far meant the world to me. I still had another surprise for her resting inside my back pocket. We’d discussed marriage before, but we both knew it would have to wait until later on in the future. I might have jumped a little ahead of schedule without her consent, but it was only a proposal—my declaration of my love for her. We didn’t have to rush to the altar.
Olie placed her hand over mine as her smile disappeared. “Nathan. We need to talk.”
I didn’t like the sound of my name and her tone. I figured it had something to do with her waitressing job. She had mentioned how unhappy she was and how she wanted to look for another one.
“Okay, but before we do, let me ask you a question.” I’d planned on asking her after dinner while we were dancing, but my nerves got the best of me. I had to ask her now!
She nodded, pulling back her hair in the sudden gush of wind. Luckily, it was toward the end of summer and the weather was mild. I took out the little black box with my trembling hand and got down on my knees. After I opened the box, revealing a one-carat diamond ring, I peered up to see Olie with her hands covering her mouth and tears in her eyes. I had wanted to give her a diamond larger than one carat, but this was what I could afford at the present time. Hopefully, if my acting career kicked off, I could replace it with something bigger.
With my pulse skyrocketing and my forehead breaking out in a slight sweat, I said, “Olivia. We’ve been together for only a year, but you’re the one. I knew the day I met you. I love your smile, your humor, and your genuine heart. You’re everything I need and love. I promise to be the man you deserve, the man who will be by your side through the hardest parts of life, and I’ll take the hard times and turn them into the best times of our life. Every day, the sun rises because of you. Every day, I’ll love you more than I did the day before. Will you marry me?”
I waited for her answer with a nervous grin. Any second now, she would blurt out the answer I wanted to hear. But…I began to doubt myself when her eyes told me otherwise. They went from being completely shocked to something else I couldn’t understand. Tears streamed down her face, so maybe I was wrong. That was a good sign, right? Olie cried when she was happy, but they didn’t look like happy tears.
She shook her head. “No,” she whispered so softly that I wasn’t sure if I’d heard her right until she spoke again. “I can’t marry you, Nate.”
I thought I’d heard her wrong—surely I had. But when she turned away and sobbed into the palms of her hands, I understood clearly. Standing up, I placed the box back into my pocket and walked around to face her.
“I don’t mean right now or tomorrow, or next week, or month. We can wait till we’re both ready.” I tried to find a reason behind her actions. Did I say something wrong?
She pulled back and wiped her tears. Her eyes were calculating, judging me. “You did this to keep me, didn’t you?” She was angry, but her tone was calm.
I didn’t know where this was coming from. I furrowed my brows in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“You did this so that I wouldn’t take the modeling job in New York. You were afraid that I would leave you.”
“No, baby.” I took a step and stopped when she backed away from me. “You’ve got it wrong.”
How did tonight get so fucked up? I had planned it all out beforehand in my head: She would say yes. After dinner we would dance with the downtown lights surrounding us. We would go back to my place, and I would make passionate love to her. But….
She folded her arms in front of her chest, bracing herself. Her stance told me she was in charge. “I’ve made my decision. I’m going to take the modeling job. They want me to start on Monday. I’m flying to New York tomorrow. This is what I wanted to talk to you about.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “But we already discussed this. I
Olie placed her hand over mine as her smile disappeared. “Nathan. We need to talk.”
I didn’t like the sound of my name and her tone. I figured it had something to do with her waitressing job. She had mentioned how unhappy she was and how she wanted to look for another one.
“Okay, but before we do, let me ask you a question.” I’d planned on asking her after dinner while we were dancing, but my nerves got the best of me. I had to ask her now!
She nodded, pulling back her hair in the sudden gush of wind. Luckily, it was toward the end of summer and the weather was mild. I took out the little black box with my trembling hand and got down on my knees. After I opened the box, revealing a one-carat diamond ring, I peered up to see Olie with her hands covering her mouth and tears in her eyes. I had wanted to give her a diamond larger than one carat, but this was what I could afford at the present time. Hopefully, if my acting career kicked off, I could replace it with something bigger.
With my pulse skyrocketing and my forehead breaking out in a slight sweat, I said, “Olivia. We’ve been together for only a year, but you’re the one. I knew the day I met you. I love your smile, your humor, and your genuine heart. You’re everything I need and love. I promise to be the man you deserve, the man who will be by your side through the hardest parts of life, and I’ll take the hard times and turn them into the best times of our life. Every day, the sun rises because of you. Every day, I’ll love you more than I did the day before. Will you marry me?”
I waited for her answer with a nervous grin. Any second now, she would blurt out the answer I wanted to hear. But…I began to doubt myself when her eyes told me otherwise. They went from being completely shocked to something else I couldn’t understand. Tears streamed down her face, so maybe I was wrong. That was a good sign, right? Olie cried when she was happy, but they didn’t look like happy tears.
She shook her head. “No,” she whispered so softly that I wasn’t sure if I’d heard her right until she spoke again. “I can’t marry you, Nate.”
I thought I’d heard her wrong—surely I had. But when she turned away and sobbed into the palms of her hands, I understood clearly. Standing up, I placed the box back into my pocket and walked around to face her.
“I don’t mean right now or tomorrow, or next week, or month. We can wait till we’re both ready.” I tried to find a reason behind her actions. Did I say something wrong?
She pulled back and wiped her tears. Her eyes were calculating, judging me. “You did this to keep me, didn’t you?” She was angry, but her tone was calm.
I didn’t know where this was coming from. I furrowed my brows in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“You did this so that I wouldn’t take the modeling job in New York. You were afraid that I would leave you.”
“No, baby.” I took a step and stopped when she backed away from me. “You’ve got it wrong.”
How did tonight get so fucked up? I had planned it all out beforehand in my head: She would say yes. After dinner we would dance with the downtown lights surrounding us. We would go back to my place, and I would make passionate love to her. But….
She folded her arms in front of her chest, bracing herself. Her stance told me she was in charge. “I’ve made my decision. I’m going to take the modeling job. They want me to start on Monday. I’m flying to New York tomorrow. This is what I wanted to talk to you about.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “But we already discussed this. I
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