Lucas 

The arrival of Nicole's best friend, Diane, and her boyfriend, Trevor, was a breath of fresh air after everything that went down in Bristol.

The couple was enjoying London to the max, the city turning out to be everything they've always expected it to be and more, so they'd confided it to us over dinner. 

Nicole and I were gladly showing them around all the exciting places and vibrant little corners this city had to offer, and Trevor and Diane couldn't be loving it any more.  

I found myself chatting away with Trevor on a little restaurant by the Thames river, located somewhere in between the London Bridge and the Tower Bridge, while the girls went to the restroom. 

"So, had you met Diane before?" Trevor asked after taking a sip of his wine.

"Yes." I assertively nodded. "Nicole invited me for Thanksgiving at her parents' and I got the chance to meet Diane on one of the days we were in California."

"Oh wow... you met her parents already? Things must be getting serious between you two."

The comment caught me a little off guard and a hint of  a smirk on my face was all he got as an answer while I thought about his words.

Were we getting serious?

To be fair I've always thought we were serious, even when we started dating. With Nicole I never felt like it was just a fling or an affair that'd last for a couple of months and that was it. From the moment I met her, I knew deep down in my heart that she was special and that what we had, I would never find again. 

We might have taken our sweet time getting to know each other better and taking a step further in our friendship, but I've always seen that relationship as a serious one.

"I guess. I don't really know what to say... I can only speak for myself but, we've always been serious." I simply said out loud, the words making more sense to me right now more than ever. 

"I can tell. I mean I've only been around you two for what? A day! But you seem like a great couple."

"Thanks. We've hit it off really quickly, we became friends first for a while... then things just started flowing between us."

"So... are you thinking about maybe popping the question?"

His question startled me a little, not knowing entirely sure what he meant by that.

"You mean," I looked around to check if there were any signs of the girls coming back to table. The coast was clear but nonetheless, I leaned forward and whispered. "Proposing to her?"

"Yes!"

Although Trevor was a few years younger than me, there weren't any traces of a teenager still being stuck inside him. However, this time he had a boyish grin that he couldn't seem to wipe off his face as he waited eagerly for my opinion on the matter.

"I... wasn't thinking about it, actually. We've never discussed it and she's been through some things with her ex. I-I don't know if it'd be a good idea."

I've always seen a future with Nicole, and a future together was always what I envisioned for both of us. Right now, I don't think I could imagine a future for myself without her in it, hence why I told her that a long distance relationship wasn't what I was looking for.  

"Why not?"

"When I propose to her, I want to have previously talked to her about marriage and our future as a couple. I need to know where she stands."

"So you will propose."

"I would want to, yes." I nodded in agreement. "I just don't know when the best time for that will be."

"Best time for what?" I almost jumped out of my chair in a scare when I heard Nicole's voice and felt her hand on my shoulder. 

"Uh... Nothing." My lips curled into a nervous smile as she took her seat next to me. "Trevor and I were just having a guy conversation."

"Oh, what was it about?" Diane asked as she too, took her seat next to Trevor, across the table from Nicole.

Quick, think of something. Anything!

"The gym. I was talking to Trevor about joining the gym this next year. Don't know when it'll be the best time to join."

"The gym?" Nicole's looked at me like I had just grown two heads. "Since when do you want to work out?"

I was never one to enjoy exercising, not even a run at the park, much less a full work out at a gym. I thank God everyday for having a good metabolism and being fit without even having to move a muscle.

"Yeah. I just thought I'd give it a shot. It's my New Year's resolution."

Nicole accepted my answer but her expression indicated all kinds of hints of suspicion, clearly not entirely sure of my rushed response.

"I think that's great." Diane commented before taking a long sip of her white wine. "Nic and I do yoga at this place back in San Francisco and it's so amazing! I go to the gym as well and it's so reinvigorating. Good for you, Lucas." 

"Yeah..." Dragging the word and with a questioning look on her face, Nicole pretty much let me know she didn't buy any of the things I had just said.

I was gladly saved by the waiter from any questions Nicole could be planning on throwing at me regarding the whole gym lie. The man approached the table with four dessert menus in hand. "I recommend the lime tart." 

