Outside the Lines

“I wore you out,” I shoot back. “How many times did you come?”

She kicks me under the table. “Shush! My mom’s right over there!”

I laugh and look behind me. Her mom is busy washing dishes, unable to hear us talking. Besides, I think I can say anything right now and she wouldn’t care. Being old fashioned, I asked her parents’ permission for their daughter’s hand in marriage.

They gave me their blessing and her mom has been on the verge of ruining the surprise all weekend. And now I’m on the verge of asking her over pancakes, because I want to see that ring on her finger, I want her to know that she’s the one, that I’m never going to let one day go by without her in my life.

I want her to know that I love her more than anything in the entire world.

And yeah, I want to make sure she says yes and feels the same. There’s always a chance when it comes to her. Felicity is full of surprises, which is one of the many things I fucking love about her.

“Ready to get wet?” I ask when we finish eating. She gives me another shut-the-hell-up glare then wiggles her eyebrows and nods. Over a year of being together and the passionate sex hasn’t slowed down. I hope it never does.

“On the water. What did you think I mean? You have such a dirty mind.”

“Oh please, and you don’t.”

We put our dishes in the dishwasher, spend a few minutes talking with her mom. I cringe at how obvious she is, and feel relief when just the two of us finally go outside. The morning is spent riding the jet skis around on the water, not stopping until we’re hungry and ready for lunch.

We’ve gone a few miles from the house, and dock the watercrafts at a lakeside restaurant and eat outside along the water. Then we ride around for another hour before going back to her parent’s house to shower, change, and nap.

We spend the rest of the day on the beach, being lazy and just enjoying each other’s company. Di

I move about frantically, getting the bonfire started, and setting up the blankets, wine, and candles. When it’s finally how I want it, I panic and realize I left the ring in my bag back in Cabin 18. I run like a lunatic up the boardwalk, grab it, and run back down before Felicity comes out. I’m panting and out of breath, but not from the short run.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. It’s Felicity’s mom, letting me know Felicity is on her way.

I swallow my pounding heart and wait, watching her dark figure draw closer and closer, until firelight flickers off her beautiful face. She slows as she draws near, taking everything in. She’s smiling and looks slightly terrified at the same time. Not terrified of what’s to come, but terrified she’s getting it wrong.

“Ben?” she asks, voice shaking. “What is all this?”

I go to her, taking her hands and leading her closer to the water. I kiss her, drinking her in and pulling her to me. I can’t help but get turned on the moment our lips touch and I feel her body against mine. I never want to let her go.

“Felicity,” I start, keeping my hands on her. “From the moment I spilled coffee down your shirt, to us standing here right now, I knew we were meant to be. There is no one else I can imagine spending the rest of my life with—you forgave me for mixing up Star Wars and Star Trek, after all—and you’ve made me the happiest man in the world.”

She has tears in her eyes and one hand over her mouth. I reach around and pull the box from my back pocket, dropping down to one knee.

“Will you marry me?”

Her head moves up and down, unable to speak. “Yes,” she says softly as tears roll down her cheeks. I take her left hand and slip the ring on her finger. It’s a perfect fit, thanks to Erin finding out her ring size. Speaking of, she should be arriving at the house soon. Everyone closest to Felicity was in on this in some way, and they are all coming to celebrate.

I stand and pull her to me, kissing her for a few minutes until she pulls away to look at her ring.

“It’s beautiful!” she whispers, turning her hand so the firelight catches off the diamonds.

“I’m glad you think so. I came up with the design.”

She looks at it a minute longer than kisses me again. “So it’s beautiful and one of a kind.”

“It is. Just like you.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emily Goodwin is the author of the twice ba

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