Two Years Later

William and I can't believe how fast these two college years flew by. He's preparing for graduation and moving into his apartment. I've been able to come home to be with him almost every weekend since college started. We've had some ups and downs, but we overcame it all with our love for each other.

Today, we're at his apartment, putting away boxes and organizing everything. William wants a party here the day after graduation, so we're doing our best to get it together.

He's invited some college friends, Chris and Diana, and a few other friends he maintained relationships with after high school.

Chris and Diana broke up a few months ago, but we hope this party will get them back together. Neither one of them has dated anyone since their breakup.

I call William, "Hey, Babe, where does this box go? It's not marked."

"Let me see." He opens it and looks inside.

There are school books and a few trophies from playing baseball and golf.

"It goes in the spare room closet. I'm not worrying about this stuff yet."

We continue to unpack boxes in the rooms as labeled.

His parents gave him the basement and his bedroom furniture. His mom gave him a bunch of mismatched dishes she no longer needed, so he just had to buy a few essentials.

After a few hours, we have the place livable. We take a look around, satisfied with our accomplishments.

"Want to order some pizza?" William asks.

"That sounds amazing. I'm starving!" I respond dramatically, holding my stomach.

William chuckles before he calls for delivery, and I sit on the couch to rest my sore back and arms. He comes over and sits beside me when he gets off the phone.

"If I weren't so damn tired, we'd christen the apartment on the couch. Unfortunately, I can hardly move."

I laugh, "There'll be plenty of time for that later. It's just nice you have a place to yourself now. No more sneaking into your parent's basement."

He leans over and kisses my forehead. "Amen to that!"

I'm not sure how long we sat there talking about graduation and the party, but the next thing we knew, the pizza guy knocked on the door. William gets up to pay him and returns to me with the pizza box.

I placed my phone on the table and got two sodas from the fridge. "I let my parents know that I'm staying here tonight."

"Awesome!" He replies with a mouthful of pizza.

I roll my eyes at his lack of table manners and join him.

After eating, we got ready for bed, cuddled, and quickly fell asleep.

William's graduation is at 10 a.m., so we wake up early because he has to be there at 9. To save time, we shower together, resisting the need to do more than a shower.

"Are you sure we don't have 15 minutes to spare?" William said with the most mischievous grin, and I could see his excitement growing.

"If you want to be on time, we don't. Later, I promise!"

He gives me his best puppy dog eyes. "Okay, if you promise."

We finish showering and get ready. I bought an off-the-shoulder blue dress for the occasion.

"Baby, you look stunning.Maybe we can skip this whole thing and stay here wrapped up in each other."

"Your family would never forgive you if you skipped graduation."

He pouts. "Yeah, you're right. Let's get going."

We arrive at Centerville Business School, and William leaves me with a kiss before heading to join the other graduates. I meet with his parents and grandparents, and we head to our seats.

The music starts, and the procession begins. I see William as he takes his seat. I'm proud of his accomplishments and hard work between school and the store.

We all applaud when we hear his name called to accept his diploma.

After the ceremony, we meet up with William. His family takes pictures; then, we head to their house for a barbecue.

It's late when we get back to the apartment.

William looks at me through hooded eyes. "Don't think that I forgot your promise from this morning."

"I would hope not!" I exclaimed and sashayed to him.

I pull his shirt in my fist and pull him close.

In my most seductive voice, I whisper in his ear, "So, where do you want this christening to happen? The choice is yours: the couch, the bed, the kitchen counter, the shower."

I lick his ear before staring into those emerald-green eyes as they widen with astonishment.

"The bed." His voice was thick with desire.

Still holding his shirt in my fist, I drag him to his bedroom and push him onto the bed.

"Is that drool I see, Mr. Hammond?" I tease.

His eyes glimmer with mischief. "Maybe! Why don't you get closer and check it out?"

I move closer; he grabs me and pulls me onto him. I scream in delight.

The following day, we had a hard time getting out of bed.

I turn my face toward him and gently pat his chest. "Babe, we must get up and shop for the party."

He groans, "I don't want to! Let's cancel the party. We can spend the entire day in bed."

I roll away from him and pull on my robe. "Very tempting, but I'm looking forward to seeing everyone tonight. We already spent half of it in bed. I'm going to make pancakes; then we can head out."

"Okay, okay! I'll help you make the pancakes," he says while slipping on his boxer shorts.

We make our way to the kitchen and prepare brunch together. I'm on pancake duty while William keeps the bacon from burning.

Once we eat and finish up the dishes, we dress and head to the beverage distributor.

William turns to me at the light before we enter the distributor parking lot.

"How's the end of June sound?"

I scrunched up my face in confusion. "For what?"

"To get married," he replies calmly.

I laugh. "Yeah, right."

"I'm serious," he says with a smile, and his whole face lit up.

My mouth fell open.

He pulls into the parking lot and enters the building, leaving me to ponder his words.

I whip out my phone and go to my calendar app.

William comes out of the building, puts the cases of soda and beer in the back seat, and returns to the driver's seat.

"The 21st or the 28th?" I ask.

He lifted an eyebrow. "For what?"

"To get married," I smirk.

We both laughed.

Looking down at my calendar, I decide on a date. "I like even numbers. How about June 28th?"

He leans over and places a delicate kiss on my cheek. "Perfect!"

I can't believe William just asked me to marry him! Well, sort of.

We go to the grocery store and get the rest of the party supplies. We head home, and I can't get the silly grin off my face.