The man must be in late forties, with a large belly and no hair on top of his head, but his words conquered my heart.

"I'll try it." I said after taking a quick look at the all the desserts listed. 

Nicole ordered the same as me while Diane and Trevor asked for the cheesecake. 

It didn't take long before the plates came and the four of us focused on our desserts. The food was a good distraction from the conversation we were having and that I was desperate to avoid, which I gladly did. 

After dinner, the four of us walked out of the restaurant, walking alongside the river as we made our way to the fancy hotel Diane and Trevor were staying in, where we went out for a few drinks at its equally luxurious bar. 

Of course, none of us missed the chance to snap pictures with our phones of the scenery in front of us, the bridges with their little lights lit up, painting the dark, night sky.  

The conversation topics were pretty much the same, all about the city and their long flight and how excited they were about spending the New Year here in London. 

"Lucas, where would you say is the best place to see the fireworks?"

I answered Diane's question in a heartbeat, the answer on the tip of my tongue. "Hampstead Heath Park. The best view of the city and obviously, the best view for the fireworks. If you prefer somewhere a bit more... modern, so to speak, I'd also recommend Primrose Hill."

"I've never been there." Nicole commented as she slipped her hand in mine and hugged my palm with her soft fingers.

"Great, then that's where we'll go tomorrow!" Diane promptly said, confidence radiating from her.

The first time I met Diane I could tell that although they were the closest and best friends, they were quite different. This time, my suspicions were confirmed. 

"I like that idea." Nicole agreed and the girls raised their glasses and clicked them before drinking their cocktails.

With a few more words exchanged between us and conversations we shared about random things that thankfully took my mind off of the whole proposal thing Trevor talked to me about at dinner, I was starting to feel pretty exhausted. And I wasn't the only one.

"I think Lucas and I should go, it's getting a little late." Nicole's voice sounded steady as a rock, but her face indicated she probably had a little too much to drink. 

"Yeah, we should get you home."

"I love spending time with you two but I must agree. Plus Trevor and I are gonna have sex in London for the first time tonight, it's an exciting first for us."

Diane said it all as blunt as she could be, speaking candidly and straight forwardly about her sex life in front of me like she's known me all her life. Nicole had warned me about this side of her and although I had a little glimpse at her spontaneous self, I still felt a little shocked.

To be fair, the relationship between Diane and Trevor seemed a little different than the one Nicole and I share - not better, not worse, but definitely different. But then again, the girls are very different, and despite not knowing Trevor that well, I think I can safely say the same about us, boys.

"Okay... good for you, then." Was all I managed to say as my cheeks turned three darker shades of red. 

"Bye Nicky!!" Diane was a little tipsy too, but nothing compared to how hammered Nicole was after three glasses of wine during dinner and then four cocktails afterwards.

"Bye Diane! Have fun tonight!" The girls hugged tightly, swinging back and forth in each other's arms while Trevor and I, who were the only ones sober at the end of the night, shook hands and said our goodbyes for the night. 

I kissed Diane on the cheek after she ordered some champagne and ice to her room and held hands with Nicole as we made our way out of the hotel. 

The alcohol coursing through her was causing her to get more and more sleepy by the second,  and my intuition told me it would be better if we took a cab home tonight, so we did. About thirty five minutes later we escaped the heavy rain falling from the sky and made it inside the house.

I felt the heat wave from the central heating system wash over me, contrasting the freezing cold felt on the outside, typical in a very cold December night in London, and I felt myself shiver.

"Lucas!!" She dragged my name with her loud voice.

"Yes?"

I had never experienced seeing Nicole drunk. Of course, we've had drinks in the past and we've always shared wine during our meals, but I never got to see her look this out of herself drunk. 

Her hair was disheveled, her heels were randomly thrown around the floor and her coat was laying on the stairs. 

I grabbed her arms with my hands, trying to steady her in her place. "Let's go get some sleep, okay?"

"Yes, let's go to bed." She slurred at me, her eyes glossy and her limbs lifeless. 

I turned off the lights downstairs and step by step, I helped her get to the bedroom. 

"Let's get you in your pajamas, I'll help you."

I sat her on the bed while I moved to the closet to get her night shirt and when I turned around, she was already standing in front of me in only a black bra, her sweater now gone. 

