Never Want to Let You Go

It was Jonas family dinner night that evening after the concert.

I had no idea what city we were in, either. It felt like we were in a new city every night.

But that was all right, because Jonas family dinner night meant that we would have a fun night, regardless of where we were.

It took two large SUVs to get us to the restaurant and once we were at the restaurant, the only place they could fit us was in the backroom.

Which was nice, because then we had our privacy.

Things were always so busy that it was easy to forget what it was like to all get together and have a fun and relaxed night.

They always made me feel like I was part of the family. I’m sure Rita and Lily felt the same way, too.

With the Jonases, it didn’t matter if you shared their blood or not, you were always a part of the family.

I watched everyone as we sat around the large table, observing everyone in their interactions.

Mr. and Mrs. Jonas watched over the bunch like they always did, laughing and enjoying the little time that they had with the whole family.

Nick was his usual charming and humorous self.

Rita was her usual bubbly and outgoing self, sitting alongside Frankie, who was excitedly telling her a story.

Kevin was excited as ever. He was usually a pretty chipper guy, but he was even more so tonight. I was not quite sure what he had up his sleeve, but there had to be something.

And then there was Lily, quiet and observant, the perfect juxtaposition to Kevin’s present excitement.

And then that left Joe and me.

Joe was telling Nick a story, very animatedly. He mirrored Frankie with his excited storytelling.

I watched as he flailed his arms around.

He was just too much sometimes, but I loved him.

And I was so grateful for that pen pal assignment that brought us together.

I could not imagine my life without him, or without any of them really.

Sometimes I just sat in disbelief at where my life had taken me. It was perfect, even the imperfections.

“Dessert time!” I heard Kevin exclaim.

Everyone began to buzz, excited for the sugary delight.

Kevin had said that he had called ahead of time to request a special dessert for us.

Which was another reason why I thought something was up.

“Red Velvet Cake!” Frankie squealed when he saw the waiter enter the room with a tray.

“Mmm, I love red velvet,” I smiled to Joe, who had slid his hand into my lap to hold onto mine.

Everything was perfect.

“Eat up,” I watched Kevin tell Lily with a sly grin.

What was his deal?

I didn’t have time to ponder what was up with Kevin because I dove right into my heavenly slice of cake. There was no way I was waiting any longer for red velvet cake.

Everyone was humming about how good it was when I glanced over at Kevin, who kept an intent eye on Lily.

Lily was halfway through hers and he looked a little anxious.

I went to scoop some more onto my fork when I noticed something in my cake.

“What the-,” I whispered as I dug it out.

I caught Joe’s attention as I pulled the metal object out.

Oh shit.

“Oh my god,” I felt myself freeze. “That’s an engagement ring.” My voice was hushed, Joe being the only one who heard.

I looked over at Joe. “I thought we talked about this,” I hissed, trying not to catch anyone’s attention.

Joe knew that I loved him and that I wanted to marry him someday, but he also knew this was not the time.

I did not want anyone to see this, because I was going to tell him no, as harsh as that sounded.

His face looked beyond confused. “I didn’t put that in there,” he defended; his face was serious.

“What do you mean?” My voice was bewildered.

“I love you, but I know you don’t want this yet,” he told me quietly. “I wouldn’t do something like this until I knew we were ready. Especially in front of everyone.”

I stared into his eyes, the dark centers revealing honesty. He was telling the truth.

“Then whose is it?” I looked away from Joe to glance around the table.

Everyone was still busy with their conversations, until my eyes landed on Kevin.

He looked like a hot mess.

“It’s Kevin’s,” I whispered to Joe before I tried to catch Kevin’s eye.

It took a moment, but I finally caught his eye.

I motioned towards my plate and at the diamond ring.

His eyes went wide; he looked like he was about to panic.

I signaled for him to calm down. I would get the ring to him somehow.

Poor guy, he had this romantic ordeal planned and the ring ended up on the wrong plate.

I noticed Rita was sitting next to Lily so I shot her a quick text.

You need to get Lily to go to the bathroom with you now. Be discrete. I’ll explain later.

I watched as she looked down at her phone.

She gave me a confused glance before I watched her exchange a few words with Lily.

It wasn’t long before they both left the room.

I grabbed the ring and as smoothly as possible took a seat in Lily’s chair.

Joe was watching me the whole time.

I made sure no one else was watching as I slid the ring onto her plate, in front of what was remaining of her cake.

It wasn’t Kevin’s original plan, but it would work.

“Good luck,” I gave Kevin’s arm a quick squeeze before I got up and took my seat.

His eyes met mine as I took a seat; he mouthed a ‘thank you.’

Joe looked over at me and smiled.

“I love you,” he grinned.

“I love you, too,” I mirrored his face, my eyes landing on his.

He leaned over and gave me a small kiss on the lips.

We usually weren’t into PDA, especially around Mr. and Mrs. Jonas, but it was sweet.

Once our lips had parted, I watched as Lily returned from the bathroom with Rita close behind.

She took a seat before she grabbed onto her fork.

Joe and I were watching anxiously as she dropped her fork as soon as she saw what was on the plate, grabbing everyone’s attention in the process.

“Oh my god,” she muttered in surprise.

I think it was a good kind of surprise, though.

I felt myself smiling; this was uber sweet.

We all watched as Kevin reached over and grabbed the ring, slowly making his way to his knee.

“Lily,” he began. “I know that we haven’t been together that long, but it’s long enough for me,” he took a breath. I could tell he was nervous.

“I have loved you since the day I laid eyes on you. I know that our lifestyle isn’t the most conventional, but I can’t imagine my life without you,” he paused as a smile crept onto his face.

“So that is why I want to ask you if you will make me the happiest man in the world and become my wife?” He was grinning by this point. “Lily, will you marry me?”

I was too busy watching Kevin to notice the tears streaming down Lily’s face.

She nodded her head quickly before muttering a quiet, “yes.”

It was precious.

And all of us women ended up with tears in our eyes.

Joe gave my hand a squeeze as they embraced.

This was such a happy moment for everyone.

And yeah, someday, I wanted that to be Joe and me. I was sure of it.