Minutes to Midnight

In Between (Chapter 11)

" And somehow I got caught up in between. Between my pride and my promise." 

//Ryan's POV// 

I was so thankful that Shay got that phone call from Whitney to come into work today. This gives me plenty of time to get everything ready. I'll text Whitney and Samantha to stall Shay if I have to. I had already been on the phone with her family and they were here in North Carolina. My plan is to give her a few little gifts here and then go out to dinner later on where I plan to propose to her.  

——-Flashback to the Proposal plans——

I was so thankful for my sisters Erin and Emma for being able to help me pick out the perfect ring for Shay. After I bought the ring I sent pictures to Shay's mom Victoria and her dad David. I called them on the phone while I was in my truck running some errands and told them the plan for how I wanted to propose to her. I wanted them to be there and a few of her friends that she is close to; they will all be at the restaurant with my family and our friends together from racing. They will all be hidden though so she doesn't get suspicious of what's going on. I want t have a professional photographer or someone like that to take a picture of us just as a couple and then when I am down on one knee proposing to her.  Once I got that taken care of I made sure that we had the whole restaurant where we were going to be reserved for us and this "party" of people coming. I am one of those people that doesn't like to draw attention to myself even though I am a famous NASCAR driver, but for me to get the whole restaurant reserved I had to name drop a little bit .The restaurant that I chose is one of our favorites that we like to go to in downtown Charlotte. It has a really cool rooftop bar that overlooks the city. We have eaten here together with our friends before too for some fun double dates either with Austin and Whitney, Sarah and Christian, or Chase and Julia when they come up from Atlanta. I made sure to have one of my sisters ask Shay about going and getting their nails done just as a little treat because I knew Shay is always wanting to have perfect nails. I know that she would also want to have them done  before getting engaged so she can have plenty of hand and ring pictures. 

—-Back to today's thoughts——

Once Shay was out of the house I made my calls to make sure everyone was ready for tonight. I then went and grabbed what little gifts I had for Shay and got them all nice and wrapped in a certain wrapping paper that she liked. It was pink paper that had white polka dots on it. The gifts that I had got for her were some new Alex and Ani bangles that she had been eyeing, some Harry Styles concert tickets, the whole series of Friends on dvd, and some vintage NASCAR shirts to wear to the races. I think that she is going to be super excited to open all of these gifts because I feel like they are all her. While I was wrapping my gifts I got a phone call from my buddy Clyde or as everyone else knows him as Chase. 

       ***Phone Conversation with Chase*** 

Ryan: Hey Clyde what's up? 

Chase: Nothing much ole Blaney boy. What are you up to? 

Ryan: I am wrapping some gifts that I had got for Julia that I plan on giving her before dinner tonight. 

Chase: Nice buddy. Speaking of tonight are you nervous at all? 

Ryan: I am a little bit but not really. From what I can tell Shay has no idea it's coming at all. She thinks we are just celebrating Valentine's Day. 

Chase: I know you'll be fine. Julia and I will be there tonight and so will Bubba and Amanda. You have our full support. That's good that she doesn't know anything at all. 

Ryan: I know right thank goodness. I've already called and made sure that everything is still perfect for tonight and  that everyone that I have invited is going to make it. 

Chase: Damn you got it all planned out. You are definitely going to be helping me when I decide to get engaged. Where is Shay right now?

Ryan: Thank you buddy. I'm really excited. She's actually at the boutique right now she and some of the girls were meeting to look at some special shirts that came in. Samantha Busch is also there with them. 

Chase: Since when did she become big buddies with Samantha Busch? 

Ryan: Haha right? She wanted to do a collection with her and Sam's clothing line. They made special shirts and other things like that. I don't know how close they are though. 

Chase: Hmm weird flex but okay. Well I'll let you go. See you in a few hours Blaney! 

     ***Phone Conversation ended with Chase*** 

Now to get back to work. I need this night to be smooth sailing with no kinks in the plan. I got everything wrapped and put back up until I knew that Shay was going to be on her way home. I decided I was gonna just chill out and watch some MLB baseball with Sturgil while we still had time. I settled on watching the a game between the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers. I know Chase is a diehard fan for the Braves his hometown team. As I was watching I notice that some of these players are some that I have met before through other sporting events or award shows. Those players are Kris Bryant for the Chicago Cubs and Christian Yelich for the Brewers. With me being originally from Ohio I tend to cheer for my hometown teams too, but since I live here in Mooresville I cheer for these Carolina teams too. Sturgil sat up on the couch with me while we watched the game. While we were sitting there my phone buzzed with a notification. It was a text from Shay that read "I'm going over to Samantha's house she said that she had some new dresses that came in for her clothing line for Whitney, Emma, and I. Will hopefully be back home within the next hour or two." I sent back a text and said "Have fun! Be careful and I'll see you soon then." All I could think was thank yuh girls for keeping her distracted. 

A/N: Sounds like Blaney has some big plans coming up. There is only 2 chapters left for this story. I hope that you all have enjoyed this story as much as I have! Let me know what you think about it. Don't forget to vote, and comment. All the love-MK