take the pillow from his hands. I sat up and gave him a dirty look. He started to laugh and when I looked over at the mirror, I could see why.
   My hair was sticking up in all sorts of directions and I only had on one of Ryan's old shirts that was stained from working on a car.
   "Don't laugh," I said, slapping him lightly across the arm. Even so he continued to laugh.
   "I'm sorry," he said laughing. He held my arms in his hands and pulled me on top of him. He lifted my chin and planted a sweet and soft kiss onto them, making me smile. "You could have on the most elegant ball gown or nothing at all, and you would still be the most beautiful girl to me."
    I blushed and leaned my forehead against his, taking him in. I breathed in his scent, something that made me feel right at home. And it feels good to feel at home.
   "Y'know," I said, biting at my bottom lip, unsure of how he was going to take what I was going to say.
   "Hmm?" He asked, trying get my eye contact. "What is it?"
    "I, uh," I said, trying to find the right words to come out. "marriage has a nice ring to it,don't you think?"
   He stopped what he was doing and his eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly. I quickly regretted my decision on saying that and tried to defend.
   "I mean, I know we technically to you just met two months ago and this probably sounds crazy to you, but I have-"
   "Lauren," He said, shushing me by slightly resting his hand on my cheek. "You don't have to defend what you want to me."
   "I know, but-" I said stopping myself. "I shouldn't have said anything, I'm really sorry."
   "Why are you sorry?" He asked, looking at me confused.
    "Because I feel like I'm forcing you to be on the same level as I am," I said,moving his hand away. "I should really be on your level."
   "But you aren't," He said, returning his hand to the side of my face. He rubbed his thumb in small circles on my cheek. "You can't help how much you love."
   "I know," I said quietly, pressing my head into his hand on my cheek. "Because I love you a lot."
   "And I love you a lot too," He said. "Even if we had just met two months ago." He leaned in and kissed me with a slight force that I loved. We both laughed when our glasses clicked against each other's.
He brushed off the clinking and quickly flipped me over on the bed so he was on top. I let out a yelp of laughter as he took me by surprise, something he did every single day.
"I know what'll wake you up," he said laughing, attacking my neck with kisses. I giggled as I leaned back, letting him. As I leaned back I saw the door was open.
"Ryan, the door," I whispered. "Jack and Jess are in the other room."
Ryan laughed and got up form on top of me and let out a sigh before starting his walk towards the door. He did it in one walk,but I could tell it was a struggle.
"Still hurting you?" I asked him as he walked back over to his side of the bed and got back on top. I held his face in my hands and gave him a concerned look.
"Not at all," he said. I could tell he was lying by the pain in his face. "Not one bit."
"Okay, Superman," I laughed and rustled his hair in my fingers. "Whatever you say."
"No, it's whatever you say," he said, attacking my neck with his sloppy kisses again.
"Ryan Metzger!" I yelped our, trying to be as quiet as I could because of Jess and Jack in the room across from us.
"That's what I thought," he smirked against my skin, making the goosebumps crawl over my exposed skin. His voice changed and it made me feel the shiver down my spine
*
   I stood at the kitchen sink, wearing Ryan's shirt and my hair still messy from sleep and other activities.
   I scrubbed at the dirty pot that was soaking in the hot water, trying to get last night's sauce off of it since Jack didn't wash it. I heard Ryan's struggles footsteps behind me as I washed the dishes. He couldn't sneak up on me, but I pretended to not hear him as he walked, reaching on to anything he could for stability.
   When he reached me, he poked at my sides, causing me to jump. 
   "Ryan!" I laughed turning around to see him in his gym shorts. "I see you woke up finally."
   "Hey, you wore me out," he laughed, placing his hand at the small of my back, pulling me towards him for a kiss. "But it was worth it."
   "Was getting a face full of soap suds worth it?" I asked him laughing. He gave me a questioning look and I reached behind me quickly to scoop up the suds into my hand. I gave him a soap beard which made me laugh. "Look, you're like Adam and Jack now."
