Weathered Love

ANDREW IV

New York City was busier and more crowded than I remembered. I kept looking at Andrew to make sure he was feeling alright. The glint in his eyes didn't escape me. Whatever test they'd done on him that day, it was making him feel invincible. And as worried as I was, I was also just as ecstatic as he was. He was almost never impulsive, because he couldn't afford to be. But today was a different story.

We slowly made our way down the busy tourist areas, taking in all the sites and the general feel of the city. We stayed, just popping into random local shops, browsing, grabbing a coffee here and a muffin there, and stayed to watch the panorama change from the buzz of daytime visitors to a brightly lit and even busier nighttime, the millions of artificial lights contrasting heavily with the black canvas of the sky. We sat outside and chatted, and I found myself constantly looking up at the giant skyscrapers cutting into the black night with their demanding, steel outlines.

"So, what do you think?" Andrew asked. I nodded. It was a good idea. I sent a quick message to the priest to make sure the church would be available that day. My heart pounded heavily in my chest as I hit "Send".

"This is so... unreal," I finally verbalized.

"I know it's quick-" Andrew started to say.

"Oh no, it's not that," I interrupted. "I just... I was never the pretty girl," I stated. "But here I am, sitting next to an extremely handsome, kind, smart man, and for some weird reason, he wants me. So much so that we're getting married. I can't believe there's someone out there as amazing as you that actually wants to be with me."

"You need to stop doing that," Andrew lightly scolded with a kind smile on his face. "Just because you don't see how wonderful you are, it doesn't mean that you're not. You just need help seeing it. Or maybe glasses," he teased at the end. "But trust me when I say, I'm the lucky one."

Perhaps it was the bustle of the city. Or the romance of the lights. Or the words Andrew said. But I couldn't help myself. I leaned over and gave him a slow, long, impassioned kiss. Because in that moment, that's all I wanted to do. In that moment, I couldn't not kiss him. In that moment, I needed his lips on mine. I needed the realness of that feeling. I needed to quiet the butterflies. And the only way I could think to do that was to kiss him.

He cradled my cheek with one hand, gently pulling me closer and deepening the kiss. I involuntarily let out a little moan. Who would have thought that setting a date would have been so attractive?

* * *

Derek seemed nervous as we approached his table. Karen hadn't arrived yet.

"Hey, how are you?" I happily chirped pretending not to have noticed his obvious discomfort.

"Hey," he dryly responded, following his statement with a not-so-subtle clearing of his throat. He gave both Andrew and I a hug then sat back down opposite us in the booth. "So, before Karen gets here, I wanted to tell you guys something," he informed us. He pulled out a ring box. I smiled to myself. "I've been wanting to propose for months now and have been waiting for the right time, but I wanted to talk to you two about it because I don't want to rain all over your engagement," he informed us.

"Could you be any sweeter?" I chuckled.

"Hey, there's no time like the present. Don't wait any longer," Andrew encouraged.

"I agree. We already had our day. Don't wait to have yours because of us," I further stated. "Just make sure not to set the same date as us and we're golden."

"Have you guys set a date?" he inquired.

"Sort of," I shrugged. We were still confirming the date with a venue and the church, so while we were pretty set on the date, I didn't want to announce it until both places were booked.