I turned around, taking one final look at my butt in the mirror. Devin’s going to like this, I thought, smiling to myself. It’s our two-year anniversary today and he told me I needed to dress up because he’s taking me out. The red dress sparkles under our wardrobe light and the slit travels all the way up to the middle of my thigh, ala Jessica Rabbit. I know Devin is going to flip when he sees me in this.
‘Are you nearly ready darlin?’ He calls from downstairs.
‘I’ll be right there,’ I reply grabbing a matching red satin purse and making my way down the stairs slowly. As I carefully walk down the steps, I hear Devin’s footsteps walk towards me and his audible intake of breath as I get to the bottom.
‘Are you trying to give me a heart attack darlin?’ He rests his hands on my hips taking me in as I do the same. His impeccably tailored Armani suit fits him perfectly, emphasizing his wide shoulders and narrow waist. Whether he’s in a suit, uniform, or sweats, I always love the way he looks.
He lets my hands roam his chest until I grasp his tie. ‘How did you know I was going to wear red?’ I asked as I played with the fabric.
A slow smirk grew on his face. ‘Would you believe me if I said I guessed?’ I shook my head, pouting my lips. ‘I may have peaked.’
‘Good to know.’ I used his tie to pull him towards me and planted a quick kiss on his lips. He wanted to deepen it, but I pushed back, aware that my bright red lipstick might not be a good look smeared across his face before dinner. After dinner, all bets were off on where my lipstick would end up. ‘Remind me to hide your presents at your mom’s for Christmas. I didn’t realize I was living with a child.’ I teased.
He shrugged, ‘You should probably just keep them out of our closet. I go in there a lot.’ It’s been six months, but I still smile when his says our closet. It’s our closet in our house. I moved in the day after I graduated, and I haven’t looked back. Building a home with Devin was the only decision for me. It’s the first time since my parents passed that I’ve lived somewhere that’s felt like home. I think it’s because Devin has this innate ability to make me feel happy, settled, and safe just by being in the room. I realized that when I spent the summer with him after he was drafted. He’s the only person I want to be with.
There was a point when I nearly cracked and transferred half way through my Senior Year to Duke just so I could be closer to Devin, but he was the one to convince me to stay. To ride out the end of my college experience at least for his sake because he didn’t get to do it either.
Not that leaving for the NFL was a wasted opportunity for Devin. He’s now considered one of the best defensive linesmen in the league. The Jaguars got to the conference Championships for the last two years in a row, next year they’re hoping for Superbowl success and I’m sure they’ll get it. They have to.
Devin leaned his forehead on mine, pecking me gently on the lips this time and lacing his fingers through mine. ‘Are you ready?’ He whispered even though we were the only two people in the house.
‘Of course I am handsome.’ He chuckled as he brought me into his side and led me out to the front porch. Devin’s car and driver Flynn were waiting for us at the bottom of the driveway. After greeting him, Devin ushered me into the car, insistent that we get going because we need to be somewhere for a specific time. I stopped asking where he was taking me on dates a long time ago, preferring the surprise and, also knowing he wouldn’t tell me anyway.
When Flynn informed us we’d arrived, Devin kissed my hand and gazed into my eyes. ‘I just wanted to let you know I’ve been planning this date since the day I was drafted two years ago.’ A slow smirk grew on his face and he gave my hand another kiss, sending sparks of electricity through my arm. ‘Just remember that.’
I nodded with a smile, letting him help me out of the car and that’s when I registered where we were. There was a helicopter just in front of us with its pilot standing outside. My mouth gaped open in shock; I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Devin kissed my forehead, laughing at my shocked expression I’m sure. ‘You weren’t expecting this?’
I looked down at my long evening gown. ‘I’m not dressed for this.’
He smiled following my gaze. ‘Yes, you are. Come on.’ He opened his hand out to me and I immediately took it, trusting him. Devin leads me to the helicopter, helping me into my seat, adjusting my dress so I’m comfortable and fixes the earphones over my head so it doesn’t affect my curled hair. He gives me the once over, biting his bottom lip. ‘You look hot, darlin.’
I swatted his chest away, letting him have a chat with the pilot before sitting next to me. Like always, his hand instinctively searched for mine, a habit he picked up shortly after we officially started dating.
The doors slammed shut and my heart started beating faster when the blades started moving. Devin squeezed my hand, leaning closer. ‘I’m scared.’ I said through the mic.
His smile warmed my soul as his thumb rubbed my palm. ‘What have you got to be scared about darlin? I’m right here.’ In that instant, the chopper starts to take flight and I squealed. ‘Remember when we went rollerblading on our first date?’ I nodded, ‘You told me to keep my head up and watch you. You do the same right now. Keep your eyes on me.’ I do as he says, the green, gold of his eyes glistens under the flickering lights surrounding us. I got so lost in just looking at the man I loved, I hardly noticed we’d made it out of takeoff and were flying smoothly in the sky. ‘Do you trust me?’
‘With my life.’
His grin grew wide at my remark. ‘Great. Then look down.’ When I turned my body, Devin joined me, leaning his back against mine so he could look out my window. Down below were the twinkling lights of the city of Charlotte.
‘It’s so beautiful.’ I said.
‘Yeah, it is.’ I looked back at Devin and noticed he was looking at me, not at the city and I could feel my face growing hot. ‘Look, you can see the stadium from here.’ He pointed down and the bright lights glared into the reflection. The baseball and football stadiums are next door to each other, both with their lights on. I could see the players running on the grass in the baseball stadium.
‘Why are the lights on in the football stadium? You don’t have a game tonight.’