   He laughed and reached for the tee towel that was laying on the counter beside the sink. He wiped away the beard, revealing his big smile underneath.
   "But I love my Ryan," I said and kissed him again, the taste of Dawn dish soap still lingering behind.
   "And I love my Lauren," he said, planting big exaggerated kisses all over my face, causing me to laugh out loud. "So. Fucking. Much." He said in between the kisses.
   I laughed and when he stopped, smiled up at him.
   "I can't get enough of you," I said, holding his head in my hands. "I could stay here forever, watching you smile, and I'd be the happiest woman in the world."
   "You're the one I've been waiting for," he said, pulling me closer to him. "For everything we've been through, you've been there. Jack said you were at the hospital everyday during the coma and when I was awake. You were there caring for me. I've waited a long time for you, Pearson."
    "I'm so glad this wait was worth it," I said, biting my bottom lip. "I always told myself I could never love, that all I do is disastrous things to people and ruin them. You've changed my perspective, and I'm so glad you've helped me."
   "How have I helped?" He asked, confused.
   "You've diminished the thoughts," I said, gesturing towards my head. "Yes they still happen, but when I'm with you they just kinda...go away for awhile."
   "I'm so glad I do that," he said, brushing back my hair. "And I want to continue helping you, and supporting you until we are old and grey on our porch watching the neighborhood kids ride past our house on bikes. When I think of my future, it has Lauren Pearson all over it."
   "Aw love," I said looking up at him. There was something in his eyes that made them sparkle just a little bit more than they already did.
  "I want that future for us," he said, pulling away from me. "And I want that future to start now."
   I let out a gasp as he struggled to get down on his left knee. I covered my mouth as he pulled the little black box I carried in my purse for a month from his pocket.
   "Lauren Marie Pearson," He said smiling. "Will you do me the biggest honor and becoming my-"
   "What the hell?" Jack said from the hallway. He held a Diet Coke bottle in his hand and the most confused look on his face. "Are you proposing?"
   "Jack, what are yo-what the hell?" Jess yelled as she walked out from the dark bedroom of theirs, seeing the scene in front of her.
   "Shh," I said as happy tears started to form in my eyes. "He was just about to ask."
   Ryan let out a laugh and looked back up at me.
   "Will you be my wife?" He asked quietly, with hopeful eyes and the biggest heart.
   "Yes, you nerd!" I said throwing my hands around his neck and burrowing my face into the crook of it. He picked me up and spun me around, resting me on the ground.
   When I was safely on the ground, I looked up at him and kissed him, my first kiss with him as his fiancé.
   He took my left hand and slid on the dainty diamond ring,the same one I was too afraid to ever put on my hand just months prior because I didn't think this day would ever exist.
   "Well," Jack said, awkwardly from the silence. "We were gonna go get Chinese, so does anyone want anything?"
   "Alone time," Ryan laughed, wrapping his arms around me. I stared at the tiny diamond on the band, falling in love with Mrs. Meztger by the minute.
   "And some Lo mein," I said laughing as Ryan kissed my forehead. The two of them laughed and left the apartment.
   "Cmon," Ryan said, reaching for my hand. "Mrs. Metzger."
    I blushed at him saying it, setting it in stone, and followed him to the living room where he poured two glasses of wine and turned on Netflix. 
   "Season 5, episode 13," he said smiling. I questioned him at first. "This will forever be our engagement episode."
    "Our engagement episode," I repeated, nuzzling my head onto his shoulder as he pressed play of the episode titled 'Stress Relief' from 'The Office'.
   I interlocked our hands and stared at the ring, it feeling like a foreign object on my finger.  I played with it slightly and Ryan noticed this.
   "Is it not what you wanted?" Ryan said nervous. "Because I can-"
   "Ryan," I said, shutting him up. "It is way more than I ever expected. It's perfect."
  I leaned in and gave him another kiss on the cheek before resting my head again on his shoulder and stared at the ring with a smile.
____________________________________
-dawh
-Livin On Love, AJR