Starry Eyes

“We are not leaving this room for awhile.” Douglas declares as I pull on one of his many plain white t-shirts. “There is no way I’m sharing you with my friends and family just yet.”

“I’m not complaining.” I chuckle before leaning over and placing a kiss on his lips. “According to Kendall and Michelle this trip is apparently practice anyway.”

“For what?”

“Us living together.” I reply, letting out a nervous chuckle. “I think they may be a little ahead of themselves, don’t you think?”

“Would it be so wrong to live together?” He questions, raising an eyebrow. “Have you ever lived with a boyfriend?”

“Another than my idiot business major college boyfriend?” I ask. “No. And I only lived with him because he lived closer to NYU than Brittany’s apartment was.”

“Have you even discussed living with a boyfriend?” He asks, earning a shake of my head from me. “Not even Ashley? How long were you with him?”

“Ashley and I have been dating on and off since I was 22 and I’m about to turn 27 in October.” I reply. “Ashley and I were never that serious and when we did talk about the serious stuff, he would freak out and leave.”

“And your other boyfriends?”

“If we talked about the serious stuff, I would leave.” I admit. “Doug, my parents royally screwed me up when it comes to relationships. When it starts getting serious, a voice pops up in my head. And that voice doesn’t usually have nice things to say.”

“Is there a voice popping in your head now?” He asks, earning a nod from me. “What’s it telling you?”

“Don’t fuck this up.” A chuckle escapes. “It rarely tells me that, to be honest. It usually tells me horrible things like I’m not good enough. or He’ll leave you anyway. This time, this voice wants me to do everything in my power to keep you and not royally fuck this relationship up.”

“What are your thoughts about moving in with me?” He asks. “Honestly?”

“I would love you…”

“But?”

“We’ve only been dating around 4 months.” I state. “You don’t even have your own ringtone yet.”

“Well you have your own ringtone.” He tells me. “Want to hear it?”

I call his phone and my ears are instantly greeted by the sounds of Starry Eyes by Motley Crue; my favorite song by the band. His contact picture is of me and him at The Roxy and my contact name is still Nikki Lovey but this time there is a heart and a diamond ring emoji. “I never told you Starry Eyes is my favorite Motley Crue song.”

“I asked Nikki and your dad.” He admits, blushing a little. “I had to be sure that whenever you call me that I’m instantly reminded of you. And hearing your favorite Motley Crue song is one way.”

“And the diamond ring emoji; is that your way of asking me to marry you?”

“Would it be such a bad thing?” He questions, grabbing my hand and he starts playing with my fingers; mainly my ring finger. “Would marriage be so bad?”

“4 months.” I remind him.

“Your dad married someone after knowing them for four days.” He counters.

“And look how that marriage turned out.” I counter his counter with a chuckle. “But no, marriage wouldn’t be so bad; especially if it was with you.” He pulls me closer to him, but he keeps playing with my ring finger. “You’ve thought about this, haven’t you?”

“Briefly.” He replies. “I started really thinking about this during our two weeks apart. During those two weeks, I realized I honestly didn’t want to picture my life without you. I even asked permission from both your dad and Nikki.”

“And what did the Terror Twins have to say?” I ask, turning my head enough so that I’m looking at him.

Instead of answering me, he leans over and pulls a velvet box from his nightstand. He opens it up revealing such a gorgeous, unique ring with an icy blue stone. “Will you, Nikkole Athena Lee, make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?”

I can feel tears welling up in my eyes and a lump in my throat starts to form. My heart is skipping several beats and the only thing I could do is repeatedly nod my head yes at rapid rates. A smile grows on Douglas’ lips before they crash down onto mine. And in the middle of the sweet, romantic kiss; he manages to slip on the ring. It’s the perfect fit.

“We can have a long engagement if you want.” He assures me as we part. “I just want to be able to call you my fiancée. We don’t have to get married right away. We can wait until after the movie comes out and I’m done with press junkets. I wouldn’t want you to…” I shut his rambling by crashing my lips onto his. The searing kiss was short lived and I pull away.

“You were right.” I tell him, I look at his lips before my eyes return to his. “We’re not leaving this room for awhile. There is no way I’m sharing my fiancé with the world.” He just smiles before pulling me into a passionate kiss….