Stone Creek Academy: Faith

Chapter Thirty

"Regina! There's a boy standing out front and he wants to talk to you!" Our dorm monitor, Elsa, shouted from the front door. Lily, Halle, and Beth turned to face me, their faces displaying different forms of curiosity.

"I'll explain when I get back," I promised, standing up off the couch and walking to the front door. Elsa smiled at me, and held the door open, revealing Brandon. He looked more adorable than ever in a navy puffer jacket, black jeans, chestnut boots, and a black beanie that covered the majority of his tousled bronze hair. Best of all was the perfect white smile that lit up his face when he saw me.

"I won't be out for too long Elsa," I promised, smiling at the elderly woman before jogging lightly down the stairs. A light layer of snow covered the campus, crunching pleasantly beneath my heeled boots. I had no idea where we were going, but I followed Brandon willingly across campus.

We passed the stables, and then the Abyss Cafe. Snow fell softly all around us. It felt a little like Christmas time. Smiling, I laced my fingers through Brandon's. I gasped as a tiny garden came into view.

"How do you find all these places?" I giggled as the garden came into greater detail. Brandon looked at me, his amber eyes bright.

"You like it? You haven't even seen the best of it yet!" Brandon laughed, leading me up a handful of marble steps and into a miniature maze. It wasn't hard to find the way to the center. As we rounded the corner, a gorgeous gazebo came into view. It was all white marble with a tiny fountain and a few benches inside, somehow reminding me of the gazebo in The Sound of Music.

"This is beautiful," I admitted, sitting down on one of the gazebo's benches. Brandon immediately pulled me up, and hit play on a tiny remote. Classical music played from a tiny stereo under one of the benches.

"You know how?" Brandon asked, gliding into a ballroom dance style I didn't know.

"If I'm dancing with you, always," I smiled. It felt like I was revealing a huge truth. For a few minutes, I let myself get lost in the music, the atmosphere, the dancing, and most importantly, Brandon's eyes.

"I could do this forever and never get tired, you know?" Brandon said softly, his hand on my waist sending shivers of eager energy through my whole body.

"Yeah, me too," I agreed. The moment could not have been any more romantic. Here I was, dancing in a gazebo with the most amazing boy I'd ever met as it snowed outside.

"Regina, I should've told you this when I first met you. I think you're the most amazing girl in the whole universe. I can't ever stop thinking about you, and I always want to spend more time with you. I'm afraid I may have fallen in love with you. Will you be my girlfriend?" Brandon confessed. He sounded like he was proposing to me. The sincerity in his voice and my own feelings drove me to my answer.

"Always," I answered. And then, like magic, came the moment I'd dreamed of since I first laid eyes on him. Brandon leaned in and kissed me. I kissed him back. We stopped dancing and just stood, holding each other very tightly, for a while, our lips meeting again and again with a passion I hadn't known I possessed. All I knew, and all I needed to know, was that I loved Brandon Matthews.