"I know."
"And don't do a speech. Just ask her."
"I know, Rome."
"And make sure the…"
"I know." Ramsey holds up a hand, patient but firm. "I've been with her all my life. I know her."
Rome holds him in his gaze for a second, assessing, and then the corner of his mouth twitches. For Rome, that's practically a standing ovation. "Yeah, you do."
They sit with that for a moment, neither of them needing to say anything else. I'm surrounded by men who are too far gone to even realize how far gone they are.
"So," I cut in, because the silence is starting to feel like itmight turn toward something I'd have to contribute to. "You and Erin. Living together."
Rome glances at me. "Yeah."
"That feel like a big move?"
"No."
One word. No hesitation, no hedging. I wait for more. Rome drinks his beer.
"Just no?" I press.
"I'm going to marry her." He says it like he's stating a fact, like the sky is blue and water is wet. "So no, it doesn't feel like a big move. It feels like the only move that makes sense."
Ramsey nods beside him like this is obvious, because to Ramsey, who has a ring in his pocket and a woman at home he'd rearrange his entire life around, it is obvious. These two exist in a world I don't have access to, a world where certainty comes easy and forever doesn't feel like a trap.
"What's with the face?" Rome asks, setting his beer down.
"What face?"
"That face. The one you're making right now."
"How should I know?"
"You have a face that says you think we're all insane."
I peel the corner of my beer label with my thumbnail. "I don't think you're insane."
"But?"
"But doesn't it scare either of you?" I ask, and the question comes out a bit more critical than I mean. "Any of it?"
Ramsey and Rome exchange a look, one of those whole conversations in a glance that make you feel like a third wheel at your own table.
"Every day," Ramsey admits.
"Terrified," Rome adds. "Doesn't change anything."
I turn my glass on the table, watching the condensation leave a wet circle on the wood. These men are afraid and doing it anyway, which I'm supposed to find inspiring. Instead I find it baffling.
"I don't get why everyone's in such a rush."
Ramsey frowns. "Rush?"
"To get there. To the marriage, the house, the whole thing." I gesture vaguely between them. "You're ring shopping. Rome's picking out curtains. What's the hurry?"
