My Guardian Angel

The stars shone bright above the shore. It was the last time that summer that Skylar was going to get to spend much, if any, time with Jeff. Their impromptu trip from Markham to Southampton was only going to be a few days, but she was sure that the memories would last a lifetime. The pair lay together in the bed of her cousin’s pickup. He hadn’t minded when Skylar borrowed it. Well, after she talked him into it by holding it over his head that he accidentally backed into her car on her eighteenth birthday. That was how she got things done, and it was important to her that she got this little bit of time with Jeff before he had to head back to Raleigh for his team and before she had to be on her way back to Montréal for school.

She rolled over and rested her head on his chest. Closing her eyes, she just listened to the rhythm of his breathing. It was a year ago when she had finally worked up the courage to ask out the boy that she had been friends with for as long as she could remember, the boy who she used to carpool with on her way to skating events. There was little that could be said that would deter her from admitting that back then she had the same crush on him that she had the day she watched him get drafted seventh overall and when she witnessed his first game in the NHL. Jeff tangled his hand in her hair.

“The stars are falling just for us,” he whispered. His voice was almost drowned out by the waves nearby. Skylar snorted in disbelief. “No, look up.”

Skylar groaned and slowly opened her eyes. She turned her gaze to the heavens above. A smile curled the corners of her lips upwards. It wasn’t one of those things that she liked to do: admit to anyone that Jeff was right about something. Her interests generally kept it that she would not let him know that he was correct, but there was no denying that there were shooting stars above them that night.

“Did you make a wish already?” she asked him. She made sure he wasn’t even looking at her as she mouthed hers. Jeffrey rubbed her arm as he seemed to start drifting off to sleep. He wouldn’t tell her that he wished that anything she wished for would come true, but that was second only to the other wish he had. And that wish, did come true. Only it was helpful that they seemed to wish for the same thing.

“Yeah, but it took some time to figure out what I wanted. My first thought was to wish for a chance to win the Stanley Cup,” he laughed. Her giggling brought a new smile to his face. She had figured that would have been his answer, but she didn’t expect him to say it. All it did was make him realize that he made the right choice in what he originally wished for.

“Damn, you know if you say your wish aloud, it won’t come true,” she said. Skylar sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. Jeff got up with her.

He knew that there were rules, and he knew that she believed in those rules when she was younger, and it didn’t seem like much had changed. There were times when he had seen her get mad at someone for asking her what she wished for after she blew out the candles on her birthday cake. That was the way he liked her. She never would admit to being superstitious, but Jeff thought Skylar was as bad if not worse about it than some of his teammates or other players he knew. The two of them were probably a good mix together just because of that.

As the seasons were changing from summer to autumn, things would change once again. Skylar had asked Jeff out on a whim after some goading from his sisters, and when that last summer had ended with her on her way to school and him working out what he was going to do if there was a lockout. Following the time they had spent together since he found it easier to see her when he wasn’t in North Carolina, but it was hard once he was back in Raleigh. She could see him when she got the chance. This was going to be a different year though with more time separating them. He refused to let that be a big factor in driving a wedge between the two of them. He couldn’t let it. It was just going to be tough to get her in on the side that he wanted.

He turned to face her, taking both her hands in his. Skylar raised an eyebrow as she looked Jeff in the eye. He knew that this was some sort of question as to why going through her mind. The two of them sat there in silence for a few moments. The sounds of the lake were all that they needed. She just liked being able to spend any time whatsoever with him. He decided that spending time with her like this was better than anything that he could have asked for otherwise.

“You know I love you, right?” he finally said to break the silence between the two of them. She didn’t deny that it was a welcome thing to break the silence, but she was unsure of where it was going.

“Of course,” she said. She worried at her lip for a moment with the worst possible thoughts going through her mind. Not only was she the superstitious kind, but she also had a terrible streak of being a bit more pessimistic. “Can I tell you something? You’re my true love, my whole heart. Please don’t throw that away.”

He finally frowned at the words that fell from her lips. She leaned forward and pushed her lips against his just to emphatically end her statements. Jeff pulled away from her, and the worry on her face made him come to terms with the fact that that wasn’t the best way to handle everything.

“No. I didn’t mean to upset you. I… I wanted to ask you something after that. And did you just quote that song we were listening to on the drive up?” he asked. She nodded guiltily. Some of her words had been from a song that she put on her playlist for their weekend away. He kissed the back of her hand trying to make up for making her sad. Jeff fumbled as he searched for the words to say. “So, I don’t have a ring or anything, and I know that Erica and Jennifer are going to kill me for not letting them know ah…”

“I can text them right now if you would prefer,” she joked. “Please finish telling me whatever it is you’re trying to tell me.”

“Will you marry me?” he said without a break in between his words.

“You should probably let your sisters know what you’re doing… what we’ll be doing.”