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Ellis
Eight Months Later
The sky is clear for December, and I’m thankful that it didn’t decide to snow on my birthday.
During my sixteenth birthday, a snowstorm hit Ohio, and B freaked out. She refused to let me drive myself home, and I ended up being incredibly embarrassed at an ice rink with some guy I went on exactly two dates with.
The snowstorm one being the second and final.
Finn rented a cabin with a skylight for my birthday, insisting that the planetarium last year didn’t actually count assleeping under the stars. He was hellbent on completing the bucket list, which at this point seems sort of stupid.
Cass and Lennon planned a huge birthday celebration for me a few days before we left. It’s not like I was alone.
I shift on the uncomfortable air mattress Finn set up directly beneath the skylight. It would have been nice if we’d moved a nicer mattress here, but instead, we are on an air mattress. Apparently, Finn wanted to sleep on the floor–just not right away. In the morning, we will be on the hardwood and surrounded by half-filled plastic.
“Listen,” I say, turning to face him. His hands are folded on his chest, a smug smirk permanently etched into his face. I tuck it away to save for later, because what I’m about to say will certainly remove it. It’s like when you draw with a permanent marker on a whiteboard, and then use a dry-erase marker to get it off. Not so permanent, after all. “I love that we’re sleeping under the stars, but this bed is really uncomfortable. Can we call it good?”
He laughs, hazel eyes sliding my direction as he gestures for me to lay my head on his chest. I oblige, settled by the steady beating of his heart. Maybe the floor wouldn’t be so bad.
“We can call this one good,” he says, and I thank the universe. The floor would have certainly been bad.
Finn lifts a brow. “But we still haven’t finished the bucket list.”
I sit up, staring down at him. “Yes we did,” I insist. “Sleeping under the stars. We just counted it as done.”
Finn laughs again, a dimple forming in his cheek. “Didn’t you want to do something that scared you?” he asks.
“Finn,” I smile at him. “I have anxiety. Everything scares me.”
This time when he laughs, I can feel it rumble across the mattress that I’m pretty sure has already started to deflate.
“I was thinking about something specific,” he finally says.
I roll over, looking back up at the sky with my hands folded across my stomach. “I’m not going skydiving,” I tease.
“Noah would be so disappointed.”
I watch an airplane blink across the sky, cutting a path through our starry night. “I heard Noah ruined Lennon’s date back in March, and she still hasn’t forgiven him. I’ll have to call his disappointment karma.”
Finn shifts, and I keep my eyes up, finding Orion’s Belt and thankful that the three stars in a row are easy to spot. Aside from that constellation, I’m at a loss.
“Something else then?” he asks, his voice quieter. The shift in tone draws my attention.
I turn to look at him, noting that he’s already staring at me, a strand of dark purple hair falling across his brow.
“Out with it, Finn. You already have something in mind.”
He sits up on his elbow, body facing me, when something gold flashes between us. My heart instantly decides that beating is a race, and that bitch is set on winning. “Marry me?” he says.
“What?” It’s the dumbest question I’ve ever asked.
“I’m sorry it’s not an airplane in the Bahamas, Ellie, but my job at the coffee shop and our time at the animal shelter didn’t allow for more.”
I look down at the ring in his hand. The gold band twists delicately, like two vines woven together. The solitaire diamond winks beneath the starlight, and my chest immediately tightens.
“Is it a no?” he says.
“Yes!” My eyes flick to his as his brows pinch together.
