AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hush it, Cutter. Just get in line and let me get my seat.
“But I’m here. I’m staging.” Under my breath I cough out, “Crowding.”
My palms are so sweaty. I keep wiping them on the inside of my hoodie pocket and along my thighs. Laney has to notice. I’m not afraid of flying, but I look like a nervous wreck. I know I do. Because I am.
I decided I was going to propose this weekend about four months ago. I’ve been planning this moment in my head, though, for about four years. It was our first year living together in Seattle after we both got drafted. Laney was the second overall pick for the inaugural pro volleyball season. I went a little deeper, and when I knew it would come down to being in Kansas City or Seattle, I did everything I could to sway things in my favor to play for the minor league team up here.
Laney has always been afraid of me wanting to go home. And I know she says she fears being the one to break us apart by choosing her career, I know in my gut that she’s really afraid that I’m going to choose not to follow. Two people can make two different choices in life, and neither is wrong. Her going wasn’tmuch different than me staying. And it was the idea of growing together and then falling apart that gave her pause.
But what she didn’t get is what I knew the moment I decided I loved her. I would never choose anything but her. Even now, as we “stage” our way into nearly coming to elbow blows with an older couple trying to get into the early B group too.
“Come on,” Laney says, taking over the wheeling of our carry-on.
We cut the nice couple off and I turn to apologize for being aggressive to the gentleman who’s now on the boarding bridge behind me.
“Oh don’t worry. She’s just as competitive,” he grumbles, pointing to his wife. The woman grimaces at him then turns to me and Laney.
“I am not competitive.”
The man and I exchange a glance and smirk. Nothing needs to be said.
We amble our way through the filled rows on the plane until things lighten up toward the back. As I figured, there are maybe a dozen of completely empty rows, so I let Laney pick her favorite and climb in for the window seat. Once she’s settled, I push the handle in on our rolling bag and lift it up to the storage bin, pushing it in snug. I duck my head and climb into the seat next to Laney, then feel to my right then left for the stray buckles that are mine.
“Hey, Lane? I think you’re sitting on—” I stop when I see her wide eyes staring at the velvet box in her palm. Panicked, I drop the belt in my right hand and feel in my pocket.
Empty.
“Shit,” I mutter.
“Cutter?” Her gaze slides over to me.
Deep breath time.
“Well, this is not going according to plan.” I chuckle, or rather vibrate with nervous laughter.
“This seat taken?” A woman asks from the aisle.
Seriously?
“No, it’s not,” I say, then turn my attention back to Laney, who is still gawking at the box in her palm.
“I can’t believe I messed this up.” I run my hand through my hair a dozen times, stammering for the right words to somehow fix this and turn it into something meaningful.
“Oh! Are you proposing?” The tall blonde woman who took the aisle seat leans over my shoulder. I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose.
“Yeah. I guess I am,” I say, cracking only one eye open and looking to Laney for a response.
Her gaze lifts to me and a slow smile starts to creep into her cheeks.
“Is that a yes?” Again, not the epic words I’d planned to say, but I suppose this simply fits right in with the rest of our story.
“Yes, Cutter. It’s a very enthusiastic yes.” She hands me the box, so at least I get to crack it open and watch her face as she takes in the platinum ring and princess-cut diamond that my mom helped me pick out in April.
“It’s beautiful,” she hums as I pull it from the box and slip it on her finger. She admires it, then leans into the armrest between us to kiss me. Our audience of one has grown to six or seven, and they all begin to clap.
“Thank you.” I hold up a hand and glance around, not really taking in a single face. I can’t believe I botched this so badly.
“Cutter, I can’t believe you had this planned. And I had no idea.”
