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I’m thinking I’m happy. Right here. Right now.
I tell him so and I can feel Erik smile against the skin of my neck. He didn’t shave tonight, and his stubble rasps against my skin. I shiver and he tightens his arms.
“I like seeing you happy.” He kisses the curve where my neck and shoulder meet, and I try not to let my knees buckle.
Our friends and family are giving us a moment of privacy, but we’re still surrounded by them. Now is not the time or place to lose my mind over Erik Varg. Jen is a few feet away, pointing out different players to Sofia. Anna and her wife Jo are showing my dad photos of their mountain cabin and greenhouse. They live almost entirely off-grid in the Rockies and Jo runs yoga retreats. Maria is over by the bar, sipping a bottle of water and chatting with Uncle Harvey and his wife. It’s everyone all in one place, except for Vic, and he’s technically in the same place, too.
It’s intermission now, and the music is flowing through the arena as the seats are empty fans rushing to grab a drink, a snack, a bathroom break in the fifteen minutes between periods. The clock is counting down the minutes, and the player stats are scrolling across the screen. The Arctic is up by three heading into the third and Chicago just can’t seem to find their footing in this matchup. Spirits are soaring all around us.
“I like seeing you happy, too.” I cover his hand with mine and he laces our fingers together, squeezing just the right amount.
This box is full of laughter and family and hope, so different from that first game Erik and I went to. The realization leaves me almost dizzy and disoriented. My heart is pounding in my ears. A shoop-shoop-shoop sound that leaves me wondering if I should see a doctor until I recognize the opening lines of the song and see the giant pair of lips on the Jumbotron. The KISS Cam is still in full working order. It zeroes in on a young couple who look absolutely giddy as they press their mouths together.
“Think we’ll get a repeat?” I say to Erik, pointing at the screen and I feel his laugh more than I hear it.
“I think we should take a family vacation.” He turns to look behind us at everyone in the box. “When Vic’s season is over, let’s go away. You, me, your dad, Mom, Vic, Anna and Jo, even Jen and Sofia, and anyone else we want.”
“A family vacation.” It would be fun getting away with all the people we care about. There hasn’t been a lot of travel, not with dad undergoing treatment, and while we’ve carved out our own moments of joy, I haven’t been able to take a full breath until this most recent scan came back. Six months is a big milestone. The term “cancer-free” was used. I’d cried sloppy tears into Erik’s chest and felt twenty pounds lighter once I dried my eyes. “Let’s do it. Want to brave the mouse and theme parks? Chicago? Overseas?”
Erik’s mouth tips up and the little creases show next to his eyes. He’s beautiful always, and my heart turns over again.
“Anywhere you want Quinn.” He says.
The camera moves on to another happy couple.
“I’ll have to think about it. Maybe we can ask Vic and Anna or your mom where they’d like to go.”
Erik steps back from me and I turn so I can keep him in my line of sight. His eyes search mine, shifting back and forth as though he’s trying to read something in my face.
“I thought for sure you’d have a place already picked out.” Erik says and I frown. I’ve never left Quarry Creek. Why would I have a vacation destination picked out? “Alaska maybe?”
Alaska.
I’ve always wanted to go to Alaska. When I was little, I imagined getting married surrounded by untouched nature. Actually, I imagined getting married surrounded by polar bears and penguins, but things changed as I got older. How did Erik…
“Jen may have mentioned it,” he says and shoves his hands deep into the front pocket of his jeans.
Jen may have… I freeze, looking up into fathomless hazel eyes. Erik pushes a lock of hair behind my ear and his fingers caress my cheek.
“Erik.” I can barely breathe, my whole body flushing hot. There’s only one reason Jen would mention my onetime dream to my boyfriend. “Are you—”
He shakes his head and presses our foreheads together. “Not tonight, Quinn, not at your dad’s party.”
I didn’t know this was happening. Didn’t even know it was an option, but now I deflate a little at the knowledge that he isn’t proposing. It’s too soon. We’ve only talked about it in a hypothetical sense. We’ve only lived together for half a year. Erik takes my hands in his.
“How does tomorrow sound?”
Tomorrow?
“If I ask you tomorrow, will you say yes?”
Will I say yes?
“Erik.”
“Tomorrow, Quinn. Tomorrow I’m going to ask you to marry me. Say yes.”
And then he kisses me and as he runs his tongue along my bottom lip, I hear someone call out, “Hey, Quinn and Erik are on the KISS Cam!”
I ask.
She says yes.
