Say You'll Be Nine

“Baby,” I said carefully. “Is there a reason I can’t get something to drink?”

“No… yes… no. Just…”

I turned around and peered at him. He looked uncharacteristically nervous. He had his bottom lip caught between his teeth.

He sighed. “It’s just that your Christmas present is in there.”

“You got me flavored water for Christmas?” I teased. “That was awfully sweet of you.”

He punched my chest with a fist. “Don’t make fun of me right now, I’m nervous as hell.”

I leaned down to kiss him. “No need to be nervous with me. I’ll love anything you got me, especially if it’s strawberry kiwi flavored.”

He laughed. “Stop.”

“Why don’t I hop in the shower and wash off the grime from dealing with that old dishwasher while you re-hide my gift? Does that sound good? And maybe you can pour me a water while you’re at it.” I winked at him and moved away toward the bathroom, reaching for the buttons on my shirt. I stripped down and tossed my clothes in the canvas laundry bag we had on the back of the closet door. Maybe we could head into town to get some dinner tonight while we visited the laundromat.

The water was nice and hot, and we’d paid extra for a robust pump to give us decent water pressure. It had taken me a while to figure out how to create an RV hookup site at each of our cabin renovations, but the result was a much more comfortable stay for us and some added value for the cabin owner when they went to list their rental on the website.

It was with those sexy thoughts in my head that I heard Coop enter the bathroom. Suddenly the lights went out, leaving a lone candle in its place. The light was dim and wavy through the frosted glass of the shower door.

“Get in here, sexy,” I growled. A little shower sex would go a long way toward washing away the stresses of the day.

He didn’t answer me. Instead, he kept moving around lighting more and more candles until the little bathroom glowed with light.

When he still didn’t join me, I poked my head out of the frosted door to see what he was up to. There, on the fluffy gray bathmat, knelt the love of my life with a tiny square box in his hands.

“Merry Christmas,” he said in a shaky voice. “I… I hope this is the first of many together. And… I guess what I’m trying to say is…”

The rest of his words were lost to the thunder of the spray as I ducked back into the stall and slammed the water off. When I practically tripped and fell out of the stall, dripping wet and buck naked, Cooper laughed.

“Maybe I should have thought this through,” he said.

“Say it again,” I growled.

His eyes widened. “I have never met a kinder, more gentle soul than you. You are funny and smart, hardworking and generous. I’m already the luckiest man alive for sharing this life with you, but would it be too much to ask if we made it official? Isaac Winshed, will you marry me?”

I fell to my knees on the mat in front of him and took his face in my hands. “Yes.” I kissed him long and hard. My brain spun with all of the exciting possibilities of what marriage would bring, with the relief of knowing he was mine forever, and with the certainty that this was the exact way my life was supposed to go.

When we finally came up for air, Cooper had a smirk on his face. “Did I do okay? Was it good even though you’re dripping wet and naked? Because I gotta tell you, that’s kind of what makes it for me.”

My laugh boomed around the tiny space, reminding me of my dad. “Well, as far as love declarations go, it was no hiding a chicken in a closet, but it’ll do.”