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“Then you’ve made me a very happy man.” Shit, should I have said boy? No, that sounds too much as if I’m referring to myself as a dog. Does she like dogs? Or is she more of a cat person? These are questions I need answers to as I plan our future together. If we get one.
**Willa**
Feeling only a smidge guilty for doing so, I walk outside with Austin and get in his car rather than attending our last class. If I’m being honest, the promise in his eyes has me willing to follow him anywhere. “Willa has a naughty girl side,” Austin teases with a smirk after buckling me in before shutting my door. Now that it’s been brought to the forefront, so to speak, I can’t believe that I’ve missed so many signs in regards to how he views me.
It’s been right in front of me the whole time. Perhaps they weren’t as noticeable as when we’d almost kissed, but they’ve been there nonetheless. Perhaps I didn’t see them because I wasn’t looking, assuming he’d never want more. If that’s true, then I kind of owe him an apology.
He turns the key, the engine roaring to life, proving that the grease found under his nails and staining his hands on the weekend is earned. With his vehicle being a manual, it makes holding hands a little difficult, yet he makes it work. Entwining our fingers, he places my palm on the shifter, keeping his on top of it, as we leave the parking lot, going through the gears as we gain speed.
I blush and let him know, “Only with you it seems.”
“Damn good answer, little one. Damn. Good. Answer.”
We’re both quiet during the short drive, each seemingly lost in our own thoughts, but the physical contact never stops. It’s as if now that Austin has begun this possibility, we can’t not be touching. It’s quite sweet.
When we arrive, Austin repeats his earlier steps, though this time in reverse as he frees me from my restraint and helps me exit. With his hand on the small of my back, we walk to the entrance and he has me proceed him inside as he does the gentlemanly thing and holds the door open for me.
As the sign instructs us to seat ourselves, Austin leads us to a booth furthest from the entrance, ensuring we have as much privacy as we can get. It doesn’t take long to place our orders, neither that focused on the food so much as the reason we’re here.
Us.
“So,” I begin, a bit nervous because of how much I want this, “how was your day?”
He chuckles, then says, “You were in it, which means it was great. But before we leave here, it’ll be perfect.” Austin takes a deep breath, then informs me, “Since the moment I saw you, I knew you were meant to be mine.”
“I thought you just wanted to be my friend.”
“I did, and I still do. I want to be yourbestfriend…and your man.”
This is a life-changing decision, yet I make it instantly. “I felt the same about you. I just assumed…”
“Why?”
“Why not?” Okay, I have no response for that. If I shared my insecurities about not being good enough for him, I’d be insulting Austin. Questioning his judgment. I shake my head, not only to dispel my issues that clearly aren’t shared by him, but also to convey that what I was thinking shouldn’t be voiced. It’s clear I’m the only one with doubts. “That’s what I thought,” he says with confidence.
“We’ve wasted all this time when we could’ve been together,” I mutter, almost sad at the realization of what we lost.
“I disagree,” he corrects me. “I’ve gotten to know you and vice versa, and during that period, I’ve fallen in love with you.”
My eyes widen at how sure he is, the way he seems to just know. Then I remember it’s stupid to be surprised as I also fell, every encounter merely strengthening the depth of my feelings for him. “I love you, too.” His eyes close as if he’s savoring my words, then open, the amber so much brighter than it was mere minutes ago.
“Willa, would you do me the honor of…?”
“Yes,” I answer, not needing to hear the rest.
But he seems to need to ask all of it, so I urge him to repeat it, after apologizing for the interruption. Austin just smiles, takes my hand and places a kiss on it before starting over. “Willa, would you do me the honor of wearing this?” And then he removes a little black box from his pocket and I about faint. Prior to opening it, he explains, “This isn’t the last ring I’ll give you, but it is the first, a promise from me to you of what’s to come.”
“Which is?” I inquire as he flips the lid and withdraws a silver band with a tree in the center made of the same metal.
“Forever.” He slides it on my left ring finger, explaining that once I’m ready, he’ll put a more permanent piece of jewelry there. “But until then, I want you to wear this as a vow of what we’ll be.” With it in place, fitting as if it was made for me, he continues, “I chose this design because of what a tree represents. There’s the trunk, the solid foundation of which numerous branches grow. Our love is that trunk, the branches the children we will eventually have, and their children, and so on, for many generations to come. Trees can be unending, just as we will be.” I don’t even realize I’m silently crying tears of happiness until Austin reaches up and swipes his thumb under my right eye, then the left. “Please tell me these aren’t due to sadness.”
I shake my head no, unable to speak for a few moments, but I touch my ring almost reverently, which causes a sigh of what sounds like relief to come from him. “Not to ruin the moment, but why didn’t you mention this before?”
Without taking his eyes from mine, he admits, “I was scared.”
“Of me?” I want to know, sure he feared nothing.
“Baby, you have no idea the power you hold over me. A word from you can bring me to my knees.”
