Brilliance Begs to Be Called Your Name

Rue’s eyes bury into mine. I twist so I’m on my knees and I crawl to the edge of the bed. I twist my legs around again and rest my feet on the floor. I push myself off the bed and I sit on Rue’s popped up knee. As I softly wrap my arms around his neck, I pull his face closer to mine. Inches away from his mouth, I nod my head up and down before our lips finally touch.

I can feel his smile as we embrace, me still sitting on his popped knee. He is smiling so big that once I kiss his teeth straight on. I slide off his knee so I can sit back on the edge of the bed and Rue still stays down on the floor.

“Come up here, baby.” I tell him, trying to be as seductive as I possible can while being this far gone.

“I just want to look at you because…do you even get it? When I look at you now, you’re not just Amber, my girlfriend. Now, you’re Amber, my fiancé.” I’ve never seen him smile that big in my whole life. “That’s a really big deal to me. I mean, fuck, I never thought I’d actually go through with this.” He looks up at me again. “I can’t wait to call my grandma tomorrow and ask her if I can have her ring. She’d going to be so excited! All she talks about is you and how much she really likes you. I can’t wait to tell her that you’ve said ‘yes’ and that we’re engaged.”

I laugh at his excitement level. He gets up and sits next to me, holding my hand softly against his chest. His heart is bumping so hard against it that it feels like a speaker at a rock show. Thump-thump-thumpity-thump-thud. I ask him in a whisper soft voice, “Are you nervous about what all this means?” I look up at him and he looks down at me.

“Of course I’m nervous, but I can handle hell and high water as long as I have you by my side, Am.” He pulls my hand off his chest and up to his mouth where he softly kisses my wrist –knowing fully well that it’s my kryptonite.

He softly lets go of my hand and I turn over and straddle him. I’m softly sitting on his thighs and leaning against his chest. I can still feel his heart racing even through my own sternum. The taste of his tongue in my mouth making my heart catch up to his. His hands trailing up and down my bare back sending shivers down my spine. His hands down to rest on my lower back and we both lean towards the bed and the bed almost seems to come up and meet us. Horizontally now, I prop myself up by my left elbow so I’m hanging just inches away from his body. I catch another smile on his lips.

“What are you still smiling about?” I ask, unbuttoning his jeans with my right hand.

“That you said ‘yes’.” He cups my face in his hand and looks at me deep into my soul.

“I will always say ‘yes’ to you, Rue. I would say ‘yes’ to anything you ever asked me. I would say ‘yes’ to you a million times over and it still would never be enough to me to make this feeling feel real to me.” I don’t mean for it to happen, but it just does. Tears start to collect in the corners of my eyes and I can’t stop them from falling down my face and onto his bare chest.

“Baby, why are you crying?” Rue says wiping my cheeks with his fingertips.

“I’m so fucking happy that it’s all I can do.” I squeeze out of my mouth before a big sob closes my throat.

Rue looks at me and I laugh through the tears. He pushes my left arm out to the side so my body comes crashing down onto his. And in this very moment, I can feel my soul becoming a part of his. I know this was meant to be. I know he will never leave me. I know I will always have him in my life. I know that I will always find comfort in his smile and in his tears and in his arms. I know that Rue and I will be together forever and we’ll be as happy as we’ve ever been. All these things I know in that exact second; the second before he starts to kiss my lips again.