Letting Go (Thatch 1)

Grey

September 20, 2014

THE BED SHIFTED, I felt something heavy settle down on my hips, and my eyes cracked open to find Jagger sitting on me with an unreadable expression on his face. My lips pulled into a lazy smile, and my eyes blinked slowly a few times before I could finally focus on him.

“Interesting way to wake me up considering we’re both fully clothed.”

One side of his mouth curved up, but he didn’t say anything. Leaning forward, he placed a soft kiss on my cheek before doing the same to my lips. I reached up to run my hand over his head, hoping to prolong the kiss, but he pulled back, and my hand slipped to his face.

“You have a little something there,” I teased, and started to brush at the black smudge on his cheek. Then I noticed my left arm.

In my groggy state, it took me a few seconds to realize that, one, it wasn’t a bug; two, it was charcoal; and three, it was the words “WILL YOU . . .”

I mouthed the words a couple times and my heart began racing. My eyes flickered over to Jagger. His face was still unreadable, but his green eyes were full of a mostly hidden excitement. With his eyes locked on mine, he lifted my right arm, and I slowly slid my gaze to it.

And my heart sank.

MAKE BREAKFAST? was there in charcoal on my right forearm.

“Seriously?” I whined, and pushed at his stomach. “You drew on me so you could ask me to make breakfast? You could’ve just woken me up and asked, or waited for me to wake up on my own.”

“So, is that a yes?” he asked earnestly, and I glared at him.

“Fine.”

“That’s not a yes.”

“Yes, Jagger, I will make us breakfast because you are incapable of even pouring a bowl of cereal for yourself.” I tried to stay mad, but that was impossible with Jagger. “You’re such a nerd. I’m getting you cooking lessons for your birthday.”

“It won’t help.”

“One can dream.” Grabbing the back of his neck, I pulled him down to kiss him then pushed him away. “Now get off me so I can make something.”

As soon as he was off the bed, I grumbled something about only making him toast as I climbed off and started walking toward the stairs.

“Seriously, who messes up cerea—” My words and feet immediately stopped when I was two steps down and looking at the ground floor.

My next breath was audible as I took in the sight. Made up of dozens of the thick papers that Jagger used for his drawings was the outline of a large heart, the bottom of which looped around to make the heart also look like an infinity symbol—my name making up the right side of the heart. Inside of the open space was WILL YOU MARRY ME?

Jagger’s arm went around my waist, and his lips went to my ear. “So, is that a yes?” he asked softly as he lifted a ring in front of me.

“Jagger,” I said on a breath, and took the ring from his fingers.

I felt his lips pull into a smile as he placed soft kisses on my neck. “That’s not a yes.”

I turned in his arms and crushed my mouth to his. “Yes, that’s a yes!”

His arm tightened around me as he pressed his lips to mine again and deepened the kiss, and we both grunted when we fell back onto the stairs before laughing—never once stopping the kiss.

Pushing against his chest to lift myself up, I looked into his bright eyes and shook my head to gather myself. “I thought—I thought I’d kind of asked you in Seattle. We’d already talked about it, and—”

“And did you really think I was going to let you take this from me?” His wide smile matched my own, and I tried to figure out how to respond to that before giving up and holding the ring between our faces.

“Are you going to put it on for me?”

“That is part of my job,” he teased, and took it from me. Grabbing my left hand, he slowly slid the ring onto my finger, his green eyes holding mine as he did. “Grey LaRue, will you let me take care of you and love you for the rest of our lives?”

My eyes started watering, and I nodded my head quickly.