Her Bundles Of Joy

“Yep,” Nicole answered with a grin. “God, this food was amazing.”

“Right? We should bring the kids here sometime.”

The dancer nodded. “So, is it time to go back home?”

“Why are you so invested in staying home today? I thought you’d be ‘chilling in pajamas’ all day.”

“Well, I would, but then a little someone got me all worked up and now I want to spend all day in bed with you,” she said in a sultry voice. Evan’s eyes fluttered when he felt Nicole’s foot rubbing against his calf.

“We can do that later.” He grinned. “I want to take you to one last place before we go home and make love all day.”

“If you insist…” Nicole sighed. “But you better make it up to me.”

“Oh, I will. You have no idea.” Evan stood up and grabbed Nicole’s hand to help her up. He placed a one hundred dollar bill on the table and the couple left the restaurant hand in hand. As they chatted along the way, Nicole didn’t realize they were approaching Evan’s former building, the place he lived before Brandi offered to switch apartments.

“Okay, we’re here,” he exclaimed.

“Are we visiting Brandi?”

“Not really. Come.” Evan pulled Nicole towards the entrance of the building. He greeted the doorman, who smiled brightly in return. She noticed that all staff that came across them smiled the same way. The dancer had no idea what was going on, why was everyone acting so giddy? Evan led them to the elevator and they headed to the rooftop. Maybe there was a party happening upstairs? She checked her phone as the elevator took them to their destination and saw a few text messages from her friends. The notification at the top of the list showed Brandi’s latest message to her. Thank me later, it read. Nicole frowned at her friend’s words but decided to reply later. She stuffed her phone back in her pocket right as the elevator doors opened. The dancer gasped when she stepped into the rooftop and saw the same setup—a white blanket, snacks and wine—on the floor as the one from the night that Nicole and Evan shared their most inner thoughts back when they were still just friends. The difference was that today’s setup was slightly more elaborate, with rose petals scattered all over the place forming the shape of a heart. What really made Nicole’s heart skip a beat was the relatively small LED billboard displaying two simple words: Marry me?

She turned around to face Evan, who stood behind her on one knee. Nicole’s eyes instantly filled with tears.

“It was right here on this rooftop that I realized I was falling for you, Nicole. That night we spent here, talking about our lives, talking about the future, about the world, about everything and nothing at the same time. I had never felt that connection to anyone else, it had never happened to me before. It was on that night that I realized I could tell you anything and you wouldn’t judge me, you just listened and showed me your support through a hug, which was something that no one had ever done before. People either pitied my tragic story of how I lost my parents, or they would just pretend to care about my feelings when in reality all they wanted was to put their hands on my family’s money. You, on the other hand, neither did you pity me nor were you trying to get any financial benefit out of our friendship. I’ll never be able to apologize enough for accusing you of being a scammer, of lying to me, but I am able to spend the rest of my life making it up to you, showing you how sorry I am for ever doubting your word. I love you, Nicole. I love you in a way that I’ve never loved before. You’re my second chance at love, and hopefully my last, too, because I honestly cannot see myself ever loving any other woman. It’s you, you’re the only one for me, and I can only hope the feeling is mutual. There’s much I wanted to say, I even had a whole speech prepared but I’m too nervous right now to think properly.”

Evan chuckled before clearing his throat.

“Nicole, will you give me the chance to try and make you happy for the rest of our lives? To love you and worship you until the last day of my life? Let’s raise our children and show them that love is the only thing that truly matters in life, let’s give them the family that we never fully had. Will you marry me?”

A sob escaped her lips as Nicole nodded in response. She couldn’t say it out loud, as she was too busy crying, but of course Nicole would marry him. That was all she wanted. The dancer jumped into Evan’s arms and they shared a passionate kiss. The couple was crying so much their kiss tasted salty. It was the most loving kiss they’d ever experienced.

“Yes, Evan, I’ll marry you,” Nicole whispered against Evan’s lips as they parted away. “I’m yours forever.”

Evan distanced his body from Nicole’s and placed the engagement ring he’d bought a few months prior on her finger. The ring was simple yet extremely elegant. A white gold band with a heart-shaped diamond in the middle, surrounded by smaller diamonds at each side.

“Now, let’s go back home and make another batch of twins?” The blond man wiggled his eyebrows as he wrapped his arms around Nicole’s waist.

The dancer laughed loudly and pushed Evan’s shoulder, “God, why do you always have to ruin the moment?”

“You love me anyway.” He shrugged.

“Yeah, I do,” Nicole sighed contently as she leaned in for another kiss.

Their day had finally come.

The end.