There Was You

Turning her phone over in her hand, Riley couldn’t stifle her smile, her eyes catching sight of the ring which sat on her finger. It hadn’t been long, after Iker had popped the question, they’d headed upstairs to her apartment, but with him having been distracted by a phone call, she had been left alone for a few minutes, minutes which had almost entirely been devoted to staring at the ring, still not quite able to fathom it being there. He had caught her off guard, with the two of them having been together for a less than a year, Riley had been almost certain that the idea of proposing wasn’t one which had crossed Iker’s mind, and the idea that it had, and that he had actually done it was one which left her a little giddy.

Shaking her head, she kept her eyes on her ring for a second before she let out an awed laugh, her thumb gently brushing against the cool metal.

“You’re not on the phone”

Riley smiled a little, not lifting her eyes away from her hand. “I don’t really know what I am going to say” she mused.

Iker, who’d moved to sit down next to her, tilted his head, an amused smile on his face. “How about, ‘hey mama, papa, me and Iker are going to get married’? I mean, that’s pretty much what I plan on telling my parents” he teased.

Riley shook her head. “I’ll probably say the same” she mused “I guess I just wanted a minute to...to get my head around it. I mean, you actually asked me to marry you, Iker. Can you quite believe that?” she fussed, turning to look up at him.

Iker held her stare for a second before he turned his stare downwards, settling it on her hand. “No” he murmured, a faint smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

Riley rolled her eyes, bumping his side gently.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while” Iker mused after a beat of silence, his fingers gently twining with Riley’s “Since Christmas, maybe a little longer” he added.

“Christmas?” Riley prodded, cuddling into his side slightly.

Iker nodded. “There was just something about it” he noted “I mean, being at your parents’ house, it was chaos, but there was a moment when I just thought that...that it was something I wanted to do every year” he stumbled out, his words thoughtful and considered.

Riley, who’d started to play with his fingers gently, was quiet for a moment before she lifted her head, her eyes meeting his. “We’ve been together for less than a year” she pointed out.

“Does it matter?” Iker replied “I mean, I know how I feel about you, I am certain of it, and you must be at least a little bit sure about it too. You didn’t exactly hesitate in saying yes” he added, his voice caught between soft and playful.

He had been expecting it, in all the scenarios that he had run through in his mind before he had asked, he had always thought that Riley would stumble or hesitate over her answer, and the fact that she hadn’t surprised him, even if he was thrilled that her answer had been an immediate yes. He hadn’t quite been expecting it.

Riley quirked a little smile, her cheeks glowing a soft shade of pink. “Did you want me to hesitate?” she asked.

“Of course not” Iker replied quickly “I just...I was surprised. You said it yourself, we’ve been together for less than a year, and I thought you...you’d want more time to think about it. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re not exactly known for jumping into things without thinking, Ry” he added gently.

Riley shook her head, her eyes fixed on their hands. “I couldn’t say no” she mumbled.

Iker’s forehead furrowed, but he didn’t say anything, affording Riley the chance to keep talking. “You’re the best thing that could have happened to me” she murmured “Not just for the last few months when we’ve been a couple, but because of those few months before. You coming out onto that balcony, when even my best friend hadn’t, when no one else had...You have no idea what that meant to me. You let me yell at you, and you didn’t get impatient or upset, you just hugged me. Every time you just held my hand or just let me talk...that’s why I couldn’t say no” she insisted, a soft smile blooming across her features.

Iker stared at her for a few seconds, allowing her words to hang around them, before he gently lifted their hands up, allowing him to press a soft kiss against her skin.

Riley closed her eyes, relishing the soft touch of his lips against her skin, before the sound of her phone vibrating in her other hand reached her ears, causing her to jump a little before she lifted it up. Shaking her head, she let out a gentle laugh before she showed the phone off to Iker. “She’s psychic” she quipped impishly.

Iker grinned. “Answer it” he encouraged.

“Really?” Riley prodded.

“Really” Iker replied “I mean, I know you’ve been itching to call them since we got up here. So do it” he added.

Riley offered him an uncertain look, something which made Iker roll his eyes, quickly snatching the phone out of her hand so that he could answer it, putting it on speakerphone. “Hola, Maria” he greeted “You’re on speakerphone with me and Riley” he added, grinning at Riley who rolled her eyes.

“Hola, mama” she greeted.

“Hello” Maria quipped “I wasn’t expecting you both. Is everything Ok?” she asked.

Iker and Riley shared a look before the brunette shook her head, shyly tucking her hair behind her ear. “Everything is fine, mama” she mused “I was just thinking about calling you actually. Is papa around?” she asked.

“Asleep in the living room” Maria replied “But I can get him. Hold on a second” she added, allowing the line to quiet for a moment before she spoke up again, announcing that Isaac was next to her.

Riley shifted in her seat for a moment before she sighed. “I...uh...” she stumbled out “I have some news” she added quietly.

“You do?” Isaac quipped, trying, and failing, to keep the excitement out of his voice.

Riley nodded. “Me and Iker...” she breathed “We’re engaged” she added, smiling a little at the word fell out of her mouth.

Iker matched her smile without hesitation, something which caused Riley’s smile to widen, her ears filled with her parents’ excited fussing.