You were roused from sleep through tender kisses and affectionate whispers. As your eyes lifted, a head of chocolate curls was the first thing to greet your sleepy gaze. Complementary eyes were the next, still faintly shadowed with sleep but gleaming nonetheless. "Good morning, love."
His voice was husky from the lack of use overnight, the hoarse timbres causing pleasant shivers to curl down your spine. "Have I reminded you how breathtaking you are recently?" He lifted the hand he held and pressed a kiss against the tip of each finger.
You smiled languidly, raising your hand to caress the firm line of his jaw. "I don't think so."
He grinned and curled his arm around the flesh of your thigh. "That won't do, will it?" He dropped his chin against your leg, velvet eyes observing you fondly. "I don't know where to begin." He placed a single kiss against the skin uncovered by the duvet, his eyes never leaving your own. "I couldn't keep away the moment I first laid eyes on you." It didn't matter how many times he repeated the story of how you first met, it would never become colorless.
"You were wearing that blue dress I always loved—," You cut him off with a smile.
"You mean the dress you tore on our third date?"
He had the audacity to at least look semi-embarrassed. "That's what you remember that night?" You laughed and decided not to comment. "You were chatting with some bloke, but I couldn't find the means to care." You remembered who he was referring to. The man had introduced himself as your best friend's boyfriend's brother, but you had long forgotten his name. The moment your eyes fell upon the boy with curly-hair and the easygoing grin, you were a lost cause. "I don't think he liked me much."
You twisted your fingers through his hair, unable to stop from smiling as you watched your hunk of a boyfriend. "Maybe because you interrupted his attempt at flirting with me."
He laughed and dropped his cheek against your leg. "I'm not much of a cock-blocker, but I couldn't help myself. Besides, you didn't seem to be enjoying yourself much anyway." He was right, but you decided not to boost his confidence that much more.
"Do you remember the first thing I said to you? I said, 'I wish I've got something better, but all I've got is the offering of a drink?'." He paused, eyes losing focus and momentarily abandoning the present for the past. "I never thought love at first sight was a real thing. That is until I met you."
Your throat suddenly felt tight and your eyes stung with the urge to cry. As many variations of the story he had told, he had never added that last part.
He seemed to notice and pushed himself to a sitting position. "Love, you're already crying? I've hardly began." He was trying to keep the mood light through his teasing, but laughing only made your tears spill faster. He brushed them away with his thumbs and continued. "I love the way you get excited at the simple mentioning of cheesecake. I love how accepting you are of the band and traveling. I love when we watch sad movies only because that means I get to hold you the rest of the night. I love everything about you, darling."
As it turned out, that wasn't all.
"I don't care about whether or not you've got a thigh gap. I love you with or without one. I don't care if your legs aren't shaven. I love you smooth or prickly. When you look like this, hair everywhere and wearing my clothes, will forever be preferred over the way you look after an hour of preparation for a night out."
By this time, it was next to impossible to stop crying.
"Bradley Will Simpson, you're too good for me." You kissed him then, neither of you minding the dampness of the embrace. You felt him smiling and as the words resonated through your mind, you couldn't help but smile against him.
When you pulled away, your morning breath undoubtedly terrible and your face swollen from crying, he still looked at you as if he were a rose and you were the sun. As if you were something he needed to survive; without you he would be nothing. "I'm going to marry you so hard one day."
You swallowed, fresh tears already beginning to form. "I can't wait."
