Claire narrows her gaze. “What are you up to?”
I bring her knuckles up to my lips and kiss them. “Do you trust me?”
“Of course.” She follows along without asking any other questions.
I open up the door to the rooftop access and we climb the steps to the top.
Orange and pink light shines across Claire’s flawless face, highlighting every impeccable feature. I fight the urge to stop and stare and lead her to the edge of the building.
Like the other time we were up here, I go over and grab the plank I had hidden against the building. One by one we cross over onto the other side and ascend the metal ladder to go even higher.
Once at the top, I tell her, “Close your eyes.”
She rolls them first, but then complies. She bites at her lip while she waits for me to complete my surprise.
Not a minute later, I guide her over. “You can open.”
Claire blinks, taking in the sight of a blanket laid out with rose petals flitting around the edges. It’s not perfect, but the look on her face tells me that it is to her.
“Johnny,” she breathes. “It’s beautiful.”
The sun dips under the horizon, and from here, we have the best view in the entire city. My original plan was to come up after dinner, when the sky was already asleep, but this worked out too well for me to not adjust my timeline.
Claire comes closer, her fingers trailing my cheek. “I love it.”
I help her sit on the blanket and join her to bask in the beautiful masterpiece dancing across the sky.
A moment goes by and I break the silence. “There was something else.”
She turns to face me, a hint of curiosity lining her features. “Yeah?”
“I, um…”
Come on, Johnny, get it together.
“The other day, you had mentioned being unsure of where we stood.”
Claire opens her mouth to interject but I cut her off.
“I’m sorry I hadn’t already made that clear.” I place my hand on top of hers, allowing the warmth of her skin to calm me. “These last few months with you have been incredible, Claire. Truly. I really don’t know if I would have gotten through all of this without you. Hell,” I let out a breath. “I’m sure of it.”
Her cheeks blush.
“So,” I clear my throat. “I would like to take this moment to ask you, Claire Cooper, would you do me the great honor of officially allowing me to be your boyfriend?”
There are a few different directions this could go. She could say no. Confess to receiving that scholarship and break the news that she’s going home. Or it could have nothing to do with that at all and she could just not be interested in a relationship with me.
Instead, my doubts are erased when a huge smile breaks across her face and she laughs.
I swear if there was some way to bottle that sound, it could cure cancer.
Claire leans over and kisses me through her giggles.
“Should I take that as a yes?”
“A million times over! Yes!” She climbs on my lap and continues running her hands through my hair and dragging her lips into mine.
Claire reaches down and pulls her shirt over her head, tossing it onto the blanket. She grins and does the same to mine.