"Lucas, I love you." She took the shirt from my hands and threw it behind her, and with her arms wrapped around my neck, she pulled me in for a heated kiss. 

Her tongue entered my mouth while her lips pressed against mine in sloppy kisses and her hands traveled down to my waist. 

"Woah, what are you doing?" I whispered.

My lips were a little swollen from the attack of her own lips, and when I looked down hers, hers were plump and pink too. Not that the sight wasn't arousing, 'cause it was, but she was drunk. 

"I love you, Lucas. I want to make love to you. I want to feel you."

"I love you too. So much. But you're extremely drunk right now and we shouldn't have sex while you're drunk."

"You don't wanna have sex with me?" She dramatically asked, shocked written all over her face.

"I do want to have sex with you. I love having sex with you but I just think that, for tonight, we should just get some sleep. We'll have sex in the morning."

"Morning sex sounds good." Her eyes lit up at her own words and her lips curled upwards into a smile.

"It does."

I pulled the sheets back so she get in the bed and grabbed the fluffy, red and white soft night shirt that she had previously thrown, and helped her put it on, as well as her matching pajama pants.

"Lucas, stay with me until I fall asleep." She sounded like a child, her bottom lip curling downwards in a pout. 

"I'm gonna sleep too, I'll be by your side all night."

I tucked her in and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get undressed, going back to the bedroom to get in my own pajamas. By the time I got into bed, she was already sound asleep, looking adorable with her mouth open. The alcohol lingered on her breath, but that didn't stop me from leaning down to kiss her forehead lovingly. 

I rested my head on the pillow and after a long and loud exhale, I closed my eyes, hoping to call it a night and drift to sleep. Unfortunately, I had no such luck. 

What Trevor said was playing on repeat in the back of my mind like a broken record, and I couldn't avoid my brain from drifting back to the same constant thought - proposing to Nicole.

Would I want to go to bed every night with this woman by my side? Without a shadow of a doubt.

Do I want to spend the rest of my life with Nicole? That's not even a question. 

But I'm a firm believer that before I jump into a proposal, talking with her about marriage and our future had to come first. Plus we've known each other for only a few months now, we hadn't actually lived together or had the chance to talk about important things, such as a possible marriage.

I know that what happened between her and Matthew at the Bahamas was a heartbreaking experience for her, and it'd be perfectly understandable if she wasn't interested in jumping into a marriage with someone who she's only known since September, at least right away.

I quietly got out of bed and made my way to my office, where I quickly searched for the very last piece of jewelry I had designed for Gems of the Heath - an engagement ring. 

I would be lying if I said I had designed that ring as a goodbye gift for Henry at the store. The thought started as such, but it quickly became something I would keep for myself, for personal use. 

This idea came to me after I finished the sketch for Aria, after coming back from America - the cartoon character I had created that was inspired by no one other than Nicole herself. 

I knew that the one thing that was missing on that little character was an engagement ring, because that was literally what lead Nicole to me, how could I not include it in the character? 

Instead of drawing the same exact ring, I thought outside the box and came up with an entirely different ring for Aria, one that suited Nicole way better and that was simply her.

I designed the ring alone, on a different sheet and all, purposely, so I could hand the design to Henry once I said my final goodbyes and that'd be my final design for the store. However, when that day came, I couldn't seem to hand him the paper sheet. Every single time I looked at the ring, I noticed how unique it was, and how it truly had Nicole's face all over it, and how it was meant for her only, and no one else.

So I finished the Aria drawing, the character now with the ring on her left hand, and I kept the design of the ring alone for myself. 

As I looked at it now, in the dim light of the small office and while I heard the rain hit the window from the outside, my mind played all the best and worse case scenarios - I propose and she says yes, we live happily ever after; I propose and she says no, and we ruin all that we have now.

Married or not, I know we'll be together forever. And that had to be enough, at least for tonight. 

* * *

Author's Note: 

Hey loveliesss!! So much drama and funny moments are coming up, you better prepare yourselves for all that's coming! Trust me, I think you're all gonna love it!

If you liked this chapter please vote, comment and share this story with whoever you want, I love getting new readers 💗

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Xoxo, Mars