Love Tricked Me

I stayed at my house and watched tv with Eric and my dad for awhile. We ordered a pizza for lunch and just hung out like old times. We had so much fun, but like always, the conversation revolved around teasing me.

"And he got these tattoos for her that say one love in Latin because that was their thing in high school." Eric explained. "He's so whipped."

"Wow, John O'Callaghan and my little girl. Who would've thought?" My dad mused.

"I'm going to be 21 in two weeks. I'm not little anymore." I pouted.

"You'll always be my little sister, Kimmy." Eric laughed as he ruffled my hair.

I shook my head and smoothed my hair back down.

"So, when are you gonna find a girlfriend?" I teased.

His cheeks flushed and he looked away.

"She got you!" My dad laughed.

"Shut up." He blushed.

Before anyone could say anything else there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Eric volunteered.

We chuckled as he shot up and stumbled to the front door.

"Oh Kimmy!" He called in a sing song voice "A fine young gentleman is here to see you!"

"Tell him I have a boyfriend." I called back, knowing that John was at the door.

"Hey!" He cried as he stepped inside.

I giggled and ran to him for a hug.

"How are you, sweetheart?" I asked sweetly.

"You said I wasn't a fine, young gentleman." He pouted.

I leaned up and placed a short kiss on his lips. "You're very fine and young and you're quite the gentleman." I chuckled.

"Leave if you're gonna be all cute." Eric groaned from the couch.

My dad smacked him and I laughed.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Halvorsen." John greeted.

"You too John. I'm glad we talked last week." He smiled.

"Wait, what? You guys talked?" I asked, extremely confused.

"Yeah, I'll explain later." My boyfriend laughed. "Let's go. I have something planned for tonight."

"Okay..." I said slowly. "Bye guys."

We said our goodbyes to them and got into Johns car. I pulled my seatbelt across my chest and saw him beating his thumbs nervously on the steering wheel.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He looked at me with wide eyes and shook his head.

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong! Everything is great. Relax." He replied as he started driving.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.

"It's a surprise." He answered with an infamous smirk.

I let out a huff and rested my head on the window.

As the sun started to set I noticed that John was driving faster and getting more nervous. I furrowed my eyebrows at him as my lips formed a smile. I chuckled as he let out a frustrated whine.

"Don't worry, babe," I started, "whatever you have planned will be just as good during the night."

He looked over at me and smiled. "No it won't. Trust me." He laughed.

"Okay." I sighed as I let my head rest on the back of my seat.

After driving awhile longer I started to get sleepy. Just as I closed my eyes the car came to an abrupt stop.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked at John who seemed to be even more of a nervous wreck.

"Dammit! I know I laid it right here!" He cried as he got out of the car and slammed the door.

Too groggy to care, I just shut my eyes until I felt a cool gust of air hit my body. John was hovering over my body, trying to pick me up.

"I'm up." I croaked in a raspy voice.

Through the darkness I saw his eyes holding disappointment. I stepped out of the car and faced him.

"What's wrong?" I asked in a stern tone.

"I," he sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "I laid some stuff out earlier and someone must have stolen it."

He kicked the desert sand in his combat boot clad feet and groaned. "And now it's already dark!"

I stood back and leaned against the car, just letting him throw his fit. Why in the world is he so upset about all this petty stuff?

"Are you done now?" I asked with my arms crossed.

He looked back at me with an embarrassed expression. "Yeah, sorry." He mumbled. "I brought some home made pizza if you're hungry."

I smiled at the thought of food in my empty stomach.

"Where is it?" I asked excitedly.

He laughed at me and opened up the car door and pulled out two boxes. He came over to me and took my hand as we sat down in the sand together. I recognized it as the same place we went to after our first fight. He handed me a box and in it was my favorite pizza. Green peppers with pineapple.

"Thank you." I grinned as I kissed his cheek. I took a bite and moaned at the deliciousness.

"This is awesome!" I cried.

He smiled and put his arm around me before pressing his lips to my temple and eating his pizza.

We sat in silence as we devoured the food together until I heard a soft growling noise.

"Is that your stomach?" I asked as I turned to John.

"No." He gulped, shaking his head. His gaze went beyond me and I turned to see what he was staring at.

I gasped when I caught sight of the two coyotes approaching us. My heart started to pound faster and I couldn't think clearly. Oh shit, we're gonna get eaten by wild animals in the middle of the fucking desert.

"Don't. Move." John instructed.

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, I never would have thought of that." I whispered, keeping my voice low.

When they started getting closer I felt John starting to move.

"What are you doing?" I whisper yelled.

He grabbed both of our pizzas and threw them to the animals, then he pulled me off the ground and started running to the car, pushing me ahead of him. He opened up the car door and pushed me in first before climbing in after me and slamming the door.

"Shit, that was close!" He panted. "Are you okay?" He asked, pulling my arms up to inspect me for any cuts or scratches.

"I'm fine." I assured him as I fixed my skirt. "You're pretty sexy when you're trying to protect me."

He laughed and leaned in to kiss me. I kissed back and let my tongue explore his mouth that tasted like the pizza he had been eating. I tangled my hands in his hair before losing my breath and pulling away.

"You're pretty sexy all the time." He whispered into my ear.

It was a good thing I wasn't standing up because his voice alone turned my knees into jello.