When we return to the apartment, William enters the bedroom and comes out with a small box. He sits me down on the couch and kneels in front of me.

"Nicole Louise Myers, will you make me the happiest man on earth and become my wife?"

I jump into his arms!

"I'll take that as a yes," he says with a cute smirk.

"Of course, it's a yes!" I exclaim excitedly.

He kisses me sweetly and hugs me close to him. Tears run down my face, and he pulls back to wipe my tears with his thumb. We smile at each other before he picks me up and twirls me around.

He sits me back down and places the ring on my hand.

I gasped, "Oh, William, it's gorgeous!"

The sparkling princess-cut diamond is in a pillow setting surrounded by diamonds.

His lashes flutter shyly. "You like it?"

"I love it!"

I pull him in for a thank you, I love you so much, and I'm forever yours, kiss.

People should be arriving for the party soon. William and I have everything together, and I can't stop looking at my hand. My heart flutters with excitement to share the news with Diana. She has remained my best friend since high school.

I still have two years left of college, so we need to work out logistics if we get married next June.

Right now, I want to enjoy the feeling of being engaged.

There's a knock at the door. It's Diana. "Hey, girl."

"Hey."

I put my hand up to my cheek. Diana's eyes enlarge in shock.

"Oh, my God! Is that an engagement ring? When the hell did that happen?" she demands.

"Yes, it is. He asked me earlier today." I gush.

Diana screams, "Ahhhhh! That's incredible! Tell me all about it!"

I give her the play-by-play details of how everything happened.

She laughs. "Only William and you would go about an engagement like that!"

She hugs me; her face drops a little. She tries to recover quickly, but I can tell she's thinking about Chris.

I look into her glistening eyes. "Are you sure you're okay with Chris coming over?"

"Yeah, we've been texting. I haven't seen Chris since returning from summer break. I miss him and think the breakup was a mistake."

I pull her into a tight hug. "Have you told Chris that you miss him?"

She shook her head. "I'm going to tell him tonight. I wanted to speak to him in person, not through texting."

"Good. You two belong together," I declare.

We smile and hug again.

More people arrive, and soon, the tiny apartment is full of our friends. William and I tell all of our friends about the engagement as they come in. Everyone laughs at our engagement story and congratulates us.

Chris is the last one to show up.

"Hey! The party has officially arrived!" he shouts as he enters the apartment.

His eyes go directly to Diana. He smiles and walks over to her as everyone laughs.

"Hi."

"Hi, yourself."

"Want to talk?"

"Yeah."

They enter the spare room and don't come out for over an hour.

The party is in full swing. Now and then, William catches my eyes and smiles.

I'm so in love with that man!

I don't notice Diana coming up beside me.

"Get a room," she teases.

"Later," I laugh. "So, how'd things go with Chris?"

The corners of her mouth lifted. "Good. We have some things to work through, but we both believe it's worth it."

"You're back together?" I shriek, and the guests look at me like I've lost my mind.

She nods her head. "Yep. We decided that once Chris completes his apprenticeship, he will look for work at my school."

"How much longer does he have?" I ask.

Her smile faded. "Six long months."

I decided to lighten the mood. "Can I ask you something?"

She gave a half smile. "Of course."

Trying to contain my excitement, I practically shouted, "Would you be my maid of honor?"

"YES!" She yells.

We hug and jump up and down. Everyone starts to stare again.

"What?" we say in unison, glancing at the spectators.

The party continues late into the night. Guests slowly begin heading out until it's just the four of us. Chris, Diana, William, and I remain.

Chris said yes to William when asked to be his best man. The men start talking golf. Diana and I discussed the wedding.

Diana leans over and bumps my shoulder. "I know this engagement is brand new, but most of us girls already have our wedding planned by the time we're ten."

I shove her back. "Trust me; I'm no different. I know the gist of what I want: a formal wedding. My colors are black, white, and red with many roses."

Diana sighs, "Sounds gorgeous. I want a destination wedding on the beach."

My brows raise. "Yeah? Any idea where?"

"Mexico, Aruba, or Jamaica," she immediately responds enthusiastically.

"That sounds amazing! I want a church wedding and a tropical honeymoon," I added.

"I'm so excited for you. You and William belong together."

"So do you and Chris."

Diana smiles. "We should do much of the planning this summer so you don't have so much to do during the school year."

I clap my hands. "That's a great idea. When should we start?"

"What's your work schedule like?" she inquired.

I've been working as a counselor every summer at a day camp.

"Same as last summer, Monday through Friday, 9:00-2:00."

She nibbled on her bottom lip in thought. "Hmmm, I work a couple of evenings at the pet store and Saturday mornings during the week. It looks like Sundays will work out. Does next Sunday work for you?"

"Yep! I'll begin making a list of what we need to accomplish," I respond with my mind already racing with ideas.

"Sounds good."

She hugs me again.

Chris stands up. "Ready to go, Diana?" He asks, reaching his hand down to help her up.

She smiles brightly at him as she takes his hand. "Sure, let me grab my purse."

My brows snap together. "Didn't you come separately?"

"Yes, we did. We'll stop back tomorrow for my car," Chris explained as they approached the door.

We met them at the door and hugged them as they congratulated us again before leaving.

William looks exhausted, and his glossy eyes tell me he is also a little drunk. "Let's clean this up tomorrow," I suggest.

"I like that idea," he slurred.

William falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. His cuteness made me chuckle. My thoughts of wedding planning lull me into a much-needed deep sleep.

A/N: That was pretty much how my hubs proposed to me. ❤️