Chapter Text
April 17th
The working day had been dragging on, so it feels like a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders when I step out of the office building. Now fully allowing myself to be taken in by the thrill of anticipation, I pull my phone out of my pocket. Several messages from Nick pop up:
12:23 p.m.
“Heyy, how’s your day going? xxx”
1:14 p.m.
“So much looking forward to tonight xxx”
3:53 p.m.
“Sorry, little change of plans…My mum just called me, she has an emergency work thing and needs me to take care of Henry right away. She can’t tell how long it’ll be, so I can’t prepare our fancy dinner :( I’m so sorry, mum is, too, but there’s no one else she could ask, and you know how picky Henry is with his dog sitters…Can you come meet me at my mum’s place after you’ve finished work?”
3:54 p.m.
“I love you!”
I can’t help feeling disappointed. I had insisted that Nick stick to his initial plans for preparing his official proposal dinner tonight, on the anniversary of our first kiss. It’s probably stupid, because technically, we’re already engaged, but I’ve been excited about it all day, hardly being able to eat anything.
Grudgingly, I send Nick a brief confirmation and get going.
When I arrive at Sarah’s house, Nick is already waiting outside, playing with Henry in the little front lawn.
“Hi,” Nick says a little breathlessly and gets up from the grass where Henry rolls around, waving his tail and begging for more cuddles.
“Hi,” I reply, placing a peck on Nick’s lips. I’m struggling to veil my disappointment, and Nick picks it up immediately.
“I’m really sorry for changing plans,” he says, taking my face in both his hands. “I know how much you’ve been looking forward to our dinner. We’ll have it tomorrow, OK?” His thumbs caress my cheeks. I find it impossible to be mad at Nick right now, and it’s not really his fault, anyway.
“OK,” I sigh. “At least we get to dog-sit Henry.”
“Exactly!” Nick picks up Henry’s leash and grabs my hand. “Let’s go for a walk.”
“Where to?” I ask, a little bewildered by his enthusiasm.
“Just round the block,” Nick suggests, smiling happily, “Come on.”
I allow Nick to drag me along, not fully believing we’ll just wander around aimlessly.
We walk for a while in comfortable silence, only stopping whenever Henry picks up an interesting scent or demands another round of cuddles. I don’t really pay attention to where we’re going and just enjoy the familiar warmth spreading inside me when Nick holds my hand.
Suddenly, Nick comes to a halt, his eyes fixated on something in the distance. I follow his gaze. It’s locked on a photo booth on the opposite side of the street.
“You up for reliving some sweet memories?” Nick asks cheekily, squeezing my hand.
“Ugh, I don’t know, I look like a mess today,” I object.
“Oh please, Char, it won’t take long! And it will be fun!” Nick begs, letting go of my hand to ruffle my hair playfully.
“OK, OK, but only if you stop messing with my hair!”, I dodge and take hold of Nick’s teasing hand.
We cross the street and tie Henry to a lantern next to the photo booth. Nick pushes the booth’s black curtain aside and sits on the tiny stool. He’s pretty much filling the whole space already. I hesitate, eyeing Nick sceptically. He pats on his thighs enthusiastically, signalling me to sit.
“Don’t be shy,” he winks at me. I squeeze myself into the booth and slip onto Nick’s lap.
“How on earth did we manage to fit into such a match-box five years ago?” I query after managing to close the curtain somehow.
“I guess our love has just grown even more over the past few years,” Nick grins sheepishly, wrapping his left arm around me to keep me from falling off his lap.
“Sap!” I nudge him, but deep down I know he’s not entirely wrong.
“You just need to come closer, Char,” Nick purrs, his adorable crooked smile spreading all over his face.
How could I resist? Even though it seems impossible, I cuddle myself further into his lap. I can feel his breath on my face, his chest heaving rapidly as if he has just run up several flights of stairs.
Nick’s free hand is trembling a bit as he fiddles with the coins, but he manages to put some of them into the booth’s slot.
“Hey, this isn’t our first date, no need to be that nervous,” I tease.
“Every date with you feels like the first one, Char,” Nick replies, turning to face me.
Click.
I blink. I wasn’t really prepared for the camera to go off already.
Nick lifts his right hand to brush a stray curl from my forehead, then lets his hand rest on my neck.
“I love you so much.”
I smile, electrified by his gentle touch.
Click.
“We only got two photos left, shouldn’t we do something?” I inquire, the warmth of Nick’s body fully embracing me now.
“What do you suggest?”, he asks innocently, but his eyes linger on my face longingly.
I bury my free hand in Nick’s hair and pull his face closer to mine, fixing my eyes on his lips.
“How about this?”, and I close the few millimetres’ gap between our lips.
Click.
I can feel Nick accepting the invitation, passionately pressing his lips, his whole body against mine. As I aim for deepening the kiss, Nick suddenly pulls away, way too soon for my liking. When he puts a finger on my lips, I open my eyes in surprise, just to find his gazing into mine.
“Marry me,” he breathes.
Click.
I just keep staring at him, open-mouthed. It’s not like he hasn’t proposed to me before, but the way he said it this time was more determined. Rather a command than a question, sending a pleasant shiver down my spine.
