ChapterOne
“Seriously,Garrett, wake up! You’re going to be late.” I threw a pillow at my boyfriend’s head and tried to coax him out of our bed for the third time that morning.
“What time is it?” he groaned.
“Seven fifty-five.”
Even though we had been together for eight years and lived together for two, his inability to get moving in the morning still irritated me. He always slept through his alarm, so it was up to me to ensure he got up in time for work every day.
I was a morning person through and through and couldn’t relate to his zombie-like demeanor. Waking up early to work out, read, or go for a walk was the highlight of my day.
Garrett finally spilled out of bed and went straight for the tiny bathroom the two of us shared. Once I heard the shower start, I breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the living room to savor one more cup of coffee. Settling into our sectional couch, I resumed working on my crossword puzzle.
A warm breeze hit me square in the face through the window I had left open. Now that it was almost October, the intense and humid heat had at last settled down in Florida. It was a luxury to go outside again andenjoythe weather without sweating through whatever shirt I was wearing.
“Hey, Mattie.” A damp and shirtless Garrett poked his head out of our bedroom doorframe. “We’ve got dinner with the crew tonight. You’ll probably have to head there straight from work.”
My mind quickly scanned through all my upcoming social commitments.
“Tonight? I don’t remember you telling me that.”
“It’s kind of last minute. We’re celebrating.” Garrett looked at his feet sheepishly and rubbed his short brown hair with a towel. “Will and Lauren got engaged last night.”
“What?” I exclaimed, springing up from the couch. Will was Garrett’s best friend from the college we had both attended. “But-but they’ve been together for like five minutes.”
“It’s been a year, babe. Lauren was really riding on him to propose.”
“I didn’t know riding someone to propose was an effective strategy.” I crossed my arms and glared at him.
“Don’t even go there. You know how swamped I am with work. Once I make partner, I’ll be able to think about marriage.”
My chest tightened in that familiar way it always did whenever marriage came up. The subject of our relationship status was an ever-looming issue between the two of us.
I could recite Garrett’s excuses by heart at this point. First, it was “But we’re too young.” Next, it was “We don’t have enough money for a wedding.” Now, he had moved on to the “Once I make partner” narrative.
“It’s getting old watching friends who’ve been together a fraction of the time we have beat us down the aisle,” I muttered.
He walked over to me and cupped my chin in his hand, attempting to get me to look at him. I relented and stared back into his blue eyes.
“I love you,” he said and planted a kiss on my forehead. “I promise when I do propose, it will be the grandest gesture you ever saw. It will put everyone else’s to shame.”
“It’s not just about the proposal. I want to get married toyou. I want to start our life together.”
“We already have a life together,” he responded, turning away from me, and heading back to the bedroom to change.
It was pointless to argue with him anymore about this. I knew I was fighting a losing battle. I should have been more insistent earlier on in our relationship. Once a guy knew he could get away with not asking you after four years, or six years, he certainly wasn’t going to suddenly have a change of heart after eight.
I walked into our bedroom and shoved past Garrett to get into our cramped bathroom and closed the door. Gripping the side of the countertop, I took a deep breath and scrutinized myself in the mirror.
My long, wavy hair was thick and constantly trying to double in size with the Florida humidity. I fingered a blonde highlight that I had recently added to my light brown hair. I thought it popped against my tan skin, but Garrett had said it made me look high maintenance. My blue eyes were almost as light as Garrett’s. When we met in college, I remembered thinking that our future children would look adorable with the blue eyes they were sure to inherit from us. Somehow the thought of children felt further away now at twenty-nine than it did back then at twenty-one.
A soft knock echoed through the tiled room. Sighing, I opened the door to face my boyfriend, or some would say, roommate. He met my gaze with pleading eyes.
“Please, let’s not fight, okay.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me into his chest. “I love you.”
“Who’s fighting? Not me.” I gave him a weak smile, knowing the argument wasn’t worth it. It never was.
“You’re the best.” He gestured for me to exit the room first and smacked my ass when I passed him. “We need to get going. How many times do I have to tell you we’re going to be late?”