Just as I was about to kiss him again, his phone started ringing. He sighed and pulled back. He turned it on silent and threw it in the back seat.

"Well, now that we have no pizza and that moment was ruined, what do you say we get some food?" He asked. I could sense unhappiness in his voice.

"Sounds great." I chirped, hoping to put him in a good mood.

He started the car and took off down the desert highway.

I turned the radio on and started singing along awfully in hopes to cheer him up, but he still remained glum.

After a few songs I looked over saw that cute smile on his face again. I leaned over and pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek.

"I love you." I told him.

"I love you-" He was cut off by a sputtering sound coming from the car. After a few seconds it slowed and completely stopped.

"Fuck!" He cried. "Leave it to me to not remember to gas the god damn car tonight!"

He stood up and got out of the car. He ran his hands through his hair repeatedly and kicked the tires. I watched helplessly as he threw another fit.

After a few minutes he finally calmed down.

"Babe... We're gonna have to start walking."

John

She hesitantly got out of the car and walked alongside the road with me.

"I'm sorry." I said, turning to her.

"It's okay." She smiled weakly.

"No it's not. I know you hate it when I freak out. And plus those shoes kill your feet." I pointed out.

She smiled when I mentioned that and nodded. "You're right." She said before slipping the flats off her feet.

I laughed and hugged her to my side as we kept walking.

I heard a rumbling sound and looked behind me to see if maybe it was a car coming. I didn't spot any headlights in the darkness and turned back around just as the rain started to pour.

"Of course! Tonight would be the one fucking night it rains in Arizona!" I cried.

"It's okay. It probably won't last long." She shrugged.

We walked through the unceasing storm for thirty minutes until I saw a light up ahead.

I recognized it as the ice cream shop I took Kimmy to after she tutored me for the first time.

I smiled at the prospect of this night maybe turning around. I grabbed Kimmy's hand and stopped walking. She stopped too and turned to give me a strange look.

"What are-" she was cut off when I hooked my arm under her knees and started carrying her up the dirt, now mud, road that led to the store.

"You're crazy." She murmured before pressing her lips to mine.

"Crazy for you." I smiled after I pulled away.

I finally reached the door and set her down as she put her shoes back on. I opened up the door and we walked our sopping wet bodies into the little shop.

We walked to the counter and the same old man was there.

"I think I recognize you two." He laughed. "Would you like some towels?"

"Yes please!" Kimmy laughed.

She wrapped her arms around me and leaned into my chest while the guy went to go get some towels for us. I held her tightly and rested my head on hers. This night had turned to shit. Maybe I shouldn't even propose.

"Here we are." He said as he handed us a stack of fluffy towels to dry off with. "And order whatever you like. It's on the house."

"That's really nice, but it's fine." She said.

"No, no. I insist. Your money's no good here." He smiled as he held his hands up.

"Thank you." We both said.

We ordered two hot roast beef sandwiches and took a seat while he made them.

As I was drying my face and my hair I heard a bell chime and saw that our orders were ready. I walked up to the counter and was about to grab the two plates before the old man leaned in and whispered. "You're proposing tonight, aren't ya?"

"How'd you know!?" I asked so that Kimmy couldn't hear.

"I see that little jewelry box sticking out of your pocket." He smiled.

I looked down and tucked it further in as he laughed.

"Good luck, son. I knew from the minute the both of you walked in here a few years ago that you'd end up together." He told me sincerely.

"You did?" I asked in disbelief.

"Of course. I've been in love like that. I could see it all over your faces. Now you better get back to her, lad. She looks hungry." He laughed.

"Thank you."

I walked back to the table and put down the food.

"This looks great." She smiled as she took one of the sandwiches. She dipped it in the gravy before taking a huge bite. Within minutes she down the whole thing.

I looked at her and smiled at how cute she looked. Her wet hair was curling and sticking to her face. The raindrops that hadn't dried were still sitting on top of her collarbone. I knew if I didn't do it now, then I never would. I put my food down and wiped my hands on a napkin. I slid off of my seat and got down on one knee in front of where she was sitting in the booth.

"Wh-what are you doing?" She asked nervously.

"I talked to your dad last week so I could ask him for permission to do this. I wanted this night to be perfect for a reason. This was supposed to be something so special that you'd never forget it, but now it's all fucked up and I'm sorry. But I know I'll never have the courage to do this again so..." I paused as I pulled the box from my pocket. I fumbled with it for a minute before getting a firm hold on the thing. "I've been in love with you for a long time. Even after you left me sitting in front of that bench on prom night, I never stopped loving you. I don't think I could ever be happy without you. And I can't be unhappy with you."

"Oh my god." She gasped, putting her hand over her mouth.

"Kimberly Rey Halvorsen," I began as I opened the box "...shit. What are the words?"

"What?" She laughed.

"I- I'm so nervous I forgot what to say!" I cried. "Um... Will you be my date to our wedding? No! That's not it.."

"Are the words 'will you marry me?'" She asked through her laugh.

"Yes." I smiled.

She giggled again before pulling me into a kiss.

I pulled away and took her hand.

"Wrong one." She chuckled as she replaced her right hand with her left. I blushed and held onto it as I slipped the ring onto her ring finger.

"At least the ring fits!"