Nick’s lips form into his crooked grin again upon my fuddled expression. Then he breaks eye contact to look down, taking my left hand into his right.
“I hope you haven’t changed your mind?”
When I follow his gaze towards our hands, I see him holding something shiny between his thumb and index finger. Nick’s hand isn’t trembling anymore.
I can feel myself welling up with tears, slowly realising what’s happening. Barely enough for Nick to notice, I shake my head.
He gently slides the ring on my fourth finger.
Nothing has ever felt so right.
Our hands entwine. I never want to let go anymore.
Nick lifts his head and places his forefinger under my chin so we look into each other’s eyes again.
“You may now kiss your fiancé,” he whispers against my lips.
And without hesitation, that’s what I do now, and that’s what I will keep doing for the rest of our lives.
*****
When we stumble out of the photo booth, both slightly dazed, the photos are ready for pick-up.
“I think that’s the soppiest thing we’ve ever done,” I say, still a little out of breath.
“Love that for us,” Nick grins.
We both look at the photos for a while, hands still entwined, smiling like drunk dorks.
Henry’s angry barking brings us back down to earth with a jolt.
“Oh God, I almost forgot, you must be hungry,” Nick says, letting go of my hand to bend down to Henry and scratch his head guiltily. I’m slowly coming back to my senses.
“Speaking of food, what has happened to your plan to propose at our fancy dinner?” I inquire, failing to sound disappointed.
“Well, that wouldn’t have been a surprise anymore, would it?” Nick winks at me.
Henry snarls at us, pulling impatiently on his leash.
“Come on, let’s get this little guy home and fed,” Nick says, searching for my hand again to lead our way home.
The sun has already set and it takes me a while to realise we’re heading to our place instead of Sarah’s.
“Um, Nick, why are we taking Henry to our place? Isn’t your mum back home yet?”, I ask, feeling confused.
“You’ll see,” he just hums, bouncing happily as he walks.
When we turn around the next corner, our house comes into view. I freeze on the spot.
“Nick, why are all the lights turned on?” I gasp out, all the happy butterflies in my stomach suddenly replaced by an uneasy feeling.
“Don’t worry, it’s alright.” He gives my hand a reassuring squeeze and keeps dragging me along the pavement.
When we reach the little path leading up to our house, the front door opens. I hold my breath while trying to identify who is standing in the doorway. The small figure is spreading their arms in a welcoming gesture.
“There you are, my sweethearts!”
Henry waves his tail in excitement, and I can feel myself relax immediately as I recognize Nick’s mum.
I glance up towards Nick, puzzled. “What—?”
But he just grins and urges me to move forward.
As I turn my head back to face Sarah again, I notice a flash of movement and suddenly find myself in her arms, wrapped in a tight hug.
“I cannot tell how happy I am for you two!”, she half-laughs, half-cries.
“Th—thanks?”, I mumble, still wondering what’s going on. When Sarah doesn’t make any attempts to let go of me, Nick clears his throat.
“Mum, can I have my fiancé back, please?”
Sarah breaks away from me and wipes some tears off her face.
“Of—of course, Nicky,” she croaks out, smiling apologetically.
“Come on, get inside, I’ll take Henry home and feed the poor little guy.” She pets Henry affectionately, seeming to regain composure. “By the way, what took you so long?”
“We, erm, just took a little detour, sorry mum,” Nick replies. “And thanks for waiting and…everything.” He pulls her into a hug.
Sarah darts Nick an incredulous look, but doesn’t probe us. “Well then, enjoy your evening! Bye my boys, I love you!”
“Love you, mum, bye Henry!”
“Bye!” I say as she turns to leave, and then, facing Nick, “Why—?”
“Let’s go inside, it’s getting cold,” Nick interrupts me, shoving me towards the front door. He looks like a little boy on Christmas Eve who’s waiting impatiently to receive his presents.
I step inside, and it feels way warmer than usual. From the corner of my eye, I notice see something flickering, so I move slowly towards our living room. When I enter, another wave of heat blankets me, spreading through my whole body, goose bumps covering my arms and neck. Our whole living room is decorated with candles, their warm light dancing across the walls, the ceiling, the floor. The dining table is covered in candles as well, only leaving room for some fresh flowers, two glasses and two plates covered by cloches.
I turn around to face Nick, my eyes wide open.
The warmth of his smile competes with the candlelights’ glow.
“I hope you can cope with another soppy surprise today,” he says, wrapping his arms around me.
Instead of replying, I bury my hands in his hair and pull him down into a kiss.
How long we’re standing there, drinking each other in, I don’t know. At some point, I’m starting to feel dizzy, so I pull away just a little bit, still keeping hold of Nick’s face.
“You know what, I take back what I said earlier,” I say, slowly stroking Nick’s blushed cheeks.
Nick furrows his brow in mock shock. “What?”
“This is even soppier than your proposal in the photo booth,” I reply.
“Oi!” Nick exclaims, poking his index fingers into my dimples.
I shove him away playfully, get hold of his hands and interlace our fingers.
“I love it,” I breathe. “And I can’t even put into words how much I love you.”
“No need to speak,” Nick says and pulls my chin up gently so that our lips meet once more.