Mine Would Be You (102)
I hit his arm. “Shut up, that’s not true.”
“Ow, and now you’re abusing me? Jesus.” Unblinking, I stare at him, and his lips start to upturn into a smile, and he glances over again. “Kidding, kidding. You’d never hurt me.”
He’s right. I’d never hurt him. Well, maybe a pinch here or there, but I’d never do anything seriously to hurt the man who has given me everything I never even asked for.
I don’t say anything though. I just smile as we drive down, closer to the coast and the place that we both love going so much. The sun is just starting to lower in the sky behind those thick heavy clouds, but colors are starting to peek as he pulls into the driveway. The house is beautiful as always, and he turns down the music as he puts the car in park.
I start to open my door, but Jackson stops me. “Hold on, I just wanna go make sure the heat turned on in time and it’s warm enough.” He smiles and takes the house key from the glovebox, leaving the car on, but still, I kick open the door and let my legs hang out.
He grabs the bags first and takes them with him as I pet Bane behind the ears from the front seat until Jackson appears near the door again. “All good, let’s go,” he says softly, reaching around me and turning the car off, the keys jingling as he tucks them into his pocket.
Bane bounds forward and out of the car, landing easily, and sits patiently at my side when I hit the ground. Jackson stands with his hands in his pockets right behind me, cheeks flushed from the cold.
“Oh, wait, I hid a new toy for Bane under your seat. Can you grab it?” he asks, reaching a hand out for the pup. I nod and lean back into the car, reaching under the seat.
With searching fingers I don’t feel anything reminiscent of a dog toy. “Jackson, nothing is under here,” I breathe out as I reach further back. Then my fingers brush against something.
It’s soft and smooth and velvety, and it’s definitely not a fucking dog toy. I wrap my fingers around it and pull it out. Not quite seeing what’s resting in my palm. I blink and blink again before looking at Jackson.
“What is this?”
Bane is sitting by his side with his ears perked, and Jackson has the smallest of smirks growing on his lips. “What does it look like?”
I stare at him. “It looks like a little black box. What the fuck is it, Jackson?”
He chuckles. The sound is low and deep and spreads fire through my veins—or would if my heart was beating—and he steps closer. “Open it, Nina.”
My hand shakes as I flip open the box, and I don’t even have time to breathe before my eyes fill up with tears. Blood rushes past my ears as Bane starts barking in excitement, and his body is wagging by my side as Jackson comes to stand right before me. I’m not even looking at what’s in the box; I’m just looking at him.
“I wasn’t really sure if this was the most romantic or the best way to do this,” he starts, and my grip tightens so hard my knuckles turn white. “But I remember our first drive to the Hamptons, and you pulled that ball cap out from under the seat and put it on your head and smiled at me. It’s a stupid memory, but it’s one of my favorites. You smiling at me in that moment. I knew I was done for then. Knew it was you.”
He reaches forward and grabs the box from my hand, and I just stand there, watching him. “I knew I wanted to do it here, just wasn’t sure how, and then that just popped in my head and,” Jackson shrugs, his left dimple popping, “this just felt right.”
The dog barks again, and I laugh, but it’s muffled by me trying not to burst into an absolute mess of sobs. Jackson reaches up and brushes my hair back, behind my ear, sending sparks that feel like tiny butterflies landing on my skin.
“You are the absolute love of my life, Nina. There is no one else I’d rather do life with, even though you love that dog and Jenko more than me.” I hit him on the chest, and now tears are freely flowing down my face. “I remember life before you were in it, barely, but I do. It was fine, but you came in, and everything just fell into place.”
His words are simple, but with every single one my heart stops in my chest over and over again, and I simply cannot fathom the love I feel for him. Because better is the only way to describe it. It’s simple and concise, but it’s true. Life is better together.
“You are the best person I’ve ever met, my favorite person in the world, and I wouldn’t have made it these last two years without you. Life is hard, I know that, and not everything has to be perfect, but you, you make life easier. Better. Brighter. You make it easier to breathe.”
I don’t think I could control the messy sob that comes out of my throat even if I wanted to. My hands come up and cover my face to try to hide the tears as my body swells with emotion. From my tiptoes to the top of my head I’m alight with every single emotion I’ve ever felt and the overwhelming love I feel for Jackson.
He pulls my hands away from my face, his eyes gleaming, and his lips are pulled up into a smile as he tips my chin up, just as he lowers to one knee with Bane sitting right next to him.
“Will you marry me?”
I can barely form words, so in all of my emotional glory, I just hug him tightly, practically tackling him to the cold ground of the driveway. His arm wraps around my back, and he holds me tightly as I bury my hands in his hair.
“Yes.” My voice is scratchy and barely audible. “Yes, Jackson, a million fucking times yes,” I murmur.