The Boy from New York City

My eyes flutter open only to look up into a pair of blue ones. “a little space please, dear.” I mumble, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the news and everything.

Alexzander pulls back a little but still holds me in his lap. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“I’m fine Alexzander, just got a little light headed.” I slowly sit up and look around the room. Meredith and Liam were sitting at the table and while Meredith and looking at me concerned, Liam would look anywhere but where I was.

“oh goodness, this is why Liam and I rarely have guests, something usually goes wrong.” Meredith complains.

Everyone laughs at her comment but it was obviously forced. Alexzander leaves to get our coats and I stand there awkwardly, “sorry for the interesting ending to the evening.” I apologize even though the person who should be doing the talking is Liam.

“It’s not your fault Sam, don’t worry about it.” She nudges her husband as if to wake him up from a daze. He shakes his head and looks up at me. It was the first time that I really looked at him, and now that I know the truth I’m able to see what made him seem so familiar when we first met. Though it was obvious he went through plastic surgery, he didn’t completely change from his old look. The smirk he always wore was pretty much the same, along with the line of three freckles on his neck. His nose definitely wasn’t the same, and like me he wore contacts and dyed his hair.

“Um, yes, it must have been something you ate so not your fault at all.” Liam awkwardly says, looking away the instant he finishes. Alexzander walks back in with our coats and we say our goodbyes. It was definitely a relief to finally get out of that house.

“You sure you’re okay?” my boyfriend asks for the millionth time.

“Yes, I’m fine. Stop asking. If I feel at all sick again I will definitely let you know.”

It was late so we decided to go to bed and wake up early to hit the slopes. Skiing was definitely one of my favorite activities as a child, I just hope I still have the same skills as before.

“Hey, you asleep?” I question, knowing that if he was he wouldn’t be waking up just by the sound of my voice.
“I was just about to ask you the same thing.” He replies and I turn around in the bed to face him.

There was something about Alexzander that just brightened my mood. I don’t understand how Liam could be telling me this was unsafe when it felt like the safest place I’ve been in my life. “oh really? What did you want?”

At my words a small blush rises upon his cheeks. I couldn’t help but giggle since it’s not everyday Alexzander Leighton blushes. “this is going to sound so cheesy…” he trails off and I just motion for him to continue on. If it was cheesy that meant it was sweet and I could really go for some sweet talking right now. “Do you ever get the feeling like this was meant to happen?”

“This as in us?” he nods shyly, not meeting my eyes. “You’re going to have to look at me if you want an answer Alexzander.” I tease and he does as I ask. I close the small gap there was between us and kiss him shortly on the lips. “Yes. I definitely believe it was more than just a mere accident we met.”

His eyes light up, “really?”

“really. Is there anything else?”

He rolls onto his back, pulling me along with him since his arm was still wrapped around my waist. “No, that was all I needed.”

I smile and cuddle into his side. There were no words to describe how content I was right now. It was like everything was perfect for just this single moment. “Goodnight Sam.”
“goodnight.

“Ready?” Alexzander asks the next morning as we set up to head down. I nod and pull my goggles over my eyes.

“Let’s go.”
“Winner makes dinner.”

I laugh “of course dear,” knowing that he wouldn’t let me near a kitchen let alone make dinner. And with that we were off, speeding down the mountainside. I couldn’t help but savor the feeling for a bit before really trying to win. Although there really wasn’t any point for me to win anyways.

“Come on Sam! At least give me some competition!” Alexzander yells from ahead of me. I speed up a little but not enough to actually catch up to him.

It’s weird to think that not too long ago I was on the streets of New York, stealing, stripping, and begging. Now I’m here in Canada on vacation with my boyfriend and surprisingly, my brother. How is it that he was able to follow me for so many years yet I spent those years trying to find him and came up empty handed? Was I really that terrible at tracking someone down? Apparently so.

I look in front of me to notice that Alexzander had slowed down a bit. I guess he was getting tired of being so far ahead of me. Which makes sense, I really wasn’t putting up that much of a competition at the moment. He gets to the side of me and glances over, “You okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Just enjoying all of this.”

“I’m glad you’re having fun.”

I smile though I know he can’t tell, “It’s one of the best days in life so far.” I could practically hear him smirk at my comment.

“Well then hopefully you don’t faint again or something.”

I look at him confused. Did he know of something terrible happening today to ruin my happiness? “What do you-” but I didn’t have time to finish my sentence because as I glance back at the path in front of me for a mere second, Alexzander falls and starts rolling down the mountain at a fairly fast rate. If there was anything to get me speeding down that mountain, that was definitely it. “Alexzander!” I yell after him as I race past the people in front of me. I was able to make out the fact that he had stopped a ways in front of me but that was it. As I approached closer I could tell he was sitting up so at least nothing too terrible happened. People around him stopped to watch but none of them were moving to help.

I stop in front of Alexzander, finding him with his goggles off, a grin on his face, and him on one knee holding a box in his hands. My breath caught in my throat as I stared down into those blue eyes that enticed me since day one. I pull my goggles up to get a better look and couldn’t help but smile back.

“I-I had this whole speech written out but I forgot it back at the cabin so I really don’t know what to say. I know we haven’t known each other for years or anything and many people are against this but that doesn’t matter because I know that you’re the one for me. I knew the first time we met. So with that in mind, Sam, will you marry me?” I stare at him in shock. This wasn’t the plan! This was so beyond the plan, I wasn’t quite sure what to do. I mean of course I know the answer but part of me was still curious on whether he was hurt, not focusing on the proposal at all. He continues to talk as I stare at him, “I mean don’t feel pressured to say yes, I just-”

I press my lips against his, interrupting any doubtful thoughts he was having. This was happening for real. We were getting married. And if his real proposal was any indication, it wasn’t all for the contract or any sorts of our deal. I pull away and laugh at his confused facial expression, “so was that a yes?”

There was definitely a crowd around us now, a few people ‘awing,’ others taking pictures. But I didn’t pay attention to them, or at least tried not to; I just stared down at Alexzander like he was one of the biggest idiots in the world. Did he honestly think that kiss meant no? “Are you hurt? You did fall quite a ways.” I ask him, not wanting him to be in pain at all.

“No, I’ve been practicing the tumble.”
I smirk and slap him in the back of the head, “don’t ever pull a stunt like that again. Do you know how freaked out I was that you’d broken a bone or hit someone or something or-”

“I’m taking it that was a yes,” he interrupts my lecture and slips the ring onto my finger.

“Of course it was.” I reply and tackle him down into the snow with a kiss. He smiles against my lips and moves so that I’m the one underneath. “Okay, that was colder than I thought it would be.”

Alexzander chuckles and moves a stray hair out of my face. “I love you,” he tells me, looking straight into my eyes.

I couldn’t tell if his words were part of the act or sincere. His expression didn’t seem any different than all the other times he’d spoken those words to me. But I knew that the reply I was about to give were the most honest words to leave my lips.

“I love you too.”