‘You’re right, we don’t.’ He smiled and I immediately knew he was up to something. I grabbed my stomach when it started to roll as the helicopter descended. Devin placed his hand on mine. ‘Are you okay?’
‘I’m fine,’ I said, clutching his hand tighter and closing my eyes until I felt the ground below us and the blades slow.
‘Reign, we’re here.’ His melodic deep voice penetrated through the thoughts in my head and I finally opened my eyes when the soft woosh of the door swung open, letting the cold night air hit my arms. We were in the stadium on a helipad I had no idea existed. I didn’t stay sitting for long. Devin had already made his way around and held his hand out for me.
I let him lead me to a private room overlooking the stadium below, the bright lights illuminating the perfectly green turf and white lines. Right next to the window is a table with a single rose sitting on it. ‘Have you based this date on The Bachelor?’ I asked mildly amused at his efforts.
He lifted a shoulder and even in this light I could see a slight pink to the tips of his ears. ‘After two years of watching that show with you, I figured I couldn’t go wrong. Chloe may have helped.’ I smiled, so happy that Chloe managed to successfully complete her program and is now attending Duke University, living with their mom close by. Devin bought a house for them the minute he received his signing bonus and they’ve been living in North Carolina ever since.
He pulled back the chair for me and noticed he was sweating when he sat across from me and he’s nervous. ‘This is perfect, D.’ I said and he offered me a half smile as his gaze twitched around the room, ignoring the single rose sitting between us.
The door creaked open and in comes the waitstaff with towers of food for the two of us. ‘Thank goodness I didn’t eat all day.’ I laughed as a large chicken meal was placed in front of me.
‘Me either.’ Devin muttered. His voice was uneven, and he ran a shaky hand through his hair. I put his weirdness to the back of my mind as I ate our delicious meal. We didn’t speak much through dinner, not that I didn’t try, Devin answered my questions in grunts and groans because he was piling the food in his mouth like he was a starving man. I couldn’t blame him, the food was delicious.
As I ate the final chocolate strawberry on my plate, Devin twiddled with the rose in his hand, glancing at me and then back down to the rose. ‘I’ve watched enough episodes of that show now to know how important the final rose is.’ He says, his voice still had a shaky hesitance to it.
‘Not that important, most of the couples from that show last a year and that’s it.’ I chuckled, trying to make a joke and ease his tension.
His shoulders dropped, looked like I had the wrong strategy. ‘Well, it’s a good thing we’ve already lasted longer than most of them then isn’t it?’
‘Yeah.’ I replied wistfully.
‘Reign, did I ever tell you how much I liked you before I even met you?’
I nodded. ‘Several times a day, babe.’ I ended with a giggle.
He didn’t seem put off by this. ‘Good. Then I’m doing my job as your boyfriend right. I’m telling you how mch you mean to me everyday then.’
‘That you are.’
‘When I met you, it was like the first time I threw a ball on the football field and the first time I sacked a guy all at once.’
‘How romantic…’
He waved off my sarcasm. ‘Let me finish. When those two things happened, I knew that was what I was supposed to be doing, where my life would take me. So I focused everything I could to get that goal and here we are.’ He said, gesturing around the football stadium in front of us. ‘When I met you. I had that same feeling. You were who I was supposed to be with, who I wanted to be with. You were where my life was taking me and I’m so happy we were able to stay together through your last year at college and my first year in the NFL.’ His smile and confidence grew with his speech. He plucked the rose from the table, twirling it in his hands.
I wanted to say something. Tell him how much he means to me, how he gave me a home when I never thought I’d find one again. How he’s the only man I’ve ever truly loved but I don’t get that far because he keeps going. ‘Even through my toughest defeats and my worst moments, you’ve been there to offer me a smile and make it better. Life won’t always be roses,” I looked down to the rose in hand as he offered it to me. “Even though roses are all you deserve.” I took it from him and smelled the flowery scent. “So, I will try my hardest to make sure you at least get sunflowers because there’s no one better for me in this world than you.’
When his chair dragged across the floor and he got up, I watched him, assuming he was coming over to kiss me and tell me he loved me again. He did neither. He knelt on one knee and produced a black velvety box. ‘Will you do me the honor of making me smile for the rest of my life?’ When he opened the box, a giant diamond ring was winking back at me.
It was like the world stopped for a moment and I couldn’t breathe. When I didn’t speak, his voice brought me back to the room. ‘Reign?’ He asked not bothering to hide the shakiness in his voice now.
I shook my head. ‘I’m sorry.’
His hand dropped, along with his shoulders and head. ‘I get it. I’m sorry. It’s all too soon.’ Crap. He thought I was rejecting his proposal.
The screech of my chair surprised him as I dropped to my knees in front of him, cupping his cheeks in my hands. ‘Devin, I was saying sorry for taking too long to answer. Nothing would bring me more happiness than being your wife.’ I whispered, mainly because I could barely speak after such a wonderful proposal.
His smile grew wider than I’d ever seen it and without warning, he scooped me up in his arms, kissing me with fiery passion. I felt his hand lift up, but didn’t let his lips disconnect from mine. This moment was too perfect.
A loud bang shocked me into looking out of the window to the field. Down below, the marching band started to play some music and fireworks lit up the sky. ‘Screw you, Bachelor Shawn. I just one upped you.’ Devin tried to mumble, but I heard it loud and clear.
‘You’re so competitive D.’ I joked, toying with his tie again. His hand clasped mine while the other placed his ring around my finger, where it will stay for the rest of my life.
‘And I’ve just won the best prize of them all.’ He said with a satisfied smirk before leaning down and placing another kiss on my lips as we let the music play behind us. I was never the girl who thought she’d get a happy ending, but I’m so damn happy I managed to find it with Devin.
