For Us (The Girl I Loved Duet 2)

“I’ve told you more than once that you’re it for me, and I still know that it’s true. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I don’t want to waste any more time telling the world about it. I love you, more than anything.”

Then he pulls out a ring, pale gold with a dainty diamonds and more diamonds swirling off it. It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. “Will you marry me?”

I lunge forward and kiss him, wrapping my arms around his neck and I hear the cheering of the film crew around me. I don’t want to let him go, so I keep kissing him. So long that it’s comical, before he pulls back and asks. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes,” I say, even though my voice is watery. There’s cheering all over again as he puts the ring on my finger and pulls me to him on the couch, holding me closer than before. He presses a kiss to my temple, and I can’t stop smiling or stop the tears from flowing.

“Okay, wow,” the interviewer says, “I did not expect that.”

“I was keeping it a surprise,” Peter says.

I shake my head. “A damn good one, I had no idea.” Peter laughs and kisses my cheek. I love when he gets like this, because the way he’s constantly kissing me chastely means that he’s dying to get me alone. To do more. It’s his way of telling me. “I always knew we would get married,” I tell her, “I just didn’t know when.”

“You always knew?”

“After all we’ve been through?” I look up at Peter. “Yeah. Once he was back in my life, I knew it was for good.”

The interviewer thinks that’s a good spot to end it, so she turns to camera and performs her outro, and I look down at my ring, blazing like a galaxy of stars under the brilliant lights.

She says congratulations to us, as does most of the crew she brought with her, and it’s another half an hour before we get out of there and to Peter’s car, where he jumps in and starts to drive, my hand in his.

“I can’t believe you did that.”

“I’m glad you were surprised.”

I shake my head. “Did you do that because you didn’t think I would say yes if it was just us?”

“Of course not,” he says softly. “I’m just very arrogant, and want everyone to know how much I fucking love you.”

I laugh. “Or you wanted the ratings.”

“Honestly, it wasn’t that, though I fully expect that interview to be amazing and for people to be knocking down our door with projects. The truth is I was so nervous that it was the only place I could surprise you, because I was acting, and you weren’t expecting it. Any other place you would have noticed my nerves, and it wouldn’t have worked.”

“Oh.”

Peter turns the car off in the driveway and is around to my door faster than I can blink. He lifts me out of the car and carries me into the house and up into our bedroom. We gave up pretending that we lived in separate houses a few months ago, and so far, it’s been amazing.

“I really like my ring,” I tell him as we’re on the stairs.

“Good,” he says, “because it’s going to be the only thing that you’re wearing in a couple of minutes.”

I shiver, not knowing what’s coming next, but not caring. I’m with Peter and we’re getting married. Happiness bubbles up through my chest and I can’t believe it. I feel like I swallowed a star and that the light is going to come leaking out of me because I’m shining.

“I need to call my parents before that interview goes live,” I say as Peter puts me down. “They’re still mad that they found out we were together on the internet first. If I let them find out you proposed on TV they’ll—” he shuts me up with a kiss.

“You can call them later,” he says, “because right now, I need you.”

His eyes are dark with hunger and I smile as I shrug out of my shirt. “I thought you might. You kept kissing me at the interview.”

“Only because I couldn’t do anything else.”

I laugh again, but then he kisses me while stripping off my bra, and I’m not laughing anymore. He steps back to shed his own shirt and pants, and I shove mine off.

Peter nods to the bed, and I get on it. I love that we’re reading each other’s cues, and we know each other so well that we don’t have to talk it out. I want us to get so close that we know what the other is thinking, and I know that we’ll get there.

The last item to go is Peter’s underwear, and he’s already rock hard. I want him, and whatever he’s going to choose for tonight. He climbs onto the bed, prowling up to me like a hunter and I’m the prey. I lay back so that he’s over me, let him look at me, and the world falls away. It’s just him